August NYC Events 5/ 7

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Amer Mus Natl Hist - MH - Amat Astro Assn lecture -
Centerport - LI- clearsky starviewing - www.asliclub.org
Columbia Uv - MH - public night - www.astro.columbia.edu/~observe
Freeport - LI - Amat Obsrs Soc meeting - www.aosny.org
Floyd Bennett Fd - BK - clearsky starviewing - Steve Lieber 718-474-4851
Middletown - NJ - S*T*A*R meeting - www.starastronomy.org
Morristown - NJ - Morris M A A mtg - members.tripod.com/mmastrosociety
Old Westbury - LI - Astro Soc of LI mtg - www.asliclub.org
Princeton - NJ - A A A of Princeton mtg - www.princetonastronomy.org
Stony Bk - LI - Astronomy Open Night - www.ess.sunysb.edu/astro
York Coll - QN - public night - natsci.york.cuny.edu/~yco

General news
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My list of events now in their off months is proving really
valuable! Not only does it alert readers to activities not running
each month, but it lets them contact the event operators to more
information.
Some events are within a property, typicly a museum, that has an
admission fee. The 'free' or '$xx' charge noted in NYC Events is that
AFTER getting into the host property.
Some parks where specific public sessions are held are also used
by stargazers on other dates under stipulations set by each park.
BEFORE availing of the park for such extra stargazing, learn from the
contact of these stipulations. If the park finds you on its grounds
outside of public sessions without satisfying its terms of use, you
may be removed from the property. This admonition is a fallout from
the ongoing revision of access to various lands across the country.
The calendar section in NYSkies website is now a reminder sheet,
leaving out the details of the events, because NYC Events and that
calendar now are essentially congruent. More over, many NYSkiers lack
web service, but NYC Events is emailed to all NYSkiers. Print the
calendar in landscape mode to avoid clipping off the far right days.
When a new event is noticed, I enter it in the calendar with
'(CLICK)'. That tells you it's not in NYC Events and there are details
and a contact behind your click.

Skywatching
---------
The fabled Manhattan Stonehenge effect occurs each year around 30
May and 11 July, with a dayish swing due to atmosphere refraction and
calendar wander. Altho any town's straight street aligned within the
Sun's annual amplitude will feature this effect, that on Manhattan
captures the world's home astronomy awe. After all, you CAN NOT do
astronomy om Manhattan!!
A fuller explanation of the Stonehenge effect is in my paper, in
the NYSkies files section in \pazmino\stone-ny.txt'.
Many NYSkiers saw the sunset on 10 and 12 July, with the 11th
being cloudy. It cleared up later in the evening to reveal a
pleasantly starfilled sky. The Carl Schurz starviewing was a big hit
that night, specially after Mars rose at about 22:20. The dust storm
seemed to still be confined to one quadrant of the planet, allowing
visitors to see some of the Mars maria and polar cap.
The planet of the month -- of the year! -- is Mars. This
apparition has the closest proximity of Mars to Earth in human
history. Well, yes, but barely so. There were other close proximities
in the 20th century which were essentially no worse than this year's.
But, yes, seeing Mars this year puts you in history.

Special Events
------------
The Einstein exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History,
the largest and fullest of any Einstein ever, folded its tent on 27
July, after a eight=month run. The next stop on its national circuit
is the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago IL. The show opens
there on October 17th.
The Museum extended its SuperSaver all-in-one ticket into at
least fall of 2003. This was a brief promotion in late April, then
repeatedly extended. Note that the price is bumped up to $29.
The Museum closed its Gem & Mineral Hall and Hall of Meteorites on
May 4th for a renovation, with reopen on 20 September 2003. You can
water your Museum thirst in the meantime with the rebuilt Hall of
Ocean Life, opened on May 17th.
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'.

New York
------
With the municipal funding crunch, due to the reparations of World
Trade Center and the overall sluggish economy, a lot of cultural
facilities are restructuring their events. Check with the favility
before making a major trip to some listed event. I include a contact
in the entry.
On July 27, the New York Public Library, serving Manhattan, the
Bronx, and Staten Island, started 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

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