Hello again, everyone:

The next scheduled outing for the public at Carol Ann Cross Park is Saturday evening, April 16th. Members will arrive about 45 minutes to 1 hour before sunset to assemble and make ready our telescopes.

This month's event will highlight a "1st Qtr Moon" with telescopes at high powers (up to 400X) as well as the planets Saturn and Jupiter. Either planet will show their primary moons, and Jupiter's four main moons, the so-called "Galilean Moons", may be seen to actually move and change their positions slightly with as little as an hour or two of time. Saturn and her accompanying moons are currently being studied by a NASA/ESA spacecraft named Cassini. ***Bring your digital cameras to take pictures of these objects while holding your camera up to a telescope's eyepiece and pushing the shutter button***

Saturday April 16th is also special for two other reasons: 1) It's Astronomy Day 2005 all over the US, and 2) The Cassini spacecraft is making one of its closest passes to Saturn's largest moon Titan of this current mission. While looking at Saturn, you'll have the knowledge that at that very moment in time, a man-made craft is performing detailed scientific studies, and results of the most recent studies will be available to you via the Internet within 24-48 hours.

EVERYONE is invited, and bring your friends!

I can't wait, it should be a good night!