Vanguard
Posted 13 February 2024 - 10:41 PM
Nice night to celebrate Mardi Gras with luna closing in on jove.
Two friends joined me for some dinner and a little outreach at public square.
We had no signs out, just a scope and binoculars. And yet, the curious will come and ask for a gander.
A nice start to the new year.
Looking forward to more outreach this coming weekend with chicago's oldest astronomical society.
Fly Me to the Moon
Posted 13 February 2024 - 11:06 PM
Excellent! People love seeing the Moon and Jupiter.
Mariner 2
Posted 13 February 2024 - 11:20 PM
Sidewalk astronomy at it's very best. Right on!
Vanguard
Posted 19 February 2024 - 10:11 PM
Unusually mild February weather allowed me to attend double header outreach.
Started the day by joining two friends at the telescope terrace at adler for some solar.
I also wanted to practice with my eclipse setup.
Was quite surprised most visitors were unaware of the upcoming totality.
Directed them toward the planetarium for more information, and a place to buy solar viewers.
Vanguard
Posted 19 February 2024 - 10:26 PM
After a good chinese dinner, friends and members of chicago astronomical society joined me for outreach at public square.
Mild winter weather on president's day, brought out the public.
Luckily tonite, we had 5 telescopes for folks to enjoy.
Folks also enjoyed seeing with naked eye the twinkling star, sirius versus the steady "fake star" jupiter.
Looking forward to more opportunities around town.
Also looking forward to seeing other CNers outreach ventures for this year of the dragon.
Vanguard
Posted 20 February 2024 - 11:16 PM
Another clear and mild nite for outreach.
Last nite, Luke, a 13yr old stargazer, expressed interest in bringing out his scope to share.
He joined us tonite for a small refractor outreach alley.
Great to see his enthusiasm and knowledge, especially the jaxa slim luna mission.
Also met a new fellow stargazer who expressed interest in outreach in near future.
Vanguard
Posted 22 February 2024 - 11:40 PM
To celebrate the landing of IM-1 odie, a retired teacher and i setup scopes to view luna on this mild winter night.
Pleasant night discussing lunar missions, sky phenomena and the upcoming eclipse.
Many folks enjoyed the high contrast views and taking snapshots of luna.
We also had a chance to test new equipment.
Looking forward to outreach in spring.
Vanguard
Posted 29 March 2024 - 09:03 PM
three friends joined me for solar outreach at navy pier on this good friday.
the pier was packed with families and visitors around the world celebrating spring break and easter holiday.
great opportunity to share info on the upcoming eclipse.
we had a full spectrum of items for folks to safely observe the sun:
-solar viewers/ solar glasses
-a solar projection device
-solar binoculars
-a small refractor for wide field white light
-a cat for high powered white light
-an h-alpha scope
we lucked out with mostly sunny skies as the last forecast was for mostly cloudy skies.
folks were able to easily view the large sunspot cluster, edging ever closer toward limb,
they also saw a large oak tree like prom.
look forward to more outreach at the pier this year.
Vanguard
Posted 30 March 2024 - 06:34 PM
lucked out again today, forecast was mostly cloudy, but the sun broke through for us.
two friends quickly joined me for more solar eclipse awareness outreach at the pier.
brought out a new setup that allowed visitors to use their own camera phones to image the sun.
had a baader film filter that clipped over the camera lens, and a sol finder for aiming.
the large sunspot cluster was still visible today.
using zoom eyepieces allowed us to quickly provide low to high magnifications of the spots.
folks also enjoyed checking out the path of totality map relative to where they live.
look forward to outreach at night.
Vanguard
Posted 14 April 2024 - 12:06 AM
unusually warm spring day, leads to great outreach opportunity.
three friends and i decided to try a new part of town west of chicago river.
nice steady stream of families and visitors to the new cluster of restaurants and shops, enjoyed views of waxing luna and jove.
also great chatting about their experiences of the eclipse and totality.
definitely a spot we plan to come back in near future.
Vanguard
Posted 15 April 2024 - 12:47 AM
on this summery spring sunday, four friends joined me for more outreach.
this time a double-header.
started off with a little bit of solar. nice smattering of sunspots and a beautiful prom plume.
after a quick dinner break, switched over to jove and near first quarter luna.
great seeing the wonder and joy of folks, as they view objects in the sky we all share.
look forward to seeing other cn members' outreach adventures.
