May Workday and NotchView Viewing

Brilliant blue skies and comfortable temperatures made for a nice workday, and great public viewing at Notchview. Thanks to Kevin Collins, Matt Pain, Ray Burk, and Jonathan Klinkowski, we got the hill in great shape for spring. The water gathering system is now turned on, we just need some rain to fill the buckets to power the showers. There Gaertner is cleaned and oiled and ready for another year of service. The road is in decent shape, and the trail system seems to have weathered the winter well. Kevin got the weather station back in operation, in time to report the low humidity, comfortable temperatures, and light winds. Just a couple of warnings: Hornets are nesting in the observatory and the warming hut. I'll spray next time I'm on the hill, but just be aware of them. The other warning is the hill is pretty parched. Fire danger is HIGH! Please do not do any camp fires until we get some rain. The Notchview public viewing was a big success, thanks to Dan Carnevale, Ray, Kevin, Matt, and Jonathan. About 3 dozen folks were treated to stunning views of a setting Jupiter, a rising Saturn, and the galaxies of the spring sky.