TotL Observing Schedule

Top of the Lawn (TotL) astronomical observing sessions occur on clear, weekend nights (Fri - Sun) at the Great Lawn in Central Park. Meeting times vary but we try to arrive at or around sunset on the sidewalk at the north end of the Great Lawn. We've been known to stay until park curfew, at least a few hours past sunset unless the weather takes a turn for the bad early. The core group has been pretty consistent showing up over the years though our size waxes and wanes. This affects the number and variety of optics available.

I usually have a telescope setup while others may bring telescopes, tripod-mounted or handheld binoculars - and, we all have a desire to share. We don't hawk views to passersby but those that express an interest or ask, we invite them to the eyepiece and answers their questions. Many of them share stories of their experiences of the stars and planets.

A frequently asked question is how we alert others when we will be out. Currently, we don't. In fact, rarely do we contact each other and it's by chance we meet at TotL. This arrangement has been working for more than 7 years and even familiar, repeat visitors show up to say hello and take in what the season's sky has to offer. If we're not there at least there is a stunning view of New York's skyline and you have a large unencumbered view of the sky from the world's greatest urban park.

I think it's time to put together a notification system using email, google calendar, twitter, or the like. If you are interested send me a note to "tags_p" at yahoo and let me know what could work best for you.

Come out and see us sometime.

~peter

Description of Top of the Lawn

John P. of NYSkies offered to host a description of our group since we provide astronomy observing to the public. The following is a slightly modified version found at NYSkies. Ben, Charlie, John, Kin, & Tom reviewed and contributed to the description.



Top of the Lawn, more commonly called "TotL" (pronounced "total"), is a loose association of urban astronomy enthusiasts who gather on the northern perimeter path of Central Park's Great Lawn. The core group of sidewalk astronomers equipped with binoculars, telescopes, and a passion for sharing our skies. We are in the Park all year round to observe each season's sky, typically on clear weekend nights.

In addition to the TotL team, there are regular visitors that include dog walkers, cyclists, and pedestrians. These folks come by with such regularity that they learned the fundamental motions of the night sky and how to identify various targets in the sky. However, all visitors are welcome to stop by for peeks and chat.

Defying popular belief, there are many celestial delights to see with the eye and small optics. Many objects are challenged by high background sky brightness. Others, like the Milky Way, can be veiled from sight. Despite this impediment, TotL members help you find the brighter objects in the sky, by eye and optics, and provide some details about them.

In general, solar system bodies are easy to follow from the city, they include the Moon, planets, major comets, and larger asteroids. Man-made objects can be easy to observe, like International Space Station, Space Shuttle, Iridium flares, and large space capsules from other countries.

We can see many bright open clusters, double stars, planetary stars, some nebulae, and globular clusters. Their number and place in the sky vary with the season. Our city sky challenges most galaxies beyond the Milky Way, yet the great Andromeda Galaxy can be observed in optics as small as binoculars.

TotL members gather for the informal purpose of sharing our fascination for the night sky. Passersby are captivated by the vastness of space and distances to other worlds. They look into the eyepiece with awe and wonder. For our group, these reactions and expressed interest are reward enough to share with the public.

A visit to TotL, we can help with the following:

- getting started
- learn how to get your bearings in the sky
- how to use a planisphere
- identify constellations and asterisms
- how to find various deep sky objects
- what to consider when buying equipment
- how to use your binoculars or telescope
- tricks and tips with daytime observing

Just show up – with or without optics. Travel instructions and the map below detail our location in Central Park. We just ask that you respect our equipment and be considerate of others. No expert knowledge is required; an interest and positive attitude are helpful.

Look for us at the northern perimeter sidewalk of the Great Lawn, Central Park. That is approximately at 85th St. in the middle of the park. One can enter the park on the westside from Hunter's Gate at Central Park West (CPW) & 81st St. or Mariner's Gate at CPW & 85th St. at the north side of each entrance, follow the sidewalk straight into the park, crossing the road, West Drive, towards the Great Lawn.

The M10 bus stops nearby at 84th and CPW and the B & C subway stops at 86th and CPW.

If one enters the park from the east, use the entrances north or south (Miner's Gate) of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and walk westward along the path. From the southern entrance one crosses East Drive under the bridge. From the sidewalk north of the “Met”, one follows the sidewalk into the park and crosses East Drive when traffic and the light permit. The sidewalk continues, leading into the Great Lawn.

M1, M2, and other buses run south and stops around 84th & 5th Ave while the 4, 5, or 6 subway stops at 86th & Lexington.

Once you arrive, walk north on the perimeter sidewalk around the Great Lawn. We'll be at the top, or maybe a little further east.

