Connecticut Star Party 27, September 22-24, 2017

The 27th annual Connecticut Star Party was held on the weekend of September 22 at the Edmund Strang Scout Camp in Goshen CT.  The weather was very good this year, with sunny skies and warm temperatures.  Friday night was partly cloudy, with periods of clear skies alternating with clouds.  Still, observers were able to get in some good looks during the clear periods.  Saturday night was perfectly clear, and both observers and imagers made good use of the observing conditions.

During the daytime, the camp dining hall was filled with good conversation, good food, and three excellent speakers.  Pete Kandefer spoke about suspected meteorite impact sites in the Northeastern US, and how he has personally visited and explored them.  Dana Casetti presented an informative summary of star motions as measured by the Gaia space mission, and what they can tell us about the formation of the universe.  Andy Poniros described the many amazing findings and images that were produced by the Cassini spacecraft, which just ended its 13-year exploration of Saturn and its moons.  Other highlights of the weekend were a live broadcast of Andy Poniros’s radio program Cosmic Perspectives on WPKN, the children’s and adult raffles, and a huge cake to celebrate the 80th anniversary of ASNH.