We had a very productive Board Meeting last night and an excellent clear night for public observing. Thank you to all of the guests who came out to Darling Hill Observatory last night! We enjoyed sharing our observatory and knowledge with you. A special thanks to all the members of the Community Library of Dewitt and Jamesville and to Emily Wormuth for helping them find us! Thank you also to our generous members who prepared the observatory and grounds, operated telescopes, and answered questions. Lastly, thank you to those who were able to donate to the Syracuse Astronomical Society. Your donations keep Darling Hill Observatory functioning for current and future generations of Syracuse area residents!
Last night we had a very clear and steady night for viewing. There was thin haze that allowed Syracuse City lights to increase the ambient light level somewhat, but the Milky Way was easily visible, and Andromeda was visible by the naked eye when I looked around midnight. We had approximately 70 guests and about 12 SAS members. Guests began arriving as early as 8:15. Tony Krishock, Mike Brady, Robert Stell, Mark Ellinwood, and Stephen Capp all had scopes set up around the yard, and of course, Raymond J Dague and Jeff Higgins operated the 16″ Cave Reflector from the main observatory.
Targets included Jupiter and its moons, Saturn and Titan, The Ring Nebula, the Dumbbell Nebula, Alberio, The Veil Nebula and many others. The Milky Way was clearly visible stretching from the swan Cygnus down through the tip of the tea kettle Sagittarius starting around 10 PM.
Scopes included an 8″ Dobsonian, two 11″ SCTs, one 8″ SCT, our 16″ GEM mounted Newtonian with Push-to, and an 18″ Truss mounted Dobsonian with Push-to (Please correct me if I got any of the scopes wrong. Feel free to add info if you want so I can get them right in the future!)
Guests stayed up to closing time (11:45) and hopefully all had an enjoyable and thought-provoking experience. Come again soon.