Bootleg Astronomers

The Bootleg Astronomers are planning an informal ‘star party’ gathering the weekend of October 5th thru the 7th at their normal star party site at Green River. This will be an informal gathering, and will only be held if the weather forecast is good with at least one clear night for observing over the weekend. There will be no registration fee, no coffee or donuts served, and no door-prize raffle. Anyone attending will be expected to pay their own camping fee of $8 per camping unit, per night.

We MAY post a ‘Go / No-Go’ decision on this site a day or two prior, so keep an eye on this site...

*** 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 ***

1	Venus 1.2° SSW of Spica (evening sky) at 12h UT. Mags. −4.4 and 1.0.
2	Moon near the Pleiades (morning sky) at 9h UT. • The Pleiades (Wikipedia)
3	Moon near Aldebaran (morning sky) at 2h UT. • Aldebaran (Wikipedia)
3	Last Quarter Moon at 2:38 UT.
6	Moon near Castor (morning sky) at 0h UT.
6	Moon near Pollux (morning sky) at 4h UT.
7	Moon near Beehive cluster M44 (morning sky) at 2h UT. • Beehive Cluster (Wikipedia) • M44: The Beehive Cluster (APOD)
8	Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 1:24 UT (361,351 km; angular size 33.1').
8	Moon near Regulus (morning sky) at 14h UT. • Regulus (Wikipedia)
9	New Moon at 18:02 UT. Start of lunation 1184. • Lunation Number (Wikipedia)
12	Moon near Spica (evening sky) at 8h UT. • Spica (Wikipedia)
12	Moon near Venus (evening sky) at 22h UT. Mag. −4.5. • Venus (Wikipedia)
14	Moon near Jupiter (evening sky) at 5h UT. Mag. −1.9. • Jupiter (Wikipedia)
15	Moon near Antares (evening sky) at 21h UT. • Antares (Wikipedia)
16	First Quarter Moon at 23:15 UT.
17	Moon near Saturn (evening sky) at 17h UT. Mag. 0.4. • Saturn (Wikipedia)
20	Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 1h UT (distance 404,876 km; angular size 29.5').
20	Moon near Mars (evening sky) at 5h UT. Mag. −1.6. • Mars (Wikipedia)
21	Mercury at superior conjunction with the Sun at 2h UT. The elusive planet passes into the evening sky.
23	September equinox at 1:54 UT. The time when the Sun reaches the point along the ecliptic where it crosses into the southern celestial hemisphere marking the start of autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and spring in the Southern Hemisphere. • Equinox (Wikipedia)
25	Full Moon at 2:54 UT. • Full Moon Names (Wikipedia)
25	Venus at its brightest at 4h UT. Mag. −4.6.
29	Venus 13.8° WSW of Jupiter (35° and 46° from Sun, evening sky) at 0h UT. Mags. −4.6 and −1.8.
29	Moon near the Pleiades (morning sky) at 14h UT. • The Pleiades (Wikipedia)
30	Moon near Aldebaran (morning sky) at 7h UT. • Aldebaran (Wikipedia)

>>> 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)