Bootleg Astronomers

The Bootleg Spring Star Party is in the history books. We had observing opportunities on Thursday night and Friday night!

*** Due to the number of people doing imaging at the Bootleg Star Parties, Bootleg Management is indicating that Green Lasers will not be permitted starting one hour after sunset ***

Pre-registration deadline is Saturday, August 25th!!! So hurry and get your forms in the mail!

All forms must be postmarked no later than August 25th to qualify for early registration.

1	Moon near Saturn (morning sky) at 1h UT. Mag. 0.2.
2	Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 17h UT (distance 405,317 km; angular size 29.5').
3	Moon near Mars (morning sky) at 11h UT. Mag. −1.3. • Mars (Wikipedia)
6	Mercury at superior conjunction with Sun at 2h UT. The elusive planet passes into the evening sky.
6	Last Quarter Moon at 18:33 UT.
13	New Moon at 19:44 UT. Start of lunation 1181. • Lunation Number (Wikipedia)
14	Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 23:53 UT (359,503 km; angular size 33.2').
15	Moon near Pollux (evening sky) at 22h UT.
16	Moon near Venus (38° from Sun, evening sky) at 13h UT. Mag. −4.0.
16	Moon near Beehive cluster M44 (evening sky) at 20h UT. • Beehive Cluster (Wikipedia) • M44: The Beehive Cluster (APOD)
18	Moon near Regulus (evening sky) at 9h UT.
20	Venus 0.7° NNE of Beehive cluster (39° from Sun, evening sky) at 10h UT. Mag. −4.0.
20	First Quarter Moon at 10:51 UT.
21	June solstice at 10:07 UT. The time when the Sun reaches the point farthest north of the celestial equator marking the start of summer in the Northern Hemisphere and winter in the Southern Hemisphere. • June Solstice (Wikipedia) • Equinoxes and Solstices from Space (NASA)
22	Moon near Spica (evening sky) at 8h UT. • Spica (Wikipedia)
23	Moon near Jupiter (evening sky) at 21h UT. Mag. −2.4. • Jupiter (Wikipedia)
26	Moon near Antares (evening sky) at 1h UT. • Antares (Wikipedia)
27	Saturn at opposition (opposite the Sun) at 13h UT. The ringed planet is at its closest and brightest at Mag. +0.0. SaturnÕs rings are spectacular even in a small telescope. • Saturn (Wikipedia) • Opposition (Wikipedia)
28	Moon near Saturn (midnight sky) at 4h UT. Mag. 0.0. • Saturn (Wikipedia)
28	Full Moon at 4:53 UT. • Full Moon Names (Wikipedia)
30	Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 3h UT (distance 406,061 km; angular size 29.4').

>>> All times Universal Time (UT). USA Central Standard Time = UT-6 hours. (DST = UT-5 hrs,)

Zodiacal Light is caused by sunlight reflected off meteoric dust in the plane of the solar system. Choose a clear, moonless night, about 1-2 hours after sunset, and look for a large triangular-shaped glow extending up from the horizon (along the ecliptic). The best months to view the Zodiacal Light is when the ecliptic is almost vertical at the horizon: March and April (evening) and October-November (morning); times reversed for the southern hemisphere.
• Zodiacal Light (Wikipedia)
• Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD)
• Photographing the Zodiacal Light (Weatherscapes)