Cloudy skies and snow flurries, later partially clearing, greeted 18 visitors (15 children and 3 adults) from the 93rd London Brownies to the Cronyn Observatory for Exploring the Stars, Tuesday, March 19th, 2013, 6:30 p.m. Graduate student Parshati Patel made the digital slide presentation, “Brownies Exploring Space,” and followed this with the activity “Crater Experiment” in which flour and cocoa was poured into an aluminum tray, set out on the floor, and objects were dropped into it to demonstrate how craters are formed.
Bringing the group upstairs into the dome, Parshati showed them the big 25.4cm refractor. RASC London Centre member Everett Clark arrived early and set up the London Centre’s 25.4cm Dobsonian (17mm Nagler eyepiece, 66X), with the 8 X 50mm finderscope installed, and directed it from just inside the dome door towards the weathervane on the Engineering building. RASC London Centre member Bob Duff showed visitors the weathervane through the Dobsonian.
The skies partially cleared revealing the first quarter Moon overhead and Everett went downstairs and informed Parshati who brought the group back up into the dome. Bob showed them the Moon in hazy the sky from the roof patio through the 25.4cm Dobsonian (17mm Nagler eyepiece, 66X). Parshati ended the evening with some discussion downstairs in the lecture room and the visitors were gone by 8:20 p.m. after a very enjoyable evening of astronomy.
Bob Duff
Higher Education Liaison
RASC London Centre