After last week’s cancellation, the weather was looking good for the evening of Saturday 21st February with the BBC and CNtimer agreeing on the conditions. We took the society’s well known ‘Howitzer’ 7″ achromatic refractor because Jupiter was always going to be the star (planet) of the show. The evening kicked off with an early pass of the International Space Station at around 18:25. A good number of society members brought their own equipment and we had at least 10 telescopes on the go at some points! Many visitors came along to view Jupiter, the Orion Nebula, Comet Lovejoy, the Pleiades, the many open clusters of Monoceros, Auriga and Cancer, and many other celestial objects. Proceedings closed at around 10:00pm before we all froze solid, however the usual warm welcome in the Sportsman Inn granted a break from the cold. Thanks to everybody who came along. Our next Stargazing event is scheduled for Saturday 14th March. Please keep an eye on the Facebook Group for up-to-the minute updates on weather conditions or changes to the schedule.
Setting up for Stargazing (Credit: Andrew Noble)