Recent ASNH Outreach Events

By Donna Pursley

Silver Sands State Park, Friday April 21

We had a nice crowd by 7pm and it was still light out. Even before it got dark, we were treated to an interesting atmospheric phenomenon–a Sun pillar appeared in the west where the Sun had just set. Venus shone very brightly and the 3% moon was a very nice sight. These were the only 2 objects we could see for quite a while because it was still daylight and the sky was half cloudy. We had a good number of telescopes on the field. One had been in the attic for years and this was its first use in years. Later on, we were able to see Mars and a few other bright objects. Then I turned around and the entire crowd had left. It was a good thing because we couldn’t find much else in the sky and the clouds were starting to cover the entire sky.

Cold Spring Farm, Colchester, Saturday May 13

This is one of the private events that we do in the area. Well, on the outskirts of our area. This is an hour or more drive for most of us. This time we were set up on a small field next to a gravel road. There were many participants waiting for the sky to get dark. The clouds were in and out but we were able to show them Venus, Mars and some other deep sky objects. The ISS topped the night by making two very impressive passes.