Our first visit to the Children in Crisis center was a resounding success. We had about 50 youngsters and house parents take advantage of our telescopes throughout the afternoon and evening. Some stated early enough to view the Sun using both white light and Hydrogen-Alpha telescopes.
Several club members were able support the CiC event:
- Walter Dunn
- George & Renee Gollehon
- Tom & Christopher Haugh
- Scott Morgan
Once the skies darkened more guest observers arrived on scene for the nighttime portion of the event. First up was Jupiter which was visible well before sunset. Afterwards Saturn, then Vega and Arcturus. Once the skies were dark the other members of the summer triangle (Deneb and Altair) joined the growing target list. We also brought along our copy of the library scope to be used by the guests. Chris was kept busy providing the instructions on how to point the scope and how to adjust the focus. He had a constant line of budding astronomers.
Other notable objects were Alcor & Mizar in the Big Dipper asterism as well as the Wild Duck Cluster (M 11).
The only annoyance during the evening was a motion controlled security light. The constant movement of the enthusiastic youngsters kept the light very busy.
We would like to thank the staff of the Children in Crisis center for the invitation and opportunity to share our passion for the night sky.