Monday, October 19
Weather: Clear 50°
Participants: Michael Corvese, Mike Kerr, Francine Jackson, Jim Hendrickson, John Kocur
Attendees: 77
Observed: Waxing gibbous Moon, Saturn, Coathanger
Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD8nqQ
Report by: Jim Hendrickson
Skyscrapers, Inc., was invited to participate in an astronomy night for the Gaspee Point Homeowners’ Association in Warwick on Monday, October 19.
Initial forecasts weren’t looking very good, with expected cloud cover greater than 50%, and conditions weren’t looking very favorable for the Tuesday backup date either. We decided to opt for the Monday date and hope for the best.
We arrived just before sunset to completely clear skies, and the forecasted northerly breeze never picked up, leaving us a pleasantly mild evening.
We set up our telescopes directly on the beach, with clear views from the north all the way to the southwest.
Francine Jackson brought her Astroscan and I set up my 80mm refractor. The waxing gibbous Moon was already visible high in the southeast, but I decided to offer a view of Conimicut Lighthouse while we still had a little daylight.
Michael Corvese set up a 4.5-inch Newtonian, and brought pizza strips for us to enjoy.
John Kocur brought out the Orion 12-inch Dobsonian, and two of us helped him carry it down to the beach from his car and assemble it.
A very prominent and vivid belt of Venus appeared over the Narragansett Bay at sunset, as several Southwest Airlines 737s departed TF Green and flew right over us.
A short while later, a large swan slowly swam by, heading north, a few dozen yards offshore. Several gulls could be seen in the distance, but the only local wildlife was a chorus of crickets at the edge of the woods in back of the beach.
As twilight set in, I turned to Saturn, which I was able to locate by scanning over the horizon, as it was just a few degrees high, something that a low-power, rich field telescope gives an advantage in finding.
Mike Kerr was also aimed at Saturn with a 3.5-inch Questar, which provided pleasingly crisp views of the ringed planet and its giant moon Titan.
John had a big line behind the Orion Dobsonian all night, and showed a variety of objects including Polaris, Vega, the Moon, NGC 457, the Owl Cluster, Saturn, Capella, and the Andromeda Galaxy.
We had an all-ages group of 77 that looked through our telescopes.
After breaking down, we were offered hot apple cider and some sweet treats. Everyone had a great time, and the event went so well, there has been talk about returning in 202
