One nice event — a couple were there with a newly-bought scope, and got help assembling it. The scope was actually a gift for a friend, who they had invited to join them at the star party and presented with the scope as a surprise.
Unfortunately, the sky wasn’t as cooperative.
The evening started well — just around Sunset Jupiter was spectacular in the South, with fair seeing. Everyone had a good look. Saturn rose through a low layer of cloud in the western horizon and many people had their first look at Saturn, with the appropriate “ooohs” and “aaahs”. The view wasn’t very good, as it was low and in the soup.
However, there was a nasty dark bank of clouds in the West which eventually covered more than half the sky. By 11:00 I had succeeded in showing only two DSOs to visitors – M3 and M13 through sucker holes, and neither of those lasted very long. I gave up at 11:00 and packed. By the time I was leaving — 11:30ish — I think the few remaining scopes were having more success, as the clouds cleared somewhat.
See you at the next one.
]]>During the COVID-19 pandemic, OAFs has stopped doing public “sidewalk astronomy” events. We miss it, and hope we’re in a position to be able to safely resume, maybe in the summer of 2023.
News: the Ottawa chapter of RASC has resumed its star parties at the Diefenbunker. Check their Star Party list to stay informed (or updates via Twitter, Meetup, or Facebook). Check the RASC web site or Facebook page for the latest information on COVID protocols.
OAFs are strong supporters of RASC and their events, and most of us will be at the RASC star parties with scopes.
Watch our twitter feed (see right margin) for the latest.
Event | Where | When |
Next Dark Sky Public Star Party | Carp Diefenbunker | TBD |
Next Sidewalk Solar Observing | Kanata Chapters | TBD |
Next Sidewalk Astronomy | Kanata Chapters | TBD |
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