The Webster Thomas High School has a Space Club, for students interested in astronomy, rockets, exoplanets, and other space-related topics. One of their advisors, Melanie Drury, asked in November, 2023, if they could come to the Observatory for a visit. We tried and tried to arrange an event, but the weather kept foiling us. Finally, almost six months after our first contact, the skies were clear!
Three students (it was exam week, so some members of the Space Club were busy studying) and a number of parents came to talk about space and look at our equipment.
We had to wait a bit for darkness to fall, so we talked about telescopes and how they work. Stacey Davis (below left) described her favorite member of our portable-telescope collection, affectionately known as "Sheet Metal."
As the stars eventually made their appearance, we spotted a bright satellite: the Resurs 01 glided silently from the southeastern horizon towards the North. Thanks very much to Heavens Above for their predictions.
Later in the evening, we looked at the globular cluster M53 through the 12-inch telescope. As we did, one of our visitors noticed the Big Dipper peeking through the dome slit.
