At long last, one of Astronomy Ireland's events in Dundalk, and we actually saw something!!!
I decided to change our normal venue from Blackrock to the coastal carpark at Seabank. Here the skies are considerably darker and it suits people better from the mid and South Louth areas. I must apologise to all those 'courting couples' who had to find an alternative venue for their nights entertainment!
Approximately 10 were in attendance, but I was very happy with this turnout as all were enthusiastic astronomers. It was good to see people travelling up from the Drogheda area and we made links with several members of the DKIT astronomical society, who were also present. The network is growing and I will be arranging several local telescope nights in the near future.
The skies remained clear for the first 45mins and there was a healthy range of telescopes in use, up to an 8inch Meade.
Saturn and Titan were very impressive.
Unfortunately cloud arrived and despite waiting till 9.40pm in bitterly cold conditions, the overcast conditions persisted, with just occasional breaks. As soon as the 'scopes were put away and we were about to depart, the skies cleared again!
Some photos taken by Gabriel O'Shaughnessy and myself, showing some of the attended gathering, are attached - difficult to focus in the dark! I have cut down the size for e-mail purposes, if you require the originals for the mag etc, they are 16.5mb each!
A great night and at last a healthy grouping is forming up here. Pity 'Joe Soap' and the general public didn't take advantage of the event. Pity also that the cloud arrived as Jupiter would have been on view later on and Comet Macholz, which I was observing last night, is still quite impressive.
Earlier in the day a projectile from NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft slammed into the comet Tempel 1, creating a crater that scientists hope will shed light on some of the solar system's most mysterious objects. News programs covered the story extensively. So at 11pm (late enough to allow the sky to darken somewhat) we met at the Millenium Statue in Blackrock to try and observe the comet. Nobody was sure exactly how bright the comet would be.
With people coming and going it was difficult to say exactly how many attended but we recon approximately 25 people turned up. Despite extensive cloud during the evening, the skies cleared around 10pm, except in the West, where cloud associated with an approaching Atlantic frontal system was extending Eastwards. I had initially hoped to move to a darker location, but nature provided time restraints that didn't allow us to move. So the race was on - Comet Temple 1 was setting further West will the cloud pushed further East. As it happened, we never got to see the Comet. We set one telescope on Jupiter while we looked for Temple 1. Unfortunately, only four people got a chance to look at Jupiter before the cloud advanced. Disappointed, we turned our attention to other areas of the sky. I give a brief outline of comets, their origin and the Deep Impact mission. With the help of Ciaran O'Shaughnessy and Maurice Kiely, I gave a tour of the Summer skies and answered a variety of astronomy related questions. Satellite spotting always keeps newcomers amused and we recorded 7 passes. Unfortunately most people left around midnight and missed the ISS blaze overhead a short time later. In addition, we had a display of NLC's - Noctilucent Clouds around 11.45pm stretching from the Northern horizon to zenith. Although I had the camera in the car, I unfortunately didn't get any photos of the event. So, despite the fact we didn't see our intended target, those gathered went home pleased with the what they did see and had learned. And more contacts were made. Role on the next event!
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