This map indicates meeting places relative to the Great Lawn, Central Park. The red circle indicates our primary meeting place. There are some events where the horizon is more favorable when observed from the blue circles, for example lunar eclipses from Turtle Pond Observatory.



A Google map

View Larger Map

One of them nights

Session name: 20080831.1950

I'm easy to please. The ingredients of last night combined to make for a greater experience than the sum of its parts. There was proper mix of friendly interested people, clear skies, lube in my joints, and sky full of celestial gems. A fine recipe for joy.

I arrived at TotL shortly after sunset. As passersby looked on at the Teleport reflector with curiosity and amazement. Responding to questions of "What is it?", I anticipated the next question with a finger pointing to Jupiter, shining in civil twilight. I continued setting up the scope while people stopped and gathered round. I see others point to the sky and announce Jupiter is there in the southeast. Infectious!

In what seemed like moments we began to point out brighter stars appearing in the twilight sky, a sky brightness that pedestrians could mistake for daytime. As the number of stars increased so did the crowd of people standing around. As Earth rotated to the east the Sun continued descending below the horizon. The sky darkened. Antares appeared in our South, Vega cramped our necks when we looked to zenith, and Arcturus, the brightest star of early summer sky, sets to our west. To our good fortune, the night sky was clear and transparent.

There are scales that observers describe transparency, atmospheric clarity, however, I assess our night skies with a subjective test. I look to the south from TotL, a skyscape (the picture under the blog's title) punctuated with light pollution. If I see entire constellations culminating above the CitiGroup Building or just above Times Square and the obnoxious light cones from the usual suspects radiate dimly and sharply up the sky, then I judge the sky to be very, very good.

I didn't wait long for the scope cool down before offering views to the pedestrians. Unlike the visual acuity of experienced observers, casual observers do not require the fidelity of a perfectly tuned instrument. In just 10 minutes of setting up, the scope turned on Jupiter, we were fortunate to see in addition to the four moons of Jupiter and the two equatorial belts, Io's shadow transit on the edge on the northern equatorial belt. Not everyone was able to confidently detect it, but those that did see it stated so with confidence and certainty.

This evening Scorpius is entirely visible from the 3 vertical stars of its head through Antares to the east down along the curve of the body and tail to the Stingers. If your scope is pointed in this direction, have a look at one of my favorite open clusters, NGC6231, in the Table of Scorpius. For New Yorkers, it doesn't rise high in the sky because of its southern declination at -41.48°.

East of Scorpius, I see the entire Teapot and Teaspoon, asterisms found in Sagittarius. Jupiter is the bright drip falling from the Teaspoon. Later in the evening when their times arrive the fainter constellations, Capricornus harbors Neptune (very easy starhop!) and Aquarius hosts Uranus, rise above the trees challenged by the sky brightness. With moderate effort one can find the brighter stars and trace each constellation. Realize their size in the open sky and shrug off that NYC claustrophobic nag.

It's not an exaggeration to say that about 3 dozen people passed through, most in groups of 3 - 5 people. Of course, Jupiter was the highlight and both Tom & I offered views from bins and scope. For those that stayed for a while, like trio Sean, Jonas, & Carol, I showed other objects including Albireo, Ring Nebula, Andromeda Galaxy & M32, and a bunch of open clusters along the line of Perseus and Cassiopeia.

At the end of busy evening, I stand before a familiar sky filled with an overwhelming feeling of joy. I stood alone in the middle of the Central Park. Not afraid. Crickets' chirps mingle the constant hum of cicadas. I ignore the bright strret lamps around me the brilliant buildings to my back. The Fall sky rises from northern Manhattan. I flatter myself thinking of amazed pedestrians telling others of the worlds they saw. I remember how I would end evenings just like this with other Team TotL'ers. I remember that in a month I celebrate 5 years of observing from around the Great Lawn. Despite the absence of Ben, Charlie, and Kin, the night sky from TotL elicits a sense of unmatched joy.

May 2008 observations from Central Park

This month there were many opportunities at the Top of the Lawn where more than a hundred people would get views of our sky. Mercury, Mars, Saturn, and our Moon have been the dominant objects. Diversions to nearby doubles and bright deep sky objects offered variety to the pedestrians' visual palate.

Saturn continues to be the dominant object that stirs the general public. These past days, one looks high in the manhattan-southwest sky to see an obvious pair of stars; the upper, brighter "star" is Saturn. The star below and west of Saturn is the alpha star of Leo, Regulus. Most are just as surprised that one can see Saturn (or anything else for that matter) in the city sky without a telescope , as well as see the rings and moons in the telescope.

