Participants arriving Friday afternoon for the ASNH annual Connnecticut Star Party were undeterred by the already cloud covered skies and ominous weekend forecast. The light sleepers in the crowd stirred to muffled oohs and ahhs around 2AM as breaks in the low-lying clouds revealed the Milky Way streaming overhead with a naked-eye Double Cluster and M31 swimming in its wake.
Having been enticed by "sucker holes" before, we nonetheless gathered together and set up our instruments... "Hope springs eternal in the human beast" (:Alexander Pope) ... "and in fools" (:me)! The faster amongst us were able to sweep between Saturn, M42, M45, and a few other targets before the clouds once again started to gather. As the glow of daylight began to make its way through the eastern clouds, we begrudingly ended the session, hoping the new day would bring clearer skies.
We awakened to a field now blanketed in fog (aaaaargh!), but a hot shower and tasty breakfast helped temper the mood. The Saturday morning talks helped quell our weather anxieties, though Vince and Barlow Bob's presentation got us pumped up to view the Sun with the solar H-a setups they had brough along. Such was not to be the case though for this camper, as I decided to gather up the scope and other equipment after lunch, so as to avoid the heavy rains that were forecast to begin later in the day (and the Stanley-Sloane museum in Kent had their annual exhibition going on... Pat M twisted my arm! :o)
Without further ado, here are a few shots from the day (click on the thumbnails to view a larger version) |
