A clear night was too much of a temptation for myself and three fellow members, despite the fact that it was a weeknight. Ann, Jackie, Jim and I met at the hill in Binbrook for an evening with a little bit of everything for us.
Jim was eager to try his hand at astrophotography using his new digital camera, and immediately had it attached to his scope. Saturn proved an appropriate first target, and even on the little viewscreen on the camera we could see that several moons had been captured. I am looking forward to seeing the results of his efforts!
Ann was set up quickly with her 6″ dobsonian, and I was only able to find time for one view through it. Ann allowed me to have a peek at one of my favourite galaxies, NGC4565, and the view did not disappoint! Through her scope this edge-on galaxy appeared razor thin, and at times the seeing would give us a brief but startlingly clear view! I was sorry that I did not allow myself any more views through Ann’s fine scope.
I enjoyed taking a few pictures of the sunset over the lake and then set up my little scope. I think my favourite views though, were with the unaided eye, as we had two Iridium flares and a passage of the International Space Station. It’s always fascinationg to me when they appear right on schedule. The Iridium flares were listed as magnitude -4 an -5, and it’s amazing just how bright that looks in a dark part of the sky. A couple of us were able to follow the ISS through our scopes and it appears as a very distinct and odd shape.
For a good part of the evening we were joined by Jim Douglas, the park superintendant. Jim was a welcome addition to the group and gave us lots to talk about, from the results of clean-up day to plans for the upcoming 50th Anniversary Event on May 30th. I encourage you to attend and participate, as the HAA will have a presentation and there will be lots of other things going on that day. Most interesting of all were the little tidbits about the park that Jim described so enthusiastically, from wildlife signs to a honey tree. Thanks to Jim, I am now looking forward to more daytime visits to the park to see what I have been missing in the dark!
Keep an eye out for email notices of when the park will be open for another evening of observing, and join us if you can!
