Public Star Party

Date: Saturday, 2/25/2012

Time: 2:00 PM - 10:30 PM

Location: Griffith Observatory, 2800 East Observatory Road, Los Angeles, CA 90027 (Get Directions)

Event Log

Name of Primary Presenter/Organizer: Mary Brown

Event Type: Star Party(Astronomy night): School/Public/Other group

Number of club members participating as presenters: 12

Toolkits Used:
   Space Rocks
   Other NSN Resources (Telecons, Astronomy Resources Download, etc)

Topics Covered:
   Light Pollution
   Moon
   Phases & Eclipses
   Size/Distance Scales
   Solar System
   Sun
   Telescopes

Total number of visitors: 500

What materials were handed out?
Astronomy magazines, NSN dvds, JPL Space Place info, LAAS bulletins

Comments and anecdotes about the event:
Well, that was the quickest I can remember it dewing up in a long time, and one of my quickest exists when I had set up my equipment. Got there around 5pm, but by 7pm I, Herb, and at least one other individual tossed in the towel after using it to wipe off the condensation, and left. The marine layer was big, ugly, and very near to the west all the time, but it hadn't really come to Griffith by 7pm, but the effects were still the same. Eyepieces, tripods, my laptop screen. Grass, carts, everything, wet as a cat in a bathtub, and just as happy. I was hoping to catch some video of Mars, but the only video I got was a low-mag view of Jupiter. Evan Warkentine had a new (to me) scope and possibly a new (to me) camera. A Mallington? It was very impressive, especially with the amount of moisture collecting on all surfaces. I'll try and get a photo of it next time, hopefully when things are (a) clearer, as there was also a LOT of moisture in the air as clouds and haze, and (b) drier. --- Dave