'Twas the Friday before Christmas and nothing was stirring
The moon is new and well out of the sky; the clouds finally part so at long last we have some planned observing!
It’s fair to say the weather has not been kind to astronomers of late, there have been some bright days which got hazy by the evening, then the rain and the wind hampered any viewing.
Our usual planned club observation evenings are the Saturday closest to the new moon but at our recent AGM it was decided that to take advantage of clearer skies we should swap to the Friday. Friday being the start of the weekend has the bonus of people being able to attend the evening without worrying about a late night before work.
Arriving at our chosen location of the National Trust car park at Win Green, I could see a good turnout of stargazers and telescopes. I make sure to darken my car headlights on approach so as not to ruin anyone’s night vision as it takes at least half an hour for your eyes to adjust.
I have a little Dobsonian telescope, recently collimated at our Telescope Workshop so am eager to try it out on a real sky. Having taken delivery of a tall camping table earlier in the day I start setting up while also chatting with folks.
Rod and Barbara have set up a pair of binoculars on a stand and are expertly spotting objects like the Seven Sisters (Pleiades (M45)) and Jupiter (you know, the planet) and some deep sky objects, such as the double cluster. Orion is creeping up the southern horizon but is mostly covered by trees for about the next hour. Saturn is also a little elusive, hiding behind some mistiness and a few branches.
My baby-dob doesn’t disappoint – after Rod helps me out with the focussing to get rid of the ‘polo-mints’ – I find many dots in the sky and am happy enough with that but Rod, Mark and Nick help me find Jupiter, plus a couple of moons, Pleiades and eventually, Saturn and her ‘ears’. The rings are quite hidden as the planet is currently side on, so it seems there are small ears instead.
A few opened car doors and the light did cause some viewing issues for those of us who are observers rather than the astrophotographers. We’re in talks with another location and this may help, the cars are parked further away from the telescopes and viewing.
Time flies by as I become lost in the night sky. It has been a great night, and I arrive home full off bubbles and stories of the night. Looking forward to the next one.
If you want to be part of the next one, contact Dave, who will let you know about membership. See our programme of scheduled activities in 2026.
You can opt to be added to the Discord channel and CCAC Anouncements group, we take the opportunity of a clear sky to organise an impromptu observation evenings, as well as the planned monthly, like this one.
Jo