On Saturday (Nov. 10), the Arunah Hill Outreach Program held a public star party at Notchview in Windsor, MA. Notchview offers dark skies and a large Visitor Center kept toasty warm by two wood stoves.
The event was confirmed only a week before. With the help of Colin Harrington, a notice was posted to the Berkshire Eagle. The Eagle featured the event with additional text and pictures. Barry Hervieux and I arrived before dusk and were ready to go when the sky darkened. Our host, Jim Caffrey, turned off all outside white light sources, tended the stoves, and set out hot cocoa and snacks. These efforts were complemented by a nice showing of people from the surrounding hill towns. A combination of interesting objects to observe and the warmth of the Visitor Center made for an enjoyable evening.
The featured attraction was a large & bright Comet 17P Holmes, located in Perseus. Views of the comet improved later in the night as it rose in the sky. Mars rose in the east as the event came to a close. This gave us hope for good weather, and a bigger & brighter Mars, at the final Windsor event for 2007, scheduled for December 8th at Notchview.
djc
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