Graduate student Kendra Kellogg presented the digital slide presentation “Constellations” before an audience of 16 residents in the Theatre of the Chartwell Riverside Retirement Residence, 201 Riverside Drive, London, Ontario, on Tuesday, April 18th, 2017, 7:30 p.m. She followed this with the “Constellations” activity, distributing 15 “Star Finder” planispheres, helping assemble them with adhesive tape and showing everybody how to use them.
RASC London Centre was represented by Mark Pickett, Everett Clark and Bob Duff. Cloudy skies ruled out celestial observing when Mark Pickett set up his Explore Scientific David H. Levy Comet Hunter 152mm Maksutov-Newtonian telescope on a Twilight II altazimuth mount on the parking lot sidewalk of the Chartwell Riverside Retirement Residence. Following Kendra’s presentation and activity, Bob brought a group of 5 residents outside to see Mark’s telescope. Since the sky was cloudy and it was still daylight, everybody talked and viewed some tree branches through Mark’s 152mm Maksutov Newtonian telescope (25mm Tele Vue Plossl eyepiece, 29X).
Kendra, Mark, Everett and Bob talked for a while after the residents had gone back indoors, until 8:45 p.m. when Mark packed up his telescope and everybody went home after an enjoyable evening explaining astronomy despite the cloudy skies.