A Darker View describes people's reaction to observing Saturn. Anyone who has shared the eyepiece to offer peeks at Saturn will agree that there is a personal joy that you touched someone; their reaction is the immediate satisfaction. The reward actually belongs to that observer.

Mars has been another delight. Easy to locate as lone, reddish star, Mars sits almost halfway between Castor/Pollux pair and Saturn/Regulus pair. The red planet just passed through the heart of Cancer offering a splendid view of our neighbor superposed on M44, an open cluster some 577 light years distant. (On a separate observing session, I observed the motion of Mars against the background stars, an exciting first!)

Many who passed last night spoke of the Phoenix landing on the surface of Mars. (Bravo to the talent that makes these missions successful!) Through cirrus and alto stratus clouds we observed Mars at one side of the 2° field of view and the entire open cluster M44 on the other side. Since Mars is small and far from Earth in its orbit around the Sun, it appears as a small reddish disk at magnifications 63x & 12ox. Lately, I show to passersby a map of Mars on the Palm T3 using Brian Tung's Mars Map.

Placing the scope a little east of TotL proper, our western horizon improves where Mercury sets with Taurus. The tree line from this perspective offers convenient landmarks that are easy to describe and guide the pedestrians to locate Mercury relative to the crowns of the trees. Many saw Mercury for their time and just as many have forgotten - or didn't realize - that Messenger mission flew by Mercury earlier this year on its first pass of three before an orbital insertion around Mercury in 2011.

Earlier in the month many of us watched the beautiful crescent Moon set with Mercury attending by her side. I wonder how many would have noticed this spectacle if a telescope set up on the sidewalk didn't prompt their curiousity an ddesire to know what's up in the sky.

Look up after midnight to see the waxing moon rise. Recently, Jupiter, in Sagittarius, rose above our ciyy skyline about 8° west northwest of the Moon.

If it's a clear weekend night, stop by the Great Lawn to observe these and other fantastic objects.

Astronomy in NYC

The beginning of agrowing list that outlines astronomy resources in and around the city.


Clubs
Amateur Astronomers Association (AAA)
www.aaa.org
NYC’s oldest astronomy organization with a diverse program of special interests.

NYSkies Astronomy Inc.
www.nyskies.org
The premiere support group for home astronomy in New York.

Public Outreach
AAA - Observing
http://www.aaa.org/index.aspx?lobid=936
The AAA described above conducts regularly scheduled public observing events across the boroughs of NYC. A fine gorup of people sharing optics and knowledge to gain an appreciation for observing the celestial objects in the sky..

Columbia University Observatory
www.astro.columbia.edu/outreach/
Columbuia U’s service to the general public with lectures and open dome nights. Sign up for email alerts.

Top of the Lawn
topofthelawn.blogspot.com
tags_p@yahoo.com
Informal group of dedicated amateur observers from the Great Lawn in Central Park. Most clear weekend nights around the northern perimeter.

Astronomical Observations
http://starsights.blogspot.com/
A NYC amateur observer that takes to the street often - day & night - and records his observations with a analytical eye.

Museums
Hayden Planetarium
http://haydenplanetarium.org/
A beloved institution that operates within the new Rose Center for Earth and Space of the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH). Regularly scheduled programs and special events. In general, AMNH regular exhibits spans many science disciplines.

Retailers
Adorama
http://www.adorama.com/
A retailer that has earned my trust, confidence, and loyalty. The Astronomy dept on the fifth floor is operated by Mike Peoples, an amateur astronomer friendly to amateur astronomers and enthusiasts. Seasoned or new - a first stop before any other.

B&H Photo
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/
A large retailer that many use for astronomy and photography supplies. If you know what you want you'll find great value. If you prefer one-n-one and some attention, look to Adorama.

2nd Annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night

Looking up at the International Space Station

Session name: 20080412.1930
Location: Central Park, Great Lawn perimeter sidewalk along the south side. Common name is Turtle Pond Observatory (TPO).
Hosts: Tom C. with Fujinon 17x60 binoculars & myself with Takahashi FS102, 4" refractor
Number of passersby: ~100 persons, very possibly more; steady stream persisted for about an 60 ~ 90 minutes.
Object highlights in telescope and binoculars: Moon, Saturn
Object highlights naked eye: Zodiac, constellations, planets, ISS

The International Sidewalk Astronomy Night (ISAN) for the second year in a row was a treat to all who passed by in Central Park. Most of the effort in organizing the global event for ISAN originates with the Hollywood-based Sidewalk Astronomers organization; however, leadership and membership span the globe.

