September 2024 – News
27th September
Friends Drinks: Around 50 Friends gathered at the Dome for the Annual Drinks Party, this year celebrating our 20th Anniversary. It was a glorious evening with occasional cloud; the stragglers enjoyed a view of Saturn (with moons Titan, Rhea and Iapetus) through the 10-inch once darkness had descended.
25th September
Outreach Observing: 15 members of the Andover Astronomical Society came to the Dome on a mostly cloudy evening. GKWJ and JAG took advantage of the occasional thinning or break in the cloud to show the group Saturn, Gamma Delphini and Albireo through the 10-inch. In the cloudy spells, the group saw a collection of images taken through the 10-inch, watched the Radio Meteor Detector live stream, where multiple meteor events and many satellite events were seen, and handled the Wetton Meteorite collection. Two new meteorites enjoyed their first public outing as JAG displayed his recent acquisitions: a slice of lunar breccia and a piece of Martian rock.
18th September
Outreach Observing: A group of 12 local property based business owners joined GKWJ & JAG at the Observatory on a beautiful late summer’s evening for an unusual networking event. The session started with a stunning moonrise in the east with the Full Harvest Moon looking spectacular, and a pass of the ISS. The group moved inside to observe the Full Moon through the 10-inch. Outside for a Sky Tour and the ‘Greek Eye Test’ in the Plough, before moving back inside to view Saturn with three moons and the double star Gamma Delphini in the 10-inch.
14th September
Open Day Observing: GKWJ & JAG set up a solar observing station in Court as part of the College Open Day for prospective pupils and parents. A constant stream of visitors, numbering well over 50, enjoyed views of the Sun through eclipse specs, in white light with the Celestron 8-inch, and in Hydrogen Alpha with the Lunt 50mm double stack. Multiple sunspots were visible in white light and two large prominence groups were easily seen in hydrogen alpha.
Outreach Visit: GKWJ hosted two guests at the Dome on a wonderfully clear evening; one of the guests being a Gold Medal winner at last year’s International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics. The Waxing Gibbous Moon was observed in exquisite detail through the 10-inch, then on to Saturn, with its ring system currently appearing edge-on. We then enjoyed a sky tour outside, including a high ISS pass. The session continued back at the 10-inch with views of M31, M15 and Gamma Delphini.