Celestial Sightings

Just about every evening before going to bed, I take a moment to look at the stars. While the weather isn’t always agreeable, when it’s clear there’s always something worth seeing.  Last Sunday, for example, there was the beautiful sight of Jupiter and the neighboring crescent moon closely paired together.

Tomorrow night, be on the lookout for the waning moon (after all, yesterday was the worm moon — the first full moon in March) sandwiched between Spica and Saturn. You will be able to find the moon midway between the star and the planet, which are currently 17° apart.

Spica will be the white star to the moon’s upper right and Saturn will be more creamy-colored down to the moon’s lower left. Because such a full moon would usually wash out anything in its near vicinity, this degree of separation will actually help the casual observer spot the trio. It will be easiest to spot this celestial arrangement in the southeast after 11 p.m.

Spica is the brightest star in the constellation Virgo

Light from the moon, reflected from the sun, takes only 1.25 seconds to reach the earth. The light from Saturn, 830 million miles away, takes about 74 minutes. However, the light from Spica, a 1^st magnitude blue giant, takes about 260 years to finally reach our eyes. So be aware that the light you'll see left the brilliant star well before the American Revolution.

For more on lunar occulations — and the best time to see this trio in your area — check out details here.

Pi Art in the Sky

If you look up into the sky today in the SF Bay Area, you will see skywriting planes creating an art installation called "Pi in the Sky."  What is this?  Why pi?

This artistic presentation of sky calligraphy will be the world's largest ephemeral art installation. Five synchronized planes will draw the first 1000 digits of the infinite sequence of pi (π, 3.14…), the ratio of a circle's circumference to its diameter.

Though created by an SF-based artist (ISHKY) as a community-building civic art experience, this event also provides an interesting educational opportunity, reminding us of the importance of math and science in our lives.

It is supported by piZone.org, a crowd-source resource that uses pi to educate and engage students and the public to become more interested in math and science with interactive games, educational videos, activities/demos, and pi art.  For more information, see the press release here.

We invite you to pi-ticipate!

Share the pi with people in the Bay Area and beyond.


Estimated Flight Times and Cities

San Jose  ~11:30
Oakland   ~12:00
San Francisco   ~12:10
Palo Alto       ~12:30
San Jose        ~12:40

Closure of 70 of California's State Parks

The First 70 Trailer from Heath Hen Films on Vimeo.

On July 1st, up to 70 of California’s 279 state parks may be closed due to budget cuts enacted by the Governor and Legislature. This closure will affect 25% of California's beautiful parks will erode the state’s commitment and legacy to irreplaceable natural, cultural, and historic resources. Additionally, closing state parks will impact California’s travel and tourism industry and reduce much-needed revenues for local businesses. As the parks are shut down they will no longer be considered in the state's eyes as an asset, which will allow for lobbyists to push to have state protection of the parks removed. This will allow for timber, mining, and real estate interests to purchase bits of the parks. Although this will profit them immensely, it will devastate the national landmarks and leave the land ravaged.