Having reallocated the equipment from Brian's car from the previous evening's event - back into Mark's vehicle, the prospect for any observations at Westerdale looked rather remote and so Brian, Keith and Mark journeyed over in just the one vehicle, packing enough equipment to cater for the most likely eventualities. This increasingly looked like the 'indoor show eventuality' as we drove through thick mist over the moors, with visibility reduced to little more than 30 meters in places. Consequently, it was a slow journey and were relieved when we finally arrived at the Village Hall in Westerdale shortly after 7:10pm.
We didn't hold out much chance of spying any stars, let alone observing anything. Warmly greeted in the Hall by our contact Marian and the team already busying themselves with refreshment prepping, we set about unloading the car and connecting the laptop and new projector (it's first time used) as well as gauging the screen distance. The 6" dobsonian was used purely for display purposes. People began to take their seats, and it was wonderful to meet fellow member and village elder John Randles again. Expecting that the misty conditions would deter people from coming along, it was pleasantly surprising to see that by 7:30pm - our start time, people were still filing in and virtually every seat was taken!
Following an introduction by Marian, then Mark, who outlined how the evening would likely proceed given the fog outdoors, a brief presentation of the October night sky was given, highlighting the whereabouts of comet Atlas C/2023 A3, visible naked eye planets and certain constellations. With help from some of the younger members of the audience, a scale solar system was demonstrated, before our collection of solar system building block debris was passed around just before refreshments were readied. Homemade cakes, cookies, soup, with tea and coffee were all on offer, much appreciated by all those attending.
A quick look outdoors confirmed little change in sky conditions and after questions and discussions, we resumed our presentation, this time concentrating on pictorial and time lapse clips of Tsuchinshan-Atlas C/2023 A3 and various auroral displays visible this year - those of Richard Randle's especially the time lapse clips drawing gasps from the crowd.
It was then almost 9:30pm - where had time gone? We could have gone on, but our time was up and much appreciated by everyone present who probably would have stayed longer. As we packed away the gear, answering several questions as we did, news filtered into the hall that skies were clearing, and reloading the car it was apparent stars were visible. It didn't last, for as we said our final goodbyes a blank sky greeted us once more. The return journey was less plagued by mist - until the high ground just before the drop-down into Whitby, where even road markings immediately in front and to the side were difficult to spot, 15mph conditions! Despite this it had been a very enjoyable evening - yet another without any observations. Many thanks to Brian and Keith for their invaluable assistance on the evening and Marian and team for the refeshments.
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