HAL Public Star Party Report - Special Edition
Public Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 8/10/2024
(The One With Tropical Storm Concerns and a Cub Scout Troop)
This party was in danger of being washed out thanks to Tropical Storm (Hurricane
Debby) but we were lucky to see the storm clear out by Friday and with forecast
showing low cloud cover around sunset on Saturday. Cloud cover was not too bad at
the start of the party and we got some views of the moon, but true to the
forecasts, cloud cover kept getting worse and there was not much seeing other
than occasional peeks at the moon, artificial satellites and a few bright stars.
I counted at least 19 member scopes of all kinds out there. There were at least
150 visitors (and possibly more) through the night including a cub scout group.
Hannah and Dale had photos of the moon up on the screen, shot just before the
skies were clouded over. Unfortunately due to cloud cover, the Illig didn’t get
much use. Thanks to Krystal, Bob Savoy, Arjun, Eric and Michelle and all our
members for setting up at the start of the party and guiding visitors through the
night. We started shut down procedures around 10.45pm and I locked the gate up at
11.15pm.
Clear skies,
Neville Fernandes
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