Volunteer Network Provides Ringside Seat to Saturn

MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY
CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
PASADENA, CALIF. 91109 TELEPHONE (818) 354-5011
http://www.jpl.nasa.gov

Carolina Martinez (818) 354-9382
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

News Release: 2005-040 March 7, 2005

Volunteer Network Provides Ringside Seat to Saturn

Experiencing Saturn through a telescope for the first time is a
feast for the eyes. NASA's Cassini mission to Saturn is helping
people savor the view by coordinating a network of people and
telescopes around the globe to help others see the ringed giant.

The Cassini Saturn Observation Campaign includes more than 380
volunteers located in 44 U.S. states and 50 countries. During
the past year, Saturn Observation Campaign members held nearly
800 events for more than 108,000 people from all ages and walks
of life, including students, teachers and curious members of the
public.

"I hosted a free public family show at our tiny school
planetarium, and 150 enthusiastic viewers endured standing-room-
only conditions just to get a glimpse of the program," said Bess
Amaral, Saturn Observation Campaign member from St. Mark's School
of Dallas. "The frosting on the cake was the entire group stayed
for the telescope observation session of Saturn and Comet
Machholz. Even though the line was huge at the observatory and
the weather freezing, no one wanted to miss seeing Saturn and
becoming part of astronomical history."

On weekend evenings, on a crowded sidewalk in Pasadena, Calif.,
you can find a crowd of people gathered near a large telescope or
two, lining up for a peek. At the front of one line is Jane
Houston Jones, a devoted amateur astronomer, focusing a telescope
on Saturn. Jones is the Saturn Observation Campaign coordinator
for the Cassini-Huygens mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion
Laboratory, also in Pasadena.

"People are speechless when they first see Saturn with their own
eyes. Everyone says 'wow,' and this means I hear 'wow' in many
languages here in Pasadena," said Jones. Some people can't
believe they are seeing the real thing, and accuse me of placing
a tiny picture in the telescope. Some people actually cry with
joy. I can connect with their emotions because Saturn was the
first object I looked at through my very first home-made
telescope many years ago."

When the Cassini spacecraft arrived at Saturn on June 30, 2004,
the ringed planet had just disappeared from the nighttime view.
But Saturn is now back in the evening skies and looks like a pale
golden glow in the winter sky.

The best viewing this year will last through April 2005. In May,
Saturn will dip lower in the sky, and by late June it will be
lost in the glare of the setting Sun. The rings are now open
wide, and even though the tilt of the rings has been decreasing
since 2003, this year still offers a splendid view. With a small
telescope you can see many features like the rings, the big gap
between the rings and maybe even some storms or spots on the
planet.

Saturn Observation Campaign members are provided with outreach
resources, mission announcements, observation tips and
techniques, and educational material.

"We take NASA's science from space exploration and translate it
into something designed for local communities," added Alice
Wessen, manager of solar system outreach at JPL. "Our Saturn
Observation Campaign members know their backyards and NASA knows
space. Together we share this experience with the community."

The program is much more than a sidewalk road show. "We partner
schools or classes with one of our members who will help them
plan an event," added Wessen. "First, we locate the Saturn
Observation Campaign member closest to the school. Then we
provide them with the materials on the mission. These activities
are aligned with national science education standards and can be
used in formal classroom settings."

To contact a Saturn Observation Campaign member in your area
check the Web site at http://soc.jpl.nasa.gov/members.cfm . The
site also has an online application for interested applicants, as
well as prime viewing opportunities for the ringed giant planet.

For the latest images and information about the Cassini-Huygens
mission, visit http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov and
http://www.nasa.gov/cassini .

The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative mission of NASA, the
European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet
Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of
Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Office of
Space Science, Washington, D.C. The Cassini orbiter was
designed, developed and assembled at JPL.

- end-

Already been showing off Saturn since it got high enough to see.

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond

BTW, that sign up page is closed too.

wrote in message
oups.com...
MEDIA RELATIONS OFFICE
JET PROPULSION LABORATORY