Whitby & District Astronomical Society

After last year’s gales and torrential downpours, conditions this year were on the whole rather benign. Stubborn cloud banks during the Saturday afternoon solar viewing prevented prolonged observations, although during cloud breaks tantalizing glimpses of a sunspot grouping at least raised hopes of better views the following afternoon. Our location, behind the Owl sanctuary pen and adjacent to Grovers optics was certainly convenient for unloading and loading all the equipment. Limited, observations may have been, but there was still considerable interest with large crowds on the West cliff and a large oil pipe laying vessel laid off shore ensuring that the scopes were not idle.

Saturday night was in many ways similar to the Perseid party, less meteors of course, but with clear skies and a chill in the air. Because of the food fair marquees on Archery green, the raised pitch and putt area again served as our ‘observational base’. Saturn was the first target low in the SW, the rings and Titan delighting those present. As darkness fell the transparent skies yielded some great views of deep sky objects, our usual favourites. The ISS also made a pass and even the Oil pipe vessel ‘lit up like a city’ was a spectacle. Quite a decent evening was the consensus of opinion.

The Sunday solar observation event proved to be more satisfactory than the previous day, with quite lengthy sunny spells, the threatening cloud banks mostly keeping to the west.

Careful scrutiny of the solar disk revealed quite a rash of mostly faint sunspots. Business was quite brisk, although the owls didn’t seem to care a hoot.