Month: June 2019

Watch the July 2 total solar eclipse via live stream or NASA TV

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Photo: August 21, 2017 total solar eclipse. Credits: NASA/Gopalswamy
The corona, a region of the Sun only seen from Earth when the Moon blocks out the Sun’s bright face during total solar eclipses. The corona holds the answers to many of scientists’ outstanding questions about the Sun’s activity and processes. This photo was taken during the total solar eclipse on Aug. 21, 2017. Credits: NASA/Gopalswamy

Be sure to be watching July 2 at 4:00 PM EDT as the total solar eclipse is presented live from Chile, via San Francisco’s Exploratorium. You will not be able to directly see the eclipse from the USA; the total solar eclipse will be visible from a narrow part of the South Pacific Ocean, Chile, and Argentina.

The Exploratorium will be bringing the total solar eclipse to you, no matter where you are. The have sent a team to Chile to broadcast from within the path of totality. Enjoy this full, unnarrated view of the eclipse from the telescopes at the National Science Foundation’s Cerro Tololo Observatory.

Live Telescope View – Not Narrated:
https://www.exploratorium.edu/video/total-solar-eclipse-live-july-2-2019

Live Coverage – Broadcast Style:
https://www.exploratorium.edu/video/total-solar-eclipse-2019-live-coverage

NASA has partnered with the Exploratorium to provide the coverage which it will livestream: three views via separate players on the agency’s website (all times EDT):

  • Live views from telescopes in Vicuna, Chile, without audio, from 3 to 6 PM
  • A one-hour program with live commentary in English, from 4 to 5 PM
  • A one-hour program with live commentary in Spanish, from 4 to 5 PM

NASA Television will also carry the English-language program on its public channel. Both programs will feature updates from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe and Magnetospheric Multiscale missions.

July 13: Two favorite sights… The Moon and Jupiter

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Jupiter and its Galilean Moons as they will appear the night of July 13, 2019. Labels for Ganymede and Io overlap. Simulation via "Gas Giants".
Jupiter and its Galilean Moons as they will appear the night of July 13, 2019. Labels for Ganymede and Io overlap. Simulation via “Gas Giants”.

 

WRAP-UP: We played peek-a-boo through clouds with Moon and Jupiter all evening. When they first became visible from behind neighboring trees, viewing of our Moon and the planet was fair to poor. As time passed and the atmosphere settled down, seeing became better and late visitors were treated to excellent views of Moon and fair to good views of Jupiter with his four Galilean Moons and even the Great Red Spot (GRS). In fact, just before we closed for the night, the GRS showed not just as a thickening in the Southern Equatorial Band but as a definite shape with red coloration! Saturday’s was not the best view we’ve had of Jupiter but in the end, it was pretty good. Thanks to the 34 visitors who came out on a muggy and buggy night to enjoy the sights!

Stephens Memorial Observatory of Hiram College will host a Public Night Saturday, July 13, from 9:30 to 11:00 PM. On the observing list are two Stephens favorites: Earth’s Moon, and planet Jupiter with its moons. Other objects of interest may also be viewed using the Observatory’s 1901 vintage telescope. Given good viewing conditions, organizers say, the telescope delivers outstanding detail of the Moon and impressive views of Jupiter including, when it’s in position as it will be July 13, the planet’s Great Red Spot feature.

Organizers hope for clear skies since recent weather conditions have made scheduled observing impossible. Cloudy skies at the scheduled starting time cancel the event in which case, the observatory will not open. No reservations are required and there is no admission fee for observatory public nights.

The Observatory is located on Wakefield Road (Rt. 82) less than a quarter of a mile west of Route 700 in Hiram. There is no parking at the Observatory. Visitors may park on permissible side streets near the Post Office, a short distance east of the observatory.

Updates on programming are available via the Observatory’s Twitter feed: @StephensObs or its website: StephensObservatory.org.

Obituary: Former director Jerry Jackson

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Photo: Gerald ‘Jerry’ Eugene Jackson
Gerald ‘Jerry’ Jackson

GARRETTSVILLE – Gerald ‘Jerry’ Eugene Jackson, 68, of Garrettsville died on June 9, 2019. He was curator/director of Stephens Memorial Observatory of Hiram College from 1997 to 2006.

He was born on March 23, 1951, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Hugh and Esther (Ostien) Jackson.

He is survived by his wife, Margie Jackson of over 41 years (married September 17, 1977), daughters, Kelly Wood, Heather Stieglitz, Erin Jackson, Katie Atchison, and Molly Jackson; his grandchildren, Jacob, Ryan, and Joshua Wood, and Madeline and Jonah Stieglitz; brothers, Hugh, Bill, and Dale Jackson; sister, Patricia Hrabak; many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews; and brothers- and sisters-in-law. Jackson was preceded in death by his parents, Hugh and Esther Jackson.

Jackson retired after 37 years of work from Environmental Growth Chambers in Chagrin Falls. He was a Staff Sergeant in the United States Air Force (1969-1973) and a Vietnam War Veteran. He was a life member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5067 and 3rd Degree member of the Knights of Columbus Council 11801 in Garrettsville. He was an active member of Saint Ambrose Catholic Church since 1982 where he has served as an usher and council member and enjoyed helping out with events.

Jackson loved astronomy, and he enjoyed teaching his daughters, grandchildren, and the community about the night sky. He was a former long-time member of the Mahoning Valley Astronomical Society having served the club in a number of positions including as president for many years. Jackson was a member of the Antique Telescope Society, and volunteered as director at the Hiram College observatory where he gave tours and maintained the facility’s 1901 vintage telescope. He left the observatory position in 2006.

Jackson together with his wife, Margie, loved to travel. They frequently visited their children and grandchildren from North Carolina to Alaska and took many cruises. Jerry was an avid Pittsburgh sports fan.

Please join Jerry’s family for a memorial visitation on Sunday, June 16, 2019, from 2-4 PM at Mallory-DeHaven-Carlson Funeral Home & Cremation Services; 8382 Center St.; Garrettsville. Mass of Christian burial to be held on Monday, June 17, 2019, at 1 PM at St. Ambrose Catholic Church; 10692 Freedom St.; Garrettsville. Burial to be held on Tuesday, June 18, 2019, at the Ohio Western Reserve National Cemetery; 10175 Rawiga Road; Seville, Ohio 44273.

Online condolences at www.carlsonfuneralhomes.com

This item adapted from a Carlson Funeral Homes obituary published in the Record-Courier, June 13, 2019.