Listen,

Throw on some pants, shave a bit, get a Mountain Dew.... and share the skies with the masses.

It's the Spring Equinox!!

Have fun out there, I promised my wife I'd teach her how to ride on two wheels so she can get her motorcycle license (so she can ride her scooter to work this summer)

We are a solid go for tonight's Equinoxical Telescopic Observational Session with the Chicago Astronomers.

It will be a great warm and clear night for planets and other goodies.

Be there...!

One Hundred and Eighty Six Equinoxers -



Bam.....!

The 2012 Chicago Astronomer regular public observation season started out big and busy...



I arrived later than I expected, at 7pm. I had planned to be on-site at least by 6:30 pm, but delays. We had a treat for this session...



David Lehocky, an Astronomer from Hometown and very busy with surrounding regional astro crews, joined the Chicago Astronomer with his neat 10" Dob.

And as usual, people are attracted to the tools of science and started to assemble before we even set-up. But it takes me a bit longer to prep the C11 beast and David took off with showing our visitors the Venus and Jupiter conjunction...



C.A. Paulie arrived soon after with his 6" dob...



And along with Support Crew Barbara and Maria...we spent the next 3 1/2 hours attending to the lovers of the night sky - non-stop...



Lines formed at all our instruments and we were bouncing from all the visible planets. C.A. Bill arrived with his trusty shorty refractor - and then we had four telescopes...



And then...C.A. John joined in with his C5 Nexstar...



...and we had five Telescopic time machines to share the cosmos with.

Many regular fans of the Chicago Astronomer stopped by to say hi and enjoy the first night of spring...



The temps were fickle during this session, as it was an easy 20 degrees cooler lakeside than it was just a few blocks inland. We had waves of chill and warmth wash over us, but by the end, it was a bit chilly. No dew to contend with, but the skies were not optimal nor very transparent. A lot of haze and it made visuals difficult. With Jupiter sinking into the atmospheric muck now, we only had a very small window of clarity. I did slew the C11 over to the king of the planets from time to time, displaying the four satellites, (Io hugging the polar region) and even though it was a bubbling mess, our visitors enjoyed it. The Tablet was a hit again, displaying each planet I targeted and assisting to explain the orbital mechanics...



We got a big promo from "Free things to do in Chicago", as many mentioned that's how they knew about us...



A astronomy enthusiast stopped by with his ETX scope and asked if he could join in.....but of course!...



He would like to share the skies with fellow Astronomers and we welcome him.

All Astronomers were deep into astro talk with our visitors and David asked me several times how far M42 is. I didn't know, so I consulted the Tablet, but I kept getting diverted by our visitors and never did shout it out to him - (1300 - which is what he thought).



Local media Helicopter pilot Tom stopped by while riding his motorcycle and enjoyed his time with us...



And the crowds continue....




New Chicago Astronomer forum member Scott stopped by to share in the activities...



Barbara and Maria were busily attending to our visitors, directing and explaining what was going, with Maria taking most of this sessions pics....











Here is my favorite shot of Paulie of the session...



...doing what he digs best!



A big shout out to fellow Astronomer Dave for coming out and joining the Chicago Astronomer crew for this session.



I hope he joins in for many more.

A total of 186 visitors stopped by our Vernal Equinox Star party. Venus, Jupiter, Mars, M42, double stars, clusters were all at our call - and our visitors enjoyed them everything we shared. Eager faces and smiles all around, young kids who were deep into space and astronomy were excited and many thrilled to be able to peek through our scopes - majority who never have viewed through a telescope. I had a tight sharp crew and attended to our visitors smartly and solid.

I too, had a great time - (some star parties are better than others for many reasons)...but with special comfort shoes now, I felt great, gellin' and not worn down .....



...although you couldn't tell from this pic.

Onward to the next Chicago Astronomer gathering!

This was a fun one despite the sky conditions. It was good to see everybody. I don't know if it was the summer weather or the plug from "Free Things to do in Chicago," but this was one of the biggest crowds I've seen.