Tom Clabough & I shared views of solar system objects (Moon, Saturn, & Mars) to some 100+ people. We described planetary motions, relative positions, and answered many, many questions shot out from the crowd. We acknowledged their fascination and awe when they looked at Saturn with disbelief, when they scanned their eyes across the Moon's dramatic face. The International Space Station was a cool event that all could see while marveling at the hand of man. Other times, while waiting in line for the eyepiece, we presented tours of the constellations of the Spring and early Summer skies, tracing out the brighter star.

To say that this event was fun and rewarding is an understatement. This second year in a row that Tom & I held court at Turtle Pond Observatory (TPO) reinforces how satisfying public outreach can be to hosts and visitors. Tom attended with his tripod-mounted 16x70 Fujinon binoculars and I brought the 4" refractor. The refractor with a diagonal is very handy to accommodate observers of all heights; a twist of the diagonal raises and lowers the eyepiece even to level of small children.

At various times, Tom & I performed sketches derived from the Night Sky Network (NSN) playbook to describe to the folks what they were seeing and help them synthesize it more readily by demonstration. Our extemporaneous activities were congruent with some of the lesson plans in the NSN Shadows & Silhouettes (Standing in the shadow of Earth, Why does the Moon Have Phases, Librations of the moon, and Observing the Moon). Key topics included concepts that described what is night, the Moon's phases and motions, and observing the Moon. Some were surprised to realize the Moon's far side receives light. Libration was favorable on the eastern limb so we spoke of the action and pointed out marial features along the limb.

I hadn't prepared any flyers but the NSN Moon Map could have come in handy. This year I did not prepare handouts or ISAN flyers. Next year I'll make a point to have them prepared early and ready prior to the scheduled night. A flyer provides ancillary information, a diversion while waiting, responds to some of the more frequently asked questions, and offers an opportunity to provide a message that persists beyond the shared moments under the dark sky.

Scouting for ISAN v.2 location

Columbus Circle, New York City.

Given its location and the amount of ambient light it is not all that bad for a northeastern to southeastern exposure. Central Park, the foreground when looking opposite this view, is favorable to a low horizon across that eastern view. Saturn and the Moon were unaffected by bright lights. Naked eye limiting magnitude is somewhere between 2.5 and 3.0. The killer is the subway beneath and perhaps all the street traffic that cause a great amount of scope shimmer and shake. For that very reason I'll abandon this spot for the second annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night on 12 April 2008.

Performance observing kit

This is my grab-n-go kit when I need a convenient, portable means to observe the heavens. By portable I mean easy to pack, light to carry, quick to setup and strike. This kit fits the bill 100% with very satisfying views, ranging from low power, wide field to greater magnification with a narrower field of view. It takes less than 5 minutes to pack everything up in the Kelty backpack which includes:

Takahashi 22x60 binoculars
Fujinon 7x50 binoculars
Thousand Oaks Solar Filter
Manfrotto/Bogen 410 on Manfrotto/Bogen 3221s
Karkoschka's Observer's Sky Atlas
Towels and bull dog clips
Observing accessories like red lamp, rubber bands, notebooks, sketching utensils, etc.


The Takahashi binoculars are both attractive and a terrific performer. Impressive optics and effective baffling provide high contrast views even for the the faint fuzzies on New York City skies. As noted in a recent post, M81 was clearly observed and M82 requiring averted vision and visual confidence, was detected in the field. On another recent outing, Saturn, his rings were discerned with 3 moons (Titan, Tethys, & Rhea) to boot.

The Takahashi's 2.1° field of view is narrow compared to other high power bins that offer in the area of 4°. yet, I really enjoy some particular views like Orion's Sword. This field of view nicely frames the entire region from the open cluster NGC 1981 past Orion's Nebula, M42, down to the multiple star, iota Ori. The Trapezium is resolved with clear, steady skies, components A & B separated by a mere 8.7 seconds of arc, amid the magnitude 5.4 brightness of nearby C-component. Initially, it looks like Mickey Mouse but closer inspection, one will discern the narrow valley of black between the A & B stars.

I don't think these are friendly bins for pedestrians because of the small exit pupil and short eye relief. It is important not to touch the tripod to limit any scope shake, however, people often hold the center post (maybe for balance). I remind them that if they see the stars or planets dancing, that releasing the tripod will steady the view.

The Fujinon 7x50 binoculars hang from my neck. Despite being heavy, these bins perform reliably and respectably. I use them to sweep the sky when looking for faint stars from which to starhop, scan the arm of the Milky Way for open clusters, pickup the brighter globular clusters, search for crescent Moons less than 24 hours from New Moon, and locate Venus during the day.

