Hi all,
On October 17th, we had another Looking Up! Virtual Star Party, held with the usual suspects. You can catch up on the stream by clicking the following link from our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/BuffaloAstronomy/videos/764959110750534/
Mars was big this event due to its close opposition. Dan and Mike P., both on-location at BAA’s Beaver Meadow Observatory, and Patrick, observing from Pennsylvania, got in on the fun. See if you’re able to pick out some famous Mars details in the images (and click to make them larger!)
We also had quite a few presentations this time around — Paul M. started us off by going over some useful astronomy terms, including an explanation of why Mars was looking so good, then Dan did a presentation on the evolution of telescopes throughout history. Later on we had presentations from our president Mike H. on Mars itself as well as a very informative discussion of nebulae featuring some beautiful imagery from Pat.
As always, we featured live astrophotography too. Below are some excellent images from Ernie of the Double Cluster and M31 that were wonderful to see appear live as he took them. If you inspect M31 on the right, take a closer look to try to find two other galaxies (hint, they may look like large or elongated stars.)
Dennis also captured a stunning live view of the North America Nebula overhead — I think the contrast between darkness and interstellar dust on the right-hand side is especially beautiful! Also, here’s another planet that Dan and Mike P. were able to show us — this time, our more distant neighbor, Uranus, and 4 nearby moons. The brightness is greatly exaggerated to enhance visibility.
If you’ve been to BAA live events in previous years, you may know that we normally don’t hold any monthly star parties at the observatory during the late fall and winter. However, due to the success of the streams so far, I’m happy to say that we’ll be holding virtual events for at least a few more months. Luckily, the setup for live astrophotography means that most members can stay warm in their own homes no matter how bad it gets outside. We hope that during the upcoming months, you’ll continue to be able to join us remotely as we take advantage of this unique opportunity. Keep an eye out here and on the BAA Facebook page for event announcements, and also keep looking up!
