2013 Fall Astronomy Day...

[merle]

Fall Astronomy Day - Saturday October 12, 2013
Eagle Lake Observatory at Baylor Regional Park

The 2013 Fall Astronomy Day was very successful event, despite the starting the days activities with cloudy skies making the planned solar viewing impossible. The estimated attendance was over 200 guests as the new HotSpot Classroom was filled to capacity and beyond for our presentations and prize drawings.

MAS president, Dave Falkner, gave a very entertaining and informative presentation on the Voyager 1 & 2 Spacecraft followed by Bob Kerr’s presentation on everything you need to know about the upcoming “comet of the millennium”, comet ISON. After the dinner break, Ron Schmit gave his presentation, “Amazing Star Gazing” tackling the questions of What's out there, Where can you find it, and How can you see it?

By now, with sunset approaching, the skies were clearing and guests were treated to views of Venus, Mercury, Saturn and the moon. While not the best views of Mercury or Saturn, as both were very low in the western sky, those who were able to see these planets were still thrilled to have seen them. One guest in particular had never seen Mercury before and was very appreciative to have the chance to see the broiling planetary disk. Even views of Saturn, some of the worst I’ve seen, were met with oh’s and ah’s.

The days events continued with the door prize drawing, and for the first time at Fall A-Day, a raffle drawing. A pair of Celestron 12 x 60 binoculars were the grand prize for the door prize, won by Fred Lange. The raffle drawing followed with the grand prize of an Orion 8” SkyQuest telescope which was won by Daniel Jacobson.

Ron Schmit concluded the scheduled events for the day with his laser tour of the sky on the plaza as the skies were now completely clear. Viewing continued until past 10:00 as the crowd thinned into the cool fall evening. Overall, the day was a huge success. In fact it was one of the few times all year the skies were clear for viewing. That in itself was a reason for celebration.

Of course, the day would not have been as successful without help from the many MAS members and non-members who helped get everything completed and organized. In the final week leading up the the event, the guys at Baylor Park were able to complete the exterior grading and railings needed to the satisfaction of the building inspectors. With this accomplished, we received the occupancy certificate allowing us to fully utilize the new HotSpot Classroom and Sylvia A. Casby Observatory.

Also in the last few days, the interior of the HotSpot was still being worked on. Thanks to the MAS members who volunteered their time to get this finished and the buildings cleaned, (Compare to pictures from Astronomy Day and CWTS). It was greatly appreciated to have a large warm room for our guests to get out of the evening chill.

Finally, thanks to our speakers, Dave, Bob and Ron for their great presentations, the Eagle Lake Observatory keyholders for manning the telescope platforms and entertaining our guests, the MAS members and guests who made the day a memorable one.

Thank you!!!
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