Continued from previous message.


What to see
 ---------
    It so happens this year the the bright classical planets are 
either in the morning sky or too much in line with the Sun. There also 
is no evening Moon! 
    We check out Uranus and Neptune, unknnown to the ancient 
astronomers. They were found by telescope, Uranus in the 18th century 
and Neptune in the 19th. They'll be small dots in the scopes, perhaps 
with a green or cyan tint. 
    Depending on the weather and your interest, we'll  demonstrate 
double stars, clusters of stars, a galaxy, and -- yes! -- stars with 
their OWN planets around them. No, you will NOT actually spot the 
planets temselfs, The stars look quite ordinary, but you can imagine 
the creatures up there looking back at us. The Fest closes with a peek 
at the Pleiades coming up over the trees in the east at 23h. 
    If we're lucky, we may get a crossing of the International Space 
Station and a flash from one of the Iridium satellites. We'll know 
better a couple days before the Fest because satellite orbits can 
change on short notice. 

Getting to the Fest
 -----------------
    The closest subway stations to the Fest are
  57th St (Carnegie Hall) - BMT Broadway 
  57th St (Central Park South) - IND 6th Av 
  59th St (Columbus Circle) - IRT 7th Av and IND 6th & 8th Av 
  66th Street (Lincoln Center) - IRT 7th Av 
  72nd St (Dakota) - IND 6th & 8th Av 
    Buses run in Broadway, 9th Av, Columbus Av, 8th Av, Central Park 
West, 59th/60th  St, Central Park South, 66th/67th St, and 57th St. 
    There is no provision for cars at the Fest. The American Urban 
Star Fest is unique among major public astronomy events for having 
virtually all of its visitors arrive by transit or foot. 

How much is it 
 ------------
    The American Urban Star Fest is totally free of charge to all 
visitors. Just ome into Sheep Meadow and the stars are yours. The 
sponsors, and contributors, cover all the costs, 

Are we for real?
 --------------
    You will not find the American Urban Star Fest in the usual lists 
of starparties. We got no true 'dark' skies. No camping or tenting. No 
singalongs or skits.  No contests or prizes. No vendors or showcases. 
No lectures and workshops. No gigantic telescopes. No 'famous' 
stargazers or writers or speakers. 
    Yet we draw the largest attendance of any regularly scheduled 
public astronomy event in the nation (except, of course, for special 
vents like eclipses and major comets). Try a few thousand. 
    Why?
    Because we offer the epitome of urban home astronomy, a star 
sprinkled sky over the star sprinkled skyline. 
    And it's all yours for free. 
    Come to the American Urban Star Fest.

---
 þ RoseReader 2.52á P005004