“The show must go on!” was the underlying theme of last night’s outreach event in the Town of Lysander. Hurricane Ian’s huge high-cloud shield eventually overtook all of CNY and bands of heavier clouds plagued our visability from the start.
Undaunted, and well prepared with trusty “Plan B”s (and some Vitamin O), the all-volunteer crew of hearty SAS members arrived in time to set up our equipment for the 8PM gala. At the appointed time and with military precision, Mike Z. Tony K., John R., Kevin L., Mike F., and I stiffened our upper lips as we stepped up to our telescopes to promote our beloved hobby to about 45 residents of Lysander, who were literally camped out on the lawn in tents, waiting to see some stars.
The cloud gods toyed with us throughout the show, allowing some marginally good views of Jupiter and Saturn…one scope even found the Dumbbell Nebula. I set up for EAA with tables, screen and projector but relied on images from previous sessions to do my slide presentation. After tap-dancing for 90 minutes, our feet got tired so we wrapped up at 9:30. Although the sky conditions weren’t the best, the crowd didn’t seem to mind. They loved seeing all the fancy equipment and the pretty pictures…especially the kids. I think the parents liked them, too. Kevin, the Recreation Supervisor was very complimentary and intends to do another event next year.
Thanks to all the volunteers who helped make the event successful. This was our last paid commitment for 2022, but we do have one more Public Session in 2 weeks, on October 15-16 at DHO. I know of a group of 10-15 people who are planning to come. See you then.