Log, Jan 24, 2003
13 people. I have come to suspect that the Moon affects weather in an odd way - clouds form on Friday nights after perfectly clear afternoons inversely with the amount of moonlight. Last night was totally moonless until after 11PM. A layer of mackeral clouds obliterated everything except six or eight of the brightest stars and planets and allowed them only during "thin cloud" periods. When I went to Saturn it was a pale gray with almost no contrast, and it deteriorated through the evening. Grrrrrr!The telescope continues to run very well, bitter cold weather or not but the computer is having problems with the CD-ROM. I tried to coax the CD-ROM for 20 minutes before I gave it up as a bad cause. Even trying later after the machine had been on a couple of hours didn't help. Hopefully the problem will go away when the weather warms, but we may have lost it altogether. Time will tell. At least CD-ROMs can be replaced fairly easily.I spent a good deal of time with one person who was interested in getting a telescope. I was so pleased that he made the wise decision to find out about telescopes before he bought. We discussed the advantages (and corresponding disadvantages) of various designs. At least talking in the Nature Center with cups of coffee in our hands gave us a chance to warm up.Speaking of warming up, when I was closing up shop last night our lost and found grew in size to the tune of a red lined felt cap with ear flaps and a white balaclava. These will remain in the dome in hopes that they are claimed by the owner when they come for another session soon. -Les Coleman
