An Evening Under the Stars at Wagman Observatory

9.11.21

     The evening sky had lots of clouds in it but we were still hopeful for clearings as the night progressed. As sunset neared people started coming into the field surrounding the observatory, some members and some guests. The AAAP star party was starting.

     The clouds came and went during the evening; mostly they stuck to the horizons. The seeing wasn’t great but we could still see the usual crowd pleasers.

     We viewed the Moon and Venus in the west and as the sky darkened Jupiter and Saturn in the southeast. Some of the members with go-to scopes were able to show some of the fainter objects over our heads to the crowds.

     Jupiter had four of its brighter moons visible as the night started, around 9:30, the moon Io passed in front of the planet and disappeared from our sight. I don’t know if anyone was watching as it as disappeared It would have been a great thing to see!

     The moon looked nice as it settled into the thicker atmosphere near the horizon. It turned from bright yellow into a dark orange. With wispy clouds drifting in front of it, it would’ve looked good on the cover of a science fiction novel!

     By eleven, most of the public had left and the members were packing their gear. The “clear” skies had disappeared leaving only the brightest stars visible. It was time to call it a night.

     It was a wonderful evening! For a short while I was able to man the 11” Brashear refractor. (The high point of my night!) Jupiter and Saturn, always look good through that scope! It was originally built in 1910 by Pittsburgh optician, John Brashear, and rebuilt by the club in the mid 1990’s. It is 111 years old!

     We had over a hundred guests show up, there were plenty of questions and something I always enjoy…lots of “OH WOW’s”.

     It was a great night to hang out under the stars with friends! Can’t wait until the next one!