A group of astronomy students from Mohawk College were out at Binbrook Conservation Area, for a night of observing. A beautiful but cold night offered good viewing, and several club members were at the park that night as well.

Venus showed a beautiful, thin crescent, and not to be outdone, Saturn showed some equally thin rings. Not surprisingly, the views of Saturn actually elicited gasps and exclamations from the first-time observers! Jim W. showed some clusters and asterisms through his fine 8″ scope and Andrew B. offered up some excellent deep sky views through his 12″ Lightbridge. Don brought along his refractor and Jackie made everyone feel at home. My refractor offered up some wide field views as well, and before the night was through they (and we) had seen M81 and 82, the Double Cluster, The Pleiades, the Beehive, M42 and a smattering of other objects. Of particular interest was a view of the minor ‘dwarferoid’ planet Ceres, and all 6 stars in the Trapezium! Ann called in her contribution on her cell phone and pointed out the Lunar X on the first quarter moon. It was a beatiful sight and we all enjoyed finding it (I almost called this blog entry an ‘X File’).

One student brought her own scope and another brought a pair of big binoculars. All brought a great deal of enthusiasm that was certainly matched by the HAA members present. The mixing of these two great groups made for a really fun night for everyone.