I arrived, by train from Liverpool
Central Station, at about 19:10. As I had not seen any sign of the Sun all day I was not expecting this event to have clear
skies. However, the 1st quarter Moon was easily visible in the 20 minute walk to this event.
Jim Stacey was starting
to set up his Celestron C6 f12 GoTo telescope when I arrived.
Brendan Martin soon had his 10 inch Dobsonian Reflector
set up to view the Moon and Mars. The limiting magnitude, at about 19:15, was approximately 3, within about 30 degrees of
the zenith. Below that altitude the fog made it very difficult to see anything.
Geoff Regan brought his Son Chris to
this event.
Lawrence Ashworth set up his 4 inch refractor and Graham Roberts set up my 3 inch f4 reflector that he had
brought in his car.
Jim Lawler and Derek Heslin set up their 25 x 100 binoculars and almost immediately proceeded to
improvise some dewcaps for them.
Other LAS members that I remember being there were Pam McAdams and Alan Dennott
At
about 19:36 I was able to see a very good view of Mars in Jim Stacey's C6 with a 6mm 300x eyepiece. A polar cap was easily
visible, as well as a large dark region below it.
Just after 19:30, the Ainsdale Ranger, Rachel, turned off the external
fluorescent lights. This made viewing a lot easier. Rachel also provided access to hot drinks and biscuits that were much
appreciated.
At about 19:50 the fog started to get thicker and by about 19:53 the Moon had almost dissappeared.
At
about 20:00 Geoff Regan started his talk in the Visitors Centre - "Our Place in Space". This was followed, after
a short intermission, by Brendan Martin's talk - "My Favourite Objects Through a Telescope". This lasted from about
20:45 to about 21:15. By then, it was time to pack up and go our seperate ways.
Jim Stacey and Alan Dennott were able
to take pictures of this event which can be seen below:
Ainsdale - 22 Jan 2010 Photos
