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..

Update: due to a poor weather forecast, it doesn't look like this event will happen.

*** 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 ***

2	Last Quarter Moon at 9:46 UT.
3	Moon near Castor (morning sky) at 7h UT.
3	Moon near Pollux (morning sky) at 11h UT.
4	Moon near Beehive cluster M44 (morning sky) at 10h UT. • Beehive Cluster (Wikipedia) • M44: The Beehive Cluster (APOD)
5	Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 22:31 UT (366,392 km; angular size 32.6').
5	Moon near Regulus (morning sky) at 23h UT. • Regulus (Wikipedia)
9	New Moon at 3:47 UT. Start of lunation 1185. • Lunation Number (Wikipedia)
10	Moon near Venus (evening sky) at 22h UT. Mag. −4.4. • Venus (Wikipedia)
11	Moon near Jupiter (evening sky) at 23h UT. Mag. −1.8. • Jupiter (Wikipedia)
13	Moon near Antares (evening sky) at 6h UT.
15	Moon near Saturn (evening sky) at 3h UT. Mag. 0.5. • Saturn (Wikipedia)
16	First Quarter Moon at 18:01 UT.
17	Moon at apogee (farthest from Earth) at 19h UT (distance 404,227 km; angular size 29.6').
18	Moon near Mars (evening sky) at 12h UT. Mag. −0.9. • Mars (Wikipedia)
21	Orionid meteor shower peaks. Arises from the debris field of Comet Halley. Active from October 2 to November 7. Produces very fast (66 km/sec), generally faint meteors (20 per hour). Radiant located near OrionÕs club asterism. Observe after midnight on night of 21/22. • Orionids (Gary Kronk) • Meteor Shower Calendar (IMO)
24	Full Moon at 16:46 UT. • Full Moon Names (Wikipedia)
26	Venus at inferior conjunction with the Sun at 14h UT. The brightest planet passes into the morning sky.
26	Moon near the Pleiades (morning sky) at 21h UT. • The Pleiades (Wikipedia)
27	Moon near Aldebaran (morning sky) at 13h UT. • Aldebaran (Wikipedia)
29	Mercury 3.1° SSW of Jupiter (22° from Sun, evening sky) at 7h UT. Mags. −0.2 and −1.7.
30	Moon near Castor (morning sky) at 12h UT.
30	Moon near Pollux (morning sky) at 17h UT.
31	Moon near Beehive cluster M44 (morning sky) at 16h UT. • Beehive Cluster (Wikipedia) • M44: The Beehive Cluster (APOD)
31	Last Quarter Moon at 16:41 UT.
31	Moon at perigee (closest to Earth) at 20:24 UT (370,204 km; angular size 32.3').

>>> 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)