Graduate student Robin Wing made the first of two presentations the digital slide show Our Solar System before the initial group of 19 visitors to the Cronyn Observatory Open House, Saturday, February 25th, 7:00 p.m. More people would arrive later for a total of 24—32 visitors.
Robin brought the visitors upstairs for a tour of the dome and RASC London Centre member Bob Duff spoke briefly about the big 25.4cm refractor. Clouds blowing in from the west mostly obscured the earlier clear sky, which would have afforded nice views of Venus beside the crescent Moon and Jupiter above them. So Robin showed them the communications tower in south London through the 25.4cm refractor, using the 28mm Meade Super Wide Angle eyepiece (157X). On the observatory’s roof patio, London Centre members Keith Burr and Bob Duff showed them the weathervane on the Engineering building through the 25.4cm Dobsonian, using the 17mm Nagler eyepiece (67X).
Robin made his second presentation of Our Solar System to 13 visitors and perhaps 5 or more of them asked for a tour of the dome. On this second tour of the dome Robin and Bob showed them the 25.4cm refractor and explained Standard and Sidereal Time. Everybody left by around 9:00 p.m.
Given that there were 19 visitors for the first slide presentation and 13 for the second there may have been as many as 32 visitors. However, only a few of the second group came upstairs for the second tour of the dome, so it is uncertain as to whether any of the first group of 19 people stayed for the second slide presentation as well. The estimate may be 24—32 visitors.