Larger stellar systems like Pleiades, Hyades, and Alpha Persei Association and asterism Kemble's Cascade, I prefer the 7½° wide field of view that gives some breathing room around these large objects.

These bins accompany me on every session.

I am a brand loyalist when I am satisfied with product quality, performance, and service. Concerning the list above, I own multiple products from Kelty, Takahashi, and Bogen. I also highly recommend the Fujinon brand as the bins have served me reliably since 2001 ~ 2002.
People often ask me how much all this "stuff" costs, but I rarely speak in dollars. Instead, I suggest they google the brand from home and emphasize that looks through the eyepieces are free.

2nd Annual ISAN & Yuri's Night

ISAN logo

12 April 2008 is the 2nd Annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night (ISAN), same day as Yuri's Night. Two celebrations, one for astronomy, another for manned space program.

19 May 2007 was last year's date but we were rained out here. The following day it cleared enough where a few groups set up around the city to hold the first annual International Sidewalk Astronomy Night from Central Park.

I haven't decided where I'll be this year. I'll coordinate with others,especially folks from AAA of NYC I may return to the south side of the Great Lawn but am considering a higher traffic area with good exposure from south to west. Moon, Mars, and Saturn will no doubt be the highlights. I'll post updates in the future.


Snipped from Yuri's Night '08
12 April 1961 marks mankind's first flight into space with Soviet cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin. 20 years later to the date the Space Shuttle was launched on her maiden flight, STS-1.

I attended the party at CUNY Graduate Center where Greg Olsen shared his experience with training and flight with the Russians to the ISS. I really enjoyed his presentation. Other speakers included astronaut Tom Henricks and mathematician Dr. Edward Belbruno. After the event, I picked up an autographed book from Ed Belbruno, Fly Me to the Moon.

Urban Starfest 2007

Session name: 20071110.1900

The skies were clear for Urban Starfest, an annual astronomy event organized by the Amateur Astronomers Association (AAA) and the Urban Park Rangers. Many of the AAA members showed up with their optics ranging from small to large. Refractors, reflectors, Schmidt-Cassegrain, and binoculars swinging from neck straps were shared with maybe 100 persons that passed through.

Jan Kratochvil shares photographs of the Urban Starfest 2007.

Comet Holmes was a popular object as a naked eye object and through various optics. Personally, I liked the 7x50 view which showed the comet right beside the Alpha Persei Association. I showed one person where to look and point the bins. After locating it they would pass the bins to someone else and tell them where and what to look for. Cries of "Eureka" marked off repeated successes. This would continue for half a dozen or more people at a time and at different times over the course of the session. (And I didn't lost my bins.)

Venus from Drip Rock

Session name: 20071021.1145

A warm Saturday afternoon at Drip Rock. Skies were clear and a light air, temp around 70° F. As has become custom, I was welcomed to the rock by a homeless women whom I have seen on recent sessions. Yards away down the slope of the rock before me were two young girls, one of them unclothed to her underwear to catch the rays of Sol. Unfortunately, she attracted the queer, perverted type of human nature. I made it clear he was not welcome in these parts but he remained. I thought this guy's a pro, definitely not a first-timer. I mentioned to one of the girls about the freak but she looked back and then shrugged him off.

The sky blue background were very clear that once I got my bearings where to look Venus glistened like a shard of glass wanting to be discovered.

When I arrived Venus was already began her descent being at altitude/azimuth ~ 235°/43°. Venus at magnitude -4.4 is in Leo one can expect to see the planet high in the sky as the early Spring ecliptic is still north of the celestial Equator. The sun is 46° east in Virgo.

Seeing was moderate but the light air was enough to shake the scope and the image when observing at 117x. It made it difficult to snap pictures using a 2x barlow with the Plossl 20mm eyepiece. With a size of 26.3" I could see the phase to be just shy of first quarter, slight horns still visible at the waxing tips. Along the sunrise terminator shows a softness in contrast to the crisp hard edge of the limb. In this phase it easy to draw a circle with the mind's eye completing the arc of the bright limb. Planetarium for the Palm reports the venetian phase at 93°44'. Next Saturday, Venus will be at first quarter and almost 2" smaller, and becoming smaller and smaller as she waxes to Full Venus.


Medium camera shot demonstrating how easy Venus is to see. Foreground objects can be of help to orient oneself in the sky, however, it is important to relax the eyes and let them focus to infinity and not the leaves.


A snapshot of Venus with a 35mm equivalent focal length of 3452mm = ( Focal length in 35mm * magnification) = (42.1mm * 82x).

distance

h.a. rey. find the constellations

A light year is 63,290 times as long as the distance from Earth to Sun.
A mile is 63,360 times as long as an inch.

image credit: wikipedia