The Irish Astronomical Society and friends from South Dublin Astronomical Society showcased Saturn and the Moon from St Brigids National School Greystones, Co Wicklow. Friday March 3rd and Saturday March 4th
The best made plans of mice and astronomers does not usually include snow, however in the icy conditions we had 50 or so children and their parents turn up on Friday evening.
Patricia Carroll and I introduced these hardy people to Saturn and the moon with our 8 inch Dobsonian telescopes.We enjoyed helping people to undersand what they were observing and also enjoyed the reaction to the offerings of the night sky.
We were joined in this pursuit by three gentlemen of Irish Astronomy Val Dunne (IAS) and the formidable pairing of Philip Lardner and Paul Tipper (SDAS). Val was as usual informative and entertaining to his attendees with his lovely Celestron 8, and his experience with the public.
Philip brought along his wonderful hand built 20 inch Dobsonian mounted telescope, a real beauty. Paul and Philip are natural educators and they gave their groups a wonderful introduction to the celestial delights on offer. Their telescopes were part of a photo opportunity when a photographer from the Bray People turned up to record the event.
Saturday evening it was a marginally cosy 2 degrees or so and another crystal clear evening. Patricia Carroll and I held the fort to 70 children and their parents. We both had great fun showing Saturn and the moon to these eager people. Saturn was looking so good and people knew they were seeing something extraordinary.
We also bagged some Messier objects M42 being particularly sharp, it really intrigued people who had never seen it. The double cluster in Perseus with its scattered diamonds was also a WOW factor as was the lovely coloured gems of M44.
As regards my SOC efforts it was very rewarding that some of the children who were familiar with the Cassini Mission got to see Saturn so clearly and knew what they were looking at. The second Greystones Star Party was a great success despite the weather.
Deirdre Kelleghan
Irish Astronomical Society
www.irishastrosoc.org
soc.jpl.nasa.gov/participate.cfm
  