WDAS members have continued staffing open-door sessions at the Dark Sky Station at Danby Lodge, although these are now winding down until the October half-term. Visitor numbers at the Lodge have fallen since the school holidays ended, but attendance at the DSS has remained encouraging, with visitors keen to learn more and see the telescope room. 

John McCue and Mark Dawson continued to alternate the Sunday afternoon talks, which have now paused. Attendance varied, but audience engagement was positive.

Members have continued addressing technical issues with the telescope mount. After two attempts, John McCue and Mark achieved improved polar alignment using John’s compact imaging-camera setup, but we later judged this inadequate and another attempt was made a week later. Keith, John L and Al Bentley also attended this, but despite a forecast for clear skies, the near-full Moon and high cirrus made plate-solving around the celestial pole difficult. 

The work was not fruitless: the next time the telescope was used, members identified why the apparently accurate polar-alignment procedures had failed. They also found that certain hand-controller menu options improved pointing accuracy, bringing targets just within the field of view of the 56mm eyepiece.


Unexpected cloud cover postponed the follow-up session, but we hope the next suitable opportunity will allow us to achieve accurate telescope pointing.

Public drop-in evenings can be finalised once the equipment is fully ready. Watch this space for details of how short-notice DSS observing events will be announced.