Comments and anecdotes about the event:
This has been reported for May 3rd, but the date was changed to the 2nd. I will delete the other report, if I can figure it out. The Native Plant Society members met for their conference this week, starting with an orientating presentation set of PowerPoints and our astronomy star party on Friday night. They will continue through the week. Bobette invited the group to come to the individual telescopes and the dome telescope to view Mars and Jupiter, the Moon, and other special objects, as well as reviewing the constellations (although to some they are new) Many come from urban areas with heavy light pollution and limited viewing. We saw a few meteors from the Eta Aquariads, a gorgeous view of the waxing crescent Moon. Everyone was very appreciative and enjoyed seeing Jupiter and the Galilean moons, with three on one side and one on the other. One young man had questions about collimating his scope and got great information from Kenton and Bruce thanks to Jake's program on collimation last year. Several visitors are interested in returning to the SLL for our July star parties.