Vanguard
Posted 15 April 2024 - 11:06 PM
another record mild spring day, third outreach in a row.
using a corrected image finder allowed folks to view first quarter luna in tandem.
some where invited to track the moon by keeping it in sight of crosshairs.
many folks also enjoyed taking a snapshot.
a fellow member of our scrappy group of sidewalk astronomers decided to gift a new young member an eq mount.
it replaces the flimsy photo tripod he had.
look forward to his astronomy passion grow.
Vanguard
Posted 19 April 2024 - 11:44 PM
We were invited to Navy Pier this weekend to help celebrate "Earth Day" weekend.
Four friends joined me to showcase luna, a glimpse of jove and a gander at sirius.
Fun chatting with locals and visitors about their adventures seeing the eclipse and totality.
Hoping weather is good tomorrow for more outreach.
Vanguard
Posted 20 April 2024 - 11:07 PM
More outreach at the Pier tonite during "Earth Day" weekend.
We had two maks providing high power views.
And an 8x50 correct image finder on ball head; guests were invited to move the lil half-a-bino to where they wanted.
Nice chatting with folks from all around, especially a couple just arrived from Poland, enduring a bit of jetlag.
A guest that stopped by last nite, looks forward to following our outreach sessions in near future.
Vanguard
Posted 25 April 2024 - 12:32 AM
Joined several friends for outreach at Adler at Night on Wednesdays.
Started out with solar viewing, moved onto jove spotting and finally luna rising.
Vanguard
Posted 18 May 2024 - 12:45 AM
tonite i joined six friends at a suburban location with a nice cluster of restaurants.
a manager of local restaurant made signs pointing customers to our viewing area.
we had a nice variety of scopes:
giant binos on parallelgram mount for comfortable low power lunar views for folks of different heights.
two super sharp refractors and large cat on goto mounts,
showing a variety of objects i.e. binaries, planetary nebulae, star clusters and luna.
a small mak with binoviewers for comfortable lunar views.
and a big dob for high powered lunar views.
good eats, good folks and plenty of parking, a nice change from the hustle and bustle of the city.
ISS
Posted 18 May 2024 - 08:08 PM
Today is National Astronomy Day but, unfortunately, the weather did not cooperate for the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg's public observing session at the Naylor Observatory.
Vanguard
Posted 19 May 2024 - 12:15 AM
Chicago folks were lucky today. There were at least 3 gatherings celebrating Astronomy Day:
- Chicago Astronomical Society at Cernan Earth & Space Center
- Chicago Astronomer at 606 Trailhead
and my local hang out, the Chinatown Square.
Luke, a budding skygazer, who received a Nano Eq mount from fellow sidewalk astronomer, took it out for a spin with his refractor.
Folks enjoyed cyclops viewing and binoviewing our neighbor, luna.
Many folks also enjoyed taking snapshots.
Also enjoyed listening to various experiences of the recent eclipse/totality and aurora show.
Sputnik
Posted 20 May 2024 - 10:48 AM
Thanks for sharing!
Vanguard
Posted 23 May 2024 - 12:37 AM
Last night line of storms helped clear the skies tonite.
Joined several friends for a little solar and a little lunar.
Took advantage of Adler at Night, where residents get free admission.
Pleasantly surprise to see a crowd patiently wait for luna rise, and a broken street light.
A friend also had first light for her two newly acquired gently used scopes.
We were able to set them up and use it for outreach.
Vanguard
Posted 06 June 2024 - 12:54 AM
Incredible 6th clear Wednesday night in a row at Museum Campus.
Even though no luna and planets to show folks,
we had the sun to discuss re: spots, eclipses and aurorae,
Albireo re: star colors,
M44 Beehive and M13 Hercules re: contrasting star clusters.
Great mix of folks receptive to matters of astronomy.
Look forward to longer nights for outreach.
Vanguard
Posted 13 June 2024 - 12:30 AM
Clouds were a bit pesky just before sunset, but luckily the sky opened up for some sol/luna outreach.
We had several instruments for folks to experience:
large cassegrain on goto mount,
small refractor on goto mount,
camera lens setup for luna astrophotos
and two dobs.
Guests enjoyed learning how to use a dob, especially the kids.
With the waxing moon, look forward to more outreach.
Vanguard
Posted 15 June 2024 - 12:12 AM
Fantastic spring day for outreach with 5 friends.
A nice assortment of scopes for visitors of Navy Pier to enjoy...for free!
Edited by waso29, 15 June 2024 - 12:22 AM.
Vanguard
Posted 15 June 2024 - 11:49 PM
Forecast was for mostly cloudy tonite, but four friends and I wouldn't have it.
Clouds parted for another nice night of outreach at the Pier.
Good friends, good food, good visitors, good live house music....life is good.
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