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Impressions of Hardraw, July 28 - 30, 2006 ...
On July 28 I found myself feeling pretty grumpy - I'm normally a very
positive person. However, after days and days (a few weeks, in fact)
of fine, sunny weather the weather forecast for our weekend at Hardraw
was decidedly bleak ...
So when we arrived and unpacked our equipment I proclaimed the bad news.
It seemed that the break in the weather was on perfect schedule too. In
the West a blanket of Altostratus loomed. I was prepared for the worst.
As most people disappeared to the chip shop in Hawes, I decided to set
up my 'scope - I was determined to see Jupiter at least as there was a
window of opportunity to the SW. After consulting Starry Night for it's
position I scooped the giant planet up in my finderscope. Looking through
the eyepiece I could clearly see the equatorial cloud bands and distinct
shading in the polar regions - no moons were visible because it was too
light. I decided to take some video so connected my TouCam Pro740K and
set the camera to roll. It was rather nice actually, it meant Jason, Andrew,
Zeineth and Christine (a first time visitor to Harris House) could all
view the planet on my computer screen. As it became a little darker, we
could see the moons slowly coming into view.
I then looked up. I was a little stunned to be honest. The sky was clearing!
This coincided with the return of the rest of the gang from Hawes, proclaiming
(in chorus) 'I told you it would be okay!' I was more than happy and relieved
to admit that I was wrong.
What followed was a wonderful observing session that took us all the way
up to 0330 Saturday morning. Whilst the sky was covered by varying amounts
of Cirrus, there were moments when the Milky Way burst through and we
could see it in all its glory. What a sight ...
We observed meteors, some of which were very bright; objects such as M13,
M57, M27, M29, M31, brilliant Vega, the Double Double in Lyra, the beautiful
stars Alberio and Omicron Cygnii, the Engagement Ring in Ursa Minor, the
Double Cluster, Coathanger and even the Veil Supernova remnant; plus much
more than I can remember as I write this.
After a leisurely rise on Saturday mid-morning we pottered around inspecting
telescopes and enjoying the fresh air.
Later, when we would normally be preparing to make the trip over to Simonstone
Hall for dinner, we started to prepare what would be a wonderful barbecue.
The aromas as dinner was 'created' were fantastic.
Megan dived in as we gave the signal to light the barbecue - I secretly
think that this was the highlight of the weekend for her. Clearly she's
a lady who likes dicing with fire! Amongst other things I spied digestive
biscuits being used to encourage flames to take hold of the charcoal ...
Once the embers were glowing, the gastronomic delights were placed on
the grate and we waited eagerly for them to cook. It was worth the wait
- when everyone tucked-in all heads were nodding in approval when asked
if they were enjoying the food. Clearly, universal compliments to all
chefs! However, the best was yet to come.
Out came the melted chocolate with brandy, marshmallows, fruit and baked
bananas (the latter, a banana sliced open - still in its skin - and stuffed
with three large pieces of chocolate and left to cook for 10 minutes wrapped
in foil). It felt like what followed was as close to a chocolate orgy
as we dared. We gorged, giggled and as a result felt decidedly huge and
thoroughly immovable by the time we'd finished. Absolutely wonderful!
The rest of the evening was given over to Starry Night and PowerPoint
presentations, telescope-talk and Fouccalt apparatus demonstrations. The
sky didn't clear, but we were entirely satisfied with the weekend's proceedings.
Astronomers once again went home satisfied on Sunday morning, and looking
forward to more of the same during September and October.
Andrew Greenwood
Click on an image to see a larger version.
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 July and August updates ...
The bright twilight nights are slowly giving way to darker skies and the prospect of revealing a little-known nightly sight. Away from the towns and cities, the Milky Way will soon be glimpsed meandering through the constellation of Cygnus. This river of stars was worshipped by the ancient Egyptians ... Nowadays, especially when we approach the end of Summer, it's astronomers that turn their gaze skyward and praise the sight of a myriad of stars arching high above them.
The following sections have been updated: This month's night sky and observations.
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Would you like to join our newly formed visual observing group? We will now be holding regular observing sessions at some of our dark-sky sites across Macclesfield. If you would llike to be added to our contact list, don't delay ... Click
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For information on our observing
field trips to Hardraw, Yorkshire ... Click
here. |
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Our Workshops continue to be a
great success. As a result we are looking for more of you
to participate and give your own short presentations to Society
members. Let us know if you'd like to get involved ... Click
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