| Observer: | Tom Campbell |
| Location: | Lubbock, Texas (Long: 101°56'W Lat: 33°47'N) |
| Telescope: | 8" f/6 Dobsonian |
| Eyepieces: | 1.25" Plössls - 25mm (49x), 20mm (61x), 15mm (81x), 10mm (122x), 6mm (203x), 4mm (305x) 2.0" 51.5mm (24x) |
This weekend, the South Plains Astronomy Club hosted a public star party in a park in downtown Lubbock. We had 6 club members show up (myself included) and 7 telescopes, ranging from a 4" refractor to a 12" SCT. Although the first quarter Moon isn't normally desirable while observing, it makes a great target at public events, and indeed, was the highlight of the night. In fact, people were lined up at my telescope trying to take photos of the Moon through the eyepiece with their smart phones. What a great memento of the occasion!
Between 50-100 people showed up (hard to tell in the dark) throughout the night, and people stuck around for hours as we pointed the telescopes to various bright objects such as the Moon, Venus, Jupiter, M44, and a smattering of double stars.
Our club president had a really great idea, which I will need to try sometime. He brought a portable power supply and monitor, and attached a webcam to his telescope and displayed the Moon on a large screen, so several could see it simultaneously. This was immensely popular, and allowed him to point out various features on the Moon. Or at least it did for about 20 minutes, when the battery died. Still, it's something I will have to keep in mind for future public outings.
One of the highlights of the night for me personally was a young girl coming to look at Venus through my telescope. She looked through the eyepiece and noted how pretty it was. She then picked up her small dog and held his eye to the telescope so he could see, too. The dad said, "Yes, he sees it and I'm sure he thinks it is very pretty. Now put him down and let someone else take a peek." These sorts of things are what make public outings so great.