In an effort to get his afternoon Astronomy class some telescope time, Professor Russo arranged an afternoon solar star gaze on the Niceville campus of Northwest Florida State College. Club members Frank Atchison, Bob Burkart, Dean Covey, and Tom Haugh were able to support the Wednesday event. Dean and Bob set up white light filtered telescopes while Tom provided a Hydrogen-Alpha view.
Once all the scopes were set up, Professor Russo and class adjourned to the observing field at the campus observatory. After a quick explanation of what they were about to see, the students proceeded from telescope to telescope asking questions and taking notes, as this was a class assignment.
The last student views the Sun through Bob’s Meade, while Frank, Dean and Tom debrief the event.
There were a couple of large sunspots visible in the white light views and several very large prominences in the H-alpha. Luckily, the class was not a large one; the weather was very hot and uncomfortable as the daytime star light was very intense. The observing portion of the event ended about 5:15 PM as the class quickly returned to the air-conditioned classroom.