Plum Beach Club
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Francine and I were invited by the Plum Beach Club in Saunderstown to conduct a night sky program to coincide with the Perseids on August 11. Advising that the Perseids are best seen later in the evening, we agreed that this date would be good as Jupiter and Saturn would be coming into good viewing position from the east-facing beach. On Wednesday afternoon, the 5pm TV weather report on WJAR showed the weather cams at Galilee where thick fog had completely engulfed the southern coast. Hoping we could get a couple hours of clear sky in, we left our 95 degree weather in Providence County bound for the cooler seabreezes in Saunderstown at about 6pm.
When we arrived, sunny and clear conditions were present, but there was a distinct fog bank covering up to 5 degrees of the southeastern sky that was slowly growing closer. Following introductions, Francine set up her slide presentation and I set up one of the two small refractors we brought, hoping that we’d at least get a brief look at something, perhaps just Jupiter, as the Moon and Venus were behind the steep hill to the west of the beach.
Francine presented a presentation on the Midsummer Night Sky, highlighting things we could expect to see on a clear night, including the Moon, constellations, bright planets visible, the Perseids, and even a seasonal favorite, the Coathanger cluster.
We were initially told that a little over 50 people had signed up for the event, but later found out that it was closer to 70. The all-ages group was offered fresh-made popcorn and ice water for refreshments and was quite attentive and interested. Many questions were asked, mostly about what can be seen in the sky, and Perseids in particular.
Following the presentation, we were disappointed that the fog had completely obscured the sky and there was no telescope viewing, but a possible future visit was discussed, and a grill was set up for everyone to enjoy s’mores before heading home.
