Continued from previous message.

August. Do check at the NSS website, www.nssnyc.org.
    Amateur Observers Society inaugurates its new meeting venue in 
September at Nassau Community College. It formerly convened at 
Freeport Memorial Library. 

Skywatching
 ---------
    The miserable clouds and rain continued unabated all thru August, 
with few clear evenings for skywatching. Never the less, NYSkiers did 
inspect Mars when they could, and delighted to the large disc, polar 
caps, and maria. Dust storms from June and July stayed small and did 
not globally cover the planet. 
    With Mars now edging away from us, having rounded perigee (yes, it 
WAS technicly that!) or proximity on August 27th, it is now front and 
center in the evening sky. Still large and bright, it'll shines on us 
thru next spring. For the general public NOW is really the easiest and 
best time to see the planet! 
    The monster electric blackout suffered by many northeast states 
and parts of Quebec and Canada, revealed for the City no magnificent 
star-filled sky. The day was an extra-hazy one, blanketing all but the 
brightest stars. On the other hand, the sky in the eastern part of the 
City had a thinner haze and some NYSkiers there did spot parts of the 
summer Milky Way. 
    However, the night of Sat-Sun 23-24 August was the clearest
darkest nights of all summer. A cold front sweeped thru, bringing
a sparkling star-studded sky. No Milky Way sightings, but many of the 
dimmer constellations were discernible.
    Since the 24th, there were several clearish evenings, allowing Mars 
watches around the City to show fascinating views of the planet to 
hundreds of visitors each. Do remember that Mars is still in September 
awfully close to Earth, with a large disc and good surface texture. 
Keep watching it! 

Special Events 
 ------------
    The Museum extended its SuperSaver all-in-one ticket into at least 
fall of 2003. Note that the price is bumped up to $29. 
    The Museum reopens its Gem & Mineral Hall and Hall of Meteorites 
after a renovation on 20 September 2003. Ahnighito is still in place 
where it was, on stilts reaching to Manhattan bedrock, with its sister 
displays all redone and updated. 
    We had a surprise fabulous show 'Centennial of Flight' by General 
Electric and NASA in Rockefeller Plaza. The show was three blocks 
long, 48th to 50th St, in outdoor and tent sections. And it was free!      
              
    The exhibit commemorated the 100th anniversary of powered human 
flight and peeked into its future. There were dozens of real or 
replica historic planes and space vehicles, lots of pictures and 
videos, mockups of Mars rover, Shuttle cockpit, and solar sail.  
Smaller displays were set up in the lobbies of towers fronting the 
plaza and in stores on the Fifth Av flank of the campus. The Channel 
Gardens were made into a scale 'tabletop' model of the Wright Brothers 
flight at Kitty Hawk. 
    It opened in late July but I learned of it after last months NYC 
Events. Notice was quickly posted into NYSkies, so there was very 
little lost days for its members. It was also a 'CLICK' item in 
NYSkies's calendar. 
    The remaining megaevent is the DNA show at Science Industry 
Business Library on Madison Avenue, 34th and 35th St. You can do it 
within lunch. Centerpiece is the replica of the original DNA model 
built by Watson and Crick, all spread out in a giant 'specimen jar'.
    The last event on the list, for October 4th, is the American Urban 
Star Fest in Central Park's Sheep Meadow. This is the nation's most 
festive and romantic of starparties, despite its setting in the middle 
of manhattan. More details next month, but reserve the date now. 

New York
 ------
    The talk of the town is the blackout, hitting the City at 16:10 
EDST on August 14th. It pulled the plug on the Recent Astronomy 
Seminar that evening! All NYSkiers reached home or other haven safely, 
tho often exhausted and tired. I myself knitted a four-bus ride and a 
walk over Brooklyn Bridge in 4-1/2 hours. 
    The New York Public Library, serving Manhattan, the Bronx, and 
Staten Island, continues accepting donations of books to fill the gap 
in budget for book purchases. Unneeded astronomy, science, maths, and 
other books can be brought to any of the Library's local branches. 
Some branches have collection bins for these books. 
    Darksky advocates are going bunkers over a new first-ever 
revelation. They (and any one else) can visit Governors Island!! This 
1/2 square kilometer dot within musket shot of the Battery was for 
almost all of New York history a military base. The final occupant, 
the Coast Guard moved out a few years ago and the land was surplused 
to the City. What to do with it? 
    Several plans are in hand but now it's  time for you, the 
astronomer, to get involved. To assist and promote public involvement, 
the City starting in late July is running free tours on Thursdays, 
Fridays, and Saturdays at 10:00 and 13:00  thru end of September. 
    During August, probably no darksky advocates took the tour, due to 
the hit-and-run rainy weather. This dissuaded me, too, so far. 

 Continued in next message.

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