201170429
The Astronomy Club of
Augusta hosted Telescopes on the Lawn in celebration of National Astronomy
Night and with Earth and Sky Night at the RPSEC on April 29, 2017 from 7-10-PM. Sixteen families (twenty-two members) attended,
with plenty of telescopes,
binoculars, posters, and good naked-eye
observing. We serviced ~ 300 public
guests.
Though not really expected
weatherwise, it was an outstanding evening. The air was slightly warm with a balmy
breeze, so short sleeves were the norm. With all the clouds, Stan only had a chance
to look for sunspots for about 5 minutes before the sun set. The waxing crescent moon showed through the
western clouds though, and Adela and Kenneth were busy showing and explaining
to guests the phases of the Moon, and its special features like Earthshine,
Terminator, Horns, Mare Crisium, etc. All the scopes were focused on the Moon for a
while, until it was darker when some turned their scopes toward Jupiter and its
Galilean moons shining through a clear spot in the southeast. We had reflectors, refractors, spotting scope,
Schimdt-Cassegrains, Powerseeker,
cameras, etc. This was a great
opportunity for us all to check out different types of scopes, different
mounts, different lenses, and different types of binoculars.
Instead of getting
cloudier, it cleared up during the evening, so we picked out most of the winter
hexagon stars. We followed the line from
Merak and Dubhe in the Big Dipper to Polaris. We
could see the Sentry Stars in the Little Dipper marching around Polaris. Then we arced to Arcturus and sped on to
Spica below Jupiter. Some light
pollution and few particles in the air made the laser pointer less useful when we tried to find Mizar and Alcor,
the double stars in the handle of the Big Dipper. Shane got down on his back to find it through
Michael’s scope. Bravo! Andy helped Allison set up, focus,
and adjust the barrel and eyepiece height of her scope.
Vinay and John brought new pieces of equipment to try out. Steve took a beautiful photo of the rarely
caught Red Spot on Jupiter, and one of the crescent Moon. See below.
We enjoyed talking
astronomy and informally, with many teaching moments during the evening. Michael saw a meteor whiz through our
atmosphere, and that had us all looking and finding more as we packed up and started
for home.
Many thanks to Gary for
water and sodas, to Ervin for all kinds of yummy cookies and logistical help.
Most member attendees paid their dues
for the upcoming 2017-18 year to John with Cathy’s assistance. If you didn’t, you can mail your dues to John
White, ACA Treasurer, 4254 Woodland Drive, Martinez,
GA 30907 or bring your $10 to our next meeting on May 12, Friday 7PM, at RPSEC. Please go to our ACA Website, Calendar of Events
page, for details and directions.
Respectfully submitted,
Tedda Howard
ACA Web Editor
