Cloudy skies with rain showers greeted some 50 visitors (adults and children) for the Cronyn Observatory Public Night, Saturday, April 12th, 2014, 8:00 p.m. Graduate students Dilini Subasinghe and Tony Martinez hosted the event. RASC London Centre was represented by Peter Jedicke and Bob Duff, later joined in the dome by Everett Clark. Dilini made her digital slide presentation, Saturn and fielded questions. Peter listened to Dilini’s presentation but had to leave soon afterwards.
There was a short break in which everybody was invited upstairs into the dome where Bob gave a talk on the history of the Cronyn Observatory and the technical aspects of the big 25.4cm refractor. He also explained the 2 clocks on the east wall and the difference between Standard and Sidereal Time. Bob then explained the 25.4cm Dobsonian and then supervised as the visitors viewed the weathervane on the Engineering building through the RASC London Centre’s 25.4cm Dobsonian (17mm Nagler eyepiece, 66X), which he had set up just inside the door to the roof patio. Dilini invited most everybody back downstairs to listen to the second slide presentation, The Big Bang, being given by Tony.
Everett arrived in the dome and joined Bob in talking to the visitors and answering many questions. Bob gave out one Moon Gazers’ Guide card. Everybody was pretty well gone by 10:20 p.m. after an interesting evening learning about astronomy and telescopes.