March 14th Observing Session Report

Hi All,

What a night! 

Thank you all for your continued support, here's a rundown of the evening:

1. We all arrived early and had to wait patiently for the sun to set before beginning our observation session.  An action item for me is to reach out and confirm that a 7:30 PM start time for the warmer months will work for Deer Lake.  

2. The scouts from Troop 7 in Clinton arrived and shared the night sky with us!  Approximately 12 troops and their family members attended.  They brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the observation field and made me feel like we're not only an astronomy club for astronomers but connecting with the local community.   A quick estimate puts the evening's attendance around 18-20 people. Thank you all for your help!

3. We had 9 telescopes on the field tonight!  4 of which were club telescopes and 2 brought by the scouts!  

• The big red 10" Dob got some good use from everyone and is going home with Lou for a while to be used and enjoyed
• Paul got the unitron refractor set up and the views of the moon were delightful.  He also began a shakedown of the Celestron Nexstar scope!  
• Scott was manning the 10" Orion with some great views of the Orion Nebula!  
• Jim and Laurie had their massive 13" Coultier Dob and had a good line of guests waiting for a view through the eyepiece. 

4. The weather!  We were supposed to get upper-level clouds but we had a beautifully clear night with a crescent moon casting some light shadows. The temperature was cool but pleasant, with no noticeable wind.

5. We had at least 2 new visitors tonight (Tammi I think you captured their contact info, thank you!)

6. Sue and I have signed the Astronomy League Application and I'll be sending that out this weekend.  We're close to being official! 

All in all a beautiful night!  Thank you again, everyone, really feeling inspired after tonight!

Jeff Dunn