by Stacy Jo McDermott
It couldn't have been a better night and personally I don't recall such a near perfect night in SF in my whole history of astronomy. It was so good that I could make out Jupiter's moon's through my 6x30 finder scope.
Due to having to work all day Saturday (as well as today) I decided the easiest way to go was to bring the 80mm short tube...as it allows for quick set up, I'm not tweaked when kids are curious about it (and in fact I try to encourage them to try it out, focusing, finding an object, ect).
The views were "stunning" in the context of San Francisco. A gentleman next to me with a 60mm Takihashi had a really nice view of the Andromeda Galaxy! There were about 15 telescopes and at least twice as many folks who showed great interest in astronomy.
Jane and Mojo brought out the "bling bling" telescope, their APO180mm...it had the longest lines! Mojo also gave a talk on Saturn which was most interesting.
The viewing objects was quite a mixed bag. Jupiter, Saturn, M42, Andromeda, La Luna, Mizar and Alcor, the double cluster in Cassiopeia, and much more. Many people mentioned that it was the first time that they had looked through a telescope! Many children were also in attendance who were just fascinated with what was going on.
It was a great night and a great start to the SFAA's City Star Party season.