UPDATE — The title of this post has been corrected to show the correct date for this star party, March 4. Sorry for any confusion the incorrect date displayed earlier may have caused. Special thanks to K.M. for catching this error!
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Great news! Remember when we had to postpone last week’s star party due to clouds? The skies are forecast to be clear this Saturday night, March 4, 2017, so we’re looking forward to seeing everyone at 6:00pm for the star party to be held at Brower Observatory. Jump on this one while you can, because the weather will be turning lousy again. With the arrival of spring, soon we’ll all be sweating in our shirtsleeves and swatting bugs during the day, and the radiating heat rising from the Earth after sunset will render the skies unsteady at night.
Nothing like clear, cold winter weather to assure good astronomy, and this Saturday will be as good as it gets! Temperatures will be in the low teens during the day and the single digits at night, with a ten below wind chill, so dress warmly. Colin will fire up the wood stove with a double dose of logs, so we’ll be able to thaw out between observations. Think Swedes rolling in the snow after a sauna!
Seriously: There really is going to be a star party, and it really will be cold, and such nights truly are often the clearest and steadiest for astronomy. There is some chance that high winds may inhibit the view, but we’ll keep everyone apprised of that, and adjust if necessary. Sometimes, that simply means we spend more time in the dome, where we are protected from the wind, and select diffuse objects that are less affected by bad seeing. Concise details are:
Star Party at Brower Observatory
Saturday, March 4, 2017, at 6:00pm
341 Route 126 (Jefferson Road), Whitefield, ME 04353
PLANNING AHEAD
After this weekend’s, the next star party will be held at DRA on Saturday, March 25, 2017, at 7:30pm. The rain date is April 1st, 2017.
After that, the next will be held on Saturday, April 22, 2017, with a rain date of Saturday, April 29. This may be at Brower, perhaps at 8:30pm. Those details are still being arranged.
