Bringing Astronomy to the Sidewalk
in Pasadena and Monrovia

Visitors to Old Town Pasadena enjoy views of the first-quarter Moon through Jane's 12.5-inch reflector telescope.

Being a Sidewalk Astronomer isn't really about “joining” anything — it‘s about embracing a philosophy and acting on it.

Ask John Dobson how he became interested in astronomy, and he‘ll answer, “I was born!” People have a natural fascination with the Sun, Moon, planets, and stars, but to most it‘s something they read about in a magazine or see on television.

We stop people on sidewalks and let them see the craters of the Moon, the moons of Jupiter, the rings of Saturn, or the spots on the Sun. For just a moment, they have a personal connection with the universe around them, and sometimes life seems a little better after that.

We call it “urban guerilla astronomy.”

What's Up home page from JPL

Upcoming Events

Many of our sidewalk events are planned only a few hours in advance. We will send a notice to our events email list on an afternoon when we plan to be observing.

That said, there are some patterns to when we can be found.

We typically set up telescopes in Pasadena on Colorado Blvd. somewhere between Fair Oaks and Pasadena Ave. on Friday evenings, and in Monrovia at Myrtle and Lime on Saturday evenings. For us to set up telescopes, the sky needs to be clear, there needs to be something to see (Moon, Jupiter, or Saturn), and we need to be available that evening.

Weather is always a factor. Our telescopes, big as they are, can not see through clouds. On an evening when we plan to be out observing, we will generally give it a try if there is a better than even chance that we'll get to view the Moon or planets. Occasionally a thin layer of haze will make the sky appear overcast, but the Moon will still show through.

There is never any charge to look through our telescopes.

May 2009

May will feature the moon and Saturn with a tiny thin ring.

Sidewalk Events for May 2009:

• Friday, May 29, 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., Colorado Blvd. near Delacey, Old Town Pasadena Clouded out
• Saturday, May 30, 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m., Myrtle & Lime, Old town Monrovia Clouded out

The first quarter moon weekend in July falls on July 3rd and 4th, so there will be no scheduled sidewalk astronomy in July as we all spend the holiday with families.

A bronze Mark Twain from Monrovia's Library Park studies the Moon Atlas with Jane.

Old Town Astronomers are part of JPL's Saturn Observation Campaign.

Dark Sky Star Parties

The Sidewalk Astronomers have a grand tradition of setting up telescopes in national parks over the summer. For many urban dwellers, an excursion to a national park is the only opportunity to see the Milky Way for themselves. A sky full of stars can be staggering to someone who lives under the L.A. light dome.

We love to get away from the city lights, and love to invite park visitors to spend a little quality night time under a star-filled sky with our telescopes. Jane and I love to set up our big telescopes in Joshua Tree, the Grand Canyon, and especially Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park.

Yosemite: One of the "best-kept secret" events at Yosemite National Park during the summer is the weekend star party at Glacier Point, high above the Yosemite Valley. The park invites a different club from Northern California to bring telescopes each weekend that isn't near a full Moon. Club members get a free campsite for the weekend, and park visitors get a free star party.

For a taste of the Glacier Point star parties, visit Mojo's photo album from 2002 with the San Jose Astronomical Association.

If you plan to visit Yosemite National Park in the summer, consider an evening at Glacier Point on a Friday or Saturday evening. Bring warm clothes and a picnic dinner, and enjoy the setting sun as it lights Half Dome from the stone amphitheater. Most clubs present a short slide talk on astronomy, and the ranger will do a constellation talk out at the point. Bring a flashlight to help see your way along the trails, but cover it with your hand so you get only as much light as required.

Here are the 2008 Yosemite Glacier Point Star Party dates.

Grand Canyon: Every June for a week, visitors to Grand Canyon National Park are able to enjoy beautiful telescope views and astronomy talks at the annual Grand Canyon Star Party. Astronomers travel from across the country to set up on both the North and South Rim visitor areas. It'll be held in 2008 from June 21-28.

Bryce Canyon Astronomy Festival, Utah: June 2007 was our first visit to this fabulous event. It'll be held in 2008 from June 25-28.

Joshua Tree: During the winter season, we're delighted to join the Andromeda Society of Yucca Valley, California, for their dark sky star parties in Joshua Tree National Park. Star parties are held in the Hidden Valley Picnic Area, easily accessible from the entrance gate in Joshua Tree, north of the park.

Feature Articles

Snakes, Tortoises, and Stars

Story and photo album (with some ultra-cute tortoise video) of our "Herping Star Party" in Mojave National Preserve, April 25, 2009

NASA Video on Star Parties for IYA 2009

This three-minute NASA video produced for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 features astronomers from the Old Town Sidewalk Astronomers at our observing site in Monrovia.

Song, Telescope Man by Robert Cesarone and Northern Cross

Bob Cesarone of JPL moonlights as an acoustic musician, and wrote this song some years back for his favorite telescope man, John Dobson. This link is direct to the MP3 file.

Crepuscular Rays at Bryce Astronomy Festival 2007

Jane's article on this fascinating sky phenomenon we saw at Bryce Canyon.

2007 Grand Canyon and Bryce Canyon Trip

Jane and Mojo travel to the North Rim and Bryce Canyon for a week of astronomy with John Dobson and Barry Peckham

Sidewalk Astronomers on Weekend America

Weekend America did a story on Jane, Mojo, and John Dobson for International Sidewalk Astronomy Day, May 19, 2007. The web site also features an article by Jane.

Photos from International Sidewalk Astronomy Day

A short album of photos from Myrtle and Lime in Monrovia, May 19, 2007

Iapetus: East is Least and West is Best

Jane outlines an observing project for Saturn's strange two-colored moon Iapetus.

Our Sidewalk Flier — in PDF format

This is the flier we have at our telescopes for visitors.

Building a Dobsonian Telescope

Complete plans from Ray Cash and the San Francisco Sidewalk Astronomers

More feature articles ...

Jane Houston Jones and Morris “Mojo” Jones

Jane Houston Jones and Morris "Mojo" Jones at the Glacier Point star party in Yosemite National Park.

Meet our fellow astronomers here

Jane and Mojo have been setting up telescopes on sidewalks ranging from Hawaii to Florida since 1990. As amateur astronomers, they've participated in meteor observing missions for NASA, and appeared on national TV and radio programs.

Jane and Mojo kept the Sidewalk Astronomers active in San Francisco, the birthplace of the worldwide Sidewalk Astronomers, until relocating to Southern California in late 2003. They immediately saw the potential of Myrtle Avenue in Monrovia as the perfect location for sidewalk astronomy, and bought a home there in January 2004.

Among their list of awards and accomplishments, minor planet 1992LE was designated 22338 Janemojo in their honor.

Jane works for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena managing public outreach and informal education for the Cassini-Huygens Mission to Saturn and Titan.

Mojo is a software engineer at Fox Interactive Media, and operates his own internet server for friends and family as a hobby.

Telescopes for Schools and Educational Functions

Drop us an email if you would like to have the Old Town Astronomers bring telescopes to your school or civic event. Contact us to discuss dates that are best for informal astronomy in the city. As a guideline, dates near the first-quarter Moon are the best early-evening astronomy. Don't forget to consider the time for sunset!