Paulie makes a good point.

But it should be an early day for the President and I bet ok for the later star party by the Adler.

....I hope.

I'm teetering because of the Obama thing going on. They may mistake our setups for SAM launchers. Seriously.... I'm going to try to make it.

Three Scopes, no waiting....





The concerns about the President causing a gridlock were unfounded and the Chicago Astronomers enjoyed a pleasant smooth star party by the skyline.

Our Chicago Astronomer crew for the session would be, Linda, Rich and Myself...



Setting up about 7:30 pm it was still plenty of light to try out the new pleather skirt...



I think it's unisex.

The Moon was an early target and we all slewed toward it to begin with. I included a variable polarizer on a 40mm 2" to build up some contrast in the still bright sky...



The 90mm Refractor provides nice views of the Moon, along with the 35mm 2" Rini - and also allows me to attend to two visitors at the same time...then they can switch.

Rich was busy this session, but handled the crowds very smoothly and I saw that he was having a great time...



Saturn was about 20 degrees high off the Moon and I spotted it first by a simple scan. The Moon gets it's "Ahhs", but Saturn gets the "Wows" all the time...



Linda and Rich targeted both objects and we all had good crowds throughout the session...



It was busy, but not overwhelming and with the great crew on site, the visitors were attended to with ease...



New Chicago Astronomer fan Larry, found out about this star party via the website and stopped by to see what we do. He took a bunch of pics and I hope to receive and post them soon...



He has an 8" SCT and might bring it along on the next session.

I also met a very nice family who were enthralled with all we had to show them, including the E.T Cluster and the Double Cluster...



It was fireworks night at Navy Pier and made for a nice backdrop for our telescopes...



Fellow Adler Telescope facilitator Fred stopped by...



..and long time Chicago Astronomer supporters Eddies Sr & jr...



..and in the mix is our own Chicago Astronomer Skymaster Bill.

And we stayed on-site till about 10:30...an early session...



The evening was a nice warm and dry one - as opposed to the hot and sticky sessions we endured the last few sessions...



A great thanks to Chicago Astronomers Linda and Rich for a smooth session by the skyline!

UPDATE:

Here are Larry's pics of the Chicago Astronomer star party...



It'll be nice looking at these pics from a hot and steamy evening in the middle of next winter.

Thanks Larry!