Saturday, October 10
Weather: Mostly clear, 65°
Participants: Michael Corvese, Jay & Lisa Baccala, John Kocur, Francine Jackson, Jim Hendrickson
Attendees: ~35
Observed: Saturn, Vega & Double Double, Mizar & Alcor, Albireo, Coathanger, M57, C33, and NGC 6960, Vega, M11, NGC 457, Sadr, NGC 1610
Photos: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjD8W1r
Report by: Jim Hendrickson
This was the second year that Skyscrapers, Inc. was invited to take part in a Bristol Land Conservation Trust event, the first being the Full Harvest Moonrise Walk at Mount Hope Farm on October 6, 2025.
Weather forecasts during the mostly cloudy afternoon weren’t looking very promising, but we decided to give it a go regardless. We arrived at the Audubon Nature Center and Aquarium in Bristol to get set up before sunset. A brilliant parhelion (sundog) appeared to the left of the Sun as it settled lower into the high cloud layer.
Arriving early during daylight allowed us to get a close look at one of Audubon Society of Rhode Island’s avian ambassadors located in an outdoor habitat in back of the Nature Center building. Zachariah “Zach” is a 15-year old, 3 lb common raven who has been in Audubon’s care since 2017.
After setting up our telescopes on the back lawn, we were invited inside to have food prepared by Common Pub Catering, which included three different types of sandwich rolls, pastries with brie and cranberry, scallops wrapped in bacon, and several varieties of cookies.
Following our light dinner, the Bristol Land Conservation Trust held their 40th anniversary ceremony, including commendations and awards.
We were then introduced to another of Audubon’s avian ambassadors. Kaylee Finch, Public Program Educator for Audubon Society of Rhode Island, gave us an informational introduction to Archimedes, “Archie,” an eight-year old, 1.5 lb barred owl.
Then Michael Corvese was invited to say a few words about Skyscrapers, a look back to last year’s Mount Hope Farm event, what’s happening in the sky, and what to expect on the telescope field before we all went outside to view the sky.
Michael brought his Questar telescope, which was aimed at Saturn for the duration of the evening.
John Kocur had the 12-inch Dobsonian telescope set up to show Polaris, Vega, M11, the Wild Duck Cluster, NGC 457, the Owl Cluster, Saturn, Sadr, and NGC 1610, the Inch Worm Cluster in Cygnus.
Jay and Lisa Baccala brought the Dwarf mini and showed live-stacked images of M57, C33, and NGC 6960.
Francine Jackson brought her Astroscan reflector, and concentrated on Albireo. I used my 80mm refractor to show Vega and the Double Double, M31, and the Coathanger.
Although the sky never cleared completely, it was a pleasant evening, and certainly a successful night of sharing the sky with about 35 members of the Bristol Land Conservation Trust.
There was a celebratory cake. It was cut and enjoyed while we were out with the telescopes, but there were leftovers, and we were invited to take some at the end of the evening.
