(OFF ASTMORE ROAD) - RUNCORN - CHESHIRE
ASTRONOMY EVENING
FRI 17 OCTOBER 2008 7:00 PM - 9:30 PM
Members of the Liverpool Astronomical Society, (founded in 1881), will display several telescopes for viewing the Moon, Jupiter and other objects in the night sky, if clear. There will also be an illustrated talk on astronomy.
This event is free, and is open to all members of the public.
For more information contact:-
Halton Rangers - 0151 907 8300
Liverpool Astronomical Society
Geoff Regan, Observatory Director - 0151 292 7165
Dave Owen, LAS Sidewalk Astronomers - 07778 454524
EVENT REPORT - Dave Owen - I arrived, with Geoff Regan, his son Christopher, and my 6 inch f4 Dobsonian reflecting telescope, at about 19:40. As sometimes happens with a new venue, we got lost on the way!
Although the weather was 100% cloudy, and remained that way until a few hours after this event finished, there were already quite a few LAS members outside the Visitors Centre when we arrived. I spotted Graham Roberts, Pam McAdams, Dave Bentley, (with his 85mm refractor), John Leek, John Simcock, (with his 5 inch f13 Maksutov), Lawrence Ashworth, (with his 4 inch refractor), and Alan Dennott.
The two Rangers estimated that there were about 35 visitors, as well as about a dozen LAS members.
As I had not used my 6 inch reflector for some time I was keen to see if it was still in good working order. Unfortunately, it was not! A check with a pinhole eyepiece showed that only about half the 6 inch mirror was visible!? After fruitlessly trying to collimate the main mirror I decided to take the scope indoors. The extra light quickly revealed that the secondary mirror had slipped out of alignment. Once this was adjusted, with a borowed screwdriver from one of the Rangers, the scope seemed to be in reasonable collimation. At least I could see all of the main mirror when I used the pinhole eyepiece.
A visitor had brought along their 76mm f9 reflecting telescope but all we could focus on were various artificial lights along the banks of the River Mersey and the Runcorn Bridge. At one point we could see the glow caused by the almost full Moon. However, this glow never even materialised as a circular shape.
Geoff Regan and Brendan Martin were able to use a laptop PC and PC projector to show various astronomical images and planetarium software for about an hour. The Rangers provided free tea and coffee and we have since agreed to return to this excellant location on Fri 30 Oct 2009.
EVENT PICTURES by Dave Owen:
Wigg Island 17 Oct 2008 Photos
HOW TO FIND WIGG ISLAND COMMUNITY PARK - Maps from http://maps.google.co.uk/maps
WIGG ISLAND COMMUNITY PARK MAP 1
WIGG ISLAND COMMUNITY PARK MAP 2
WIGG ISLAND COMMUNITY PARK MAP 3
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WIGG ISLAND COMMUNITY PARK MAP 5