WILLIAMS – The long range forecast shows mostly clear for the Friday night. So the star gazing sponsored by the Coconino County Astronomical Society should be good. The viewing will be held at the field on Route 66 across from Rod’s Steak House from 7 to 9 pm. Everyone is welcome to bring their own telescope or use their equipment for the viewing. You can even bring binoculars and the Society will show you how you can use them for some good viewing.
Category Archives: Coconino Astronomical Society
Coconino Astronomical Society star party tomorrow
WILLIAMS – The monthly Star Party sponsored by the Coconino Astronomical Society will be held tomorrow. The star gazing event will run from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the natural area across the street from Rod’s Steak House and the Laundry. Telescopes will be set up for everyone to enjoy, but you are welcome to bring your own and/or binoculars. They recommend a folding chair or blanket, as well.
Weather good for weekend events until Saturday
Photo – City of Flagstaff web site.
FLAGSTAFF, WILLIAMS – The National Weather Service long-range forecast shows mostly clear skies with cool temperatures for the heavenly viewing at the Glassburn Natural area across from the laundry and Rod’s Steak House on Railroad avenue. Everyone is welcome to come and take a peek through the telescopes set up by the Coconino Astronomical Society. The viewing starts at 7:30 and will end around 9:30.
Saturday there is a 10% chance of showers, but that is after 11 pm. Plenty of time to take the Art Walk sponsored by The Gallery in the Grand Canyon Hotel in downtown Williams. The walk along route 66 will begin at 6 pm and end at 9. Contact Kris or Tom Williams 928-635-3006 for more information.
The riders of the Queencreek Junior Rodeo might find it a bit wet on Sunday with a 20% chance of showers, but Saturday should be fine for the two day event. Saturday and Sunday the gates open at 8 am at the Bob Dean Rodeo grounds across the street from the Old Trails hardware store on Rodeo Road. The Queencreek Junior Rodeo Association is dedicated to providing a family environment in which children can obtain and develop basic rodeo skills. For more information contact Kelly Martin 928-899-2943 or visit www.qcjra.org
The chance of rain in Flagstaff on Sunday is 10% higher. The big event in Flagstaff, however, is their 12th annual Soar into Spring Kite Festival on Saturday. The event is free and open to the public from 11 am to 3 pm. The event is held at Foxglenn Park, 4200 Butler Avenue in Flagstaff. Most events are free, but there is a $3 wristband for certain rides, laser tag and other events.
There is always Marvelous Marv’s Private Grand Canyon Tour and the Bearizona Wildlife drive through park.
The forests are still open so hiking is available, but NO SMOKING is allowed in the forest due to dry conditions. In fact no smoking is technically allowed (except inside vehicles) at the Buckskinner park reservoir which is still open for fishing.
Also do not forget Sunday is Mother’s day. There are plenty of presents right here in Williams to get her. The Briar Patch provides flowers and gifts and the Route 66 Boutique just opened next door. Treats and Treasures has an assortment of candies and gifts, including coins for coin collectors, and features homemade ice cream. The Grand Canyon Coffee and Cafe, which just received an award from the Arizona Highways, will be open Sunday for breakfast and lunch. Pine Country and Rod’s Steak House will be open for Mother’s Day and on the east end of town is Twisters and Goldie’s Route 66 Diner.
Coconino Astronomical Society viewing May 9th.
Our source informed us late tonight that the viewing by the Coconino Astronomical Society is apparently next Friday, May 9 at the same times. There will be a slight interference from a sliver of sunlight, but it will be dark enough for some great viewing.
We apologize for any inconvenience this error may have caused.
You can do a sky viewing of your own at any time, however. You can see some pretty amazing things even with a simple pair of binoculars. You only have to travel as far as the Santa Fe Dam, for example, to find a dark enough area for a viewing.
You might even have a good viewing area in your back yard.
View the heavens Friday
You will not see this.
The Society held a viewing last month in the same location and hopes to make this a monthly event. Tourist and residents of Williams are invited to come tour the skies.
The group picked this day because the brightness of the moon will not interfere with the viewing of other heavenly bodies. The group donates their telescopes and time to interest people in the science of astronomy.
“Blood moon” all the rage tonight.
Schematic diagram of the shadow cast by the Earth. Within the central umbra shadow, the Moon is totally shielded from direct illumination by the Sun. In contrast, within the penumbra shadow, only a portion of sunlight is blocked. – Wikipedia
Coconino Astronomical Society flier from Fred Espanak’s web site.
NASA is even promoting a live stream of the event if it is too chilly for you or if the cloud coverage in your area causes a problem.
Coconino Astronomical Society flier from Fred Espanak’s web site.
According to NASA, seeing four complete lunar eclipses in a row is very rare. The skies were tetrad-free from 1600 to 1900. But in the 21st century, there will be many.
What’s even stranger is that Americans have a front row seat.
“The most unique thing about the 2014-2015 tetrad is that all of them are visible for all or parts of the USA,” NASA eclipse expert Fred Espenak told CNN.
According to the Society flier the eclipse can be viewed with the naked eye with no special equipment required. Binoculars might give a better view of the event.
An eclipse of the moon can only take place during the full moon phase when the moon passes through some portion of the shadow of the Earth. The shadow consists of two parts; the penumbra and umbra. It is when the moon passes through the umbra portion that the earth blocks all light from the sun. That is the type of eclipse we will see with the tetrad.
The event begins at about 10:58 tonight when a partial eclipse begins. The total eclipse should bet at 12:07 tomorrow morning. The moon will be eclipsed until around 1:25 with another partial eclipse ending at 2:33 am.
The Coconino Astronomical Society promotes taking advantage of the dark skies of Arizona to view astronomical events. They have a private, two-acre viewing area two-miles north of Williams provided for CAS members and their guests.
They group has recently been attempting to set up monthly viewing sessions inside Williams. Even within the lighted city the session this month provided remarkable views of Jupiter and four of the moons. Later in the summer Saturn will be visible including the amazing rings surrounding it.