Ideas for what to show on 2nd Aug

[Phil Fargaze]

Help! If by some miracle it is a clear night, I am due to take my scope to the brownie camp on Sunday 2nd at 9.30 pm and it don`t look good. Jupiter is going to be really low in the East and the moon is going to be nearly full but really low as well. If I can get a clear view of the moon I could point out the Apollo 11 landing site. No ISS passes are due and those kids are going to want to see something exciting.

[Doc]

If you are using your 10" dob then M13 will be pretty cool.

[mike.brightmore]

Lunar, Jupiter and Saturn are the only real wows for youngsters who don't have a good grasp of astronomy. 9.30 p.m. won't really be dark enough for deep sky objects. As Doc says M13 is always a good bet. I would have a look at Albireo to show that stars can have colour. Just so they can say they have seen a galaxy you could try Andromeda. Obviously only the core will be evident but you could supplement that with a photo to show what it is really like. The same goes for the Dumbbell and Ring nebulae. Also worth checking on the off chance that there might be a decent Iridium Flare. Good Luck.

[Talitha]

They might get a kick out of the Coathangar cluster (Collinder 399 in VUL).

[Vega]

Alcor & Mizar? They are often overlooked and at high power spliting the primary in to a further tight pair is quite a pleasing sight. Also the spider vein spikes on Arcturus or Vega are always great in a 10" at high power.

Matt

[ottUp]

If you're up late enough for Cassiopeia to be visible, NGC457 - the "E.T." cluster - is always popular with kids (and their parents). Take along a sketch of ET for them to make the connection - like in the last image in this article.

[Phil Fargaze]

Thanks, some good ideas there. I`ve made a list of them. I might have to try and find the Coathanger Cluster because I havn`t even seen it for myself yet! I came up with the Garnet Star as an idea to demonstrate star colours, another object I havn`t seen for myself either. I think there is an Iridium Flare timed about 9.45, (another thing I havn`t seen for myself). So if all goes well I might come away with a few new objects for the log book.

[Phil Fargaze]

Well, Sunday night was clouded out but I had another chance to go Monday night. It was fairly clear but with some cloud building up. I only had a chance to show the moon, which being nearly full wasn`t the best time to view it but I managed to find some detail near to the limb. That was good enough for most of the kids, judging by the comments, such as "wow" "thats amazing" and "oh my gosh". Makes it all worth while in the end.

[Talitha]

That's great, Phil! They'll remember the night (and you ) for a long, long time.

[Phil Fargaze]

Yes I hope they will! That`s what I enjoy about public observing, you can see the light of discovery come alive in their minds, adult or child.