HAL Public Star Party Report - Special Edition
Public Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 8/26/2023
(The One With 12 Scopes, Informal Astronomy Class and Educational Activities)
Thank you to everyone who joined our public star party last night. We had relatively
clear skies for approximately 12 scopes set up and nearly 70 attendees.
Dale turned HALO into a fantastic astronomy classroom crowded throughout the 3-hour
demonstration.
His images covered from the Moon (and at least two airplanes transited the Moon's
surface) to some galaxies more than 100 million light years away that popped up in
the background of the Hercules cluster.
He captured images of the crescent nebula with the H alpha filter and displayed how
the live stack gradually revealed the details of the needle galaxy.
The discussion topics in the HALO ranged from astrobiology, the Moon landing, the
iridium satellite, to the edge-on of Saturn's ring in 2025.
Bob, Arjun, and Krystal had educational tables for guests to enjoy. Many returned to
the tables to ask questions about the scale of the solar system, the composition of
stars, and the future of space exploration.
We started to wrap up around 11 p.m. when the clouds began to build up in the sky.
The gate was locked around 11:45. We hope you join us for the next one!
Clear skies,
Krystal Rolon
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