Feb. 18 at the Waco Wetlands was rained out. For the Mar. 18 star party (and all future ones) we'll have a back-up indoor program in case of clouds or rain. [Report by Paul Derrick, 3/5/06]
Thanks to you all for your support in helping launch our Waco Wetlands Star Parties. Too bad we didn't have clear skies, but at least tonight gave us a sort of trial run -- finding out were it is, where we'll be setting up, the nature of the facilities, etc. I'm really looking forward to working with you on making this a great success for CTAS, the Wetlands and our community. These are OUR star parties, not my star parties -- so at any time please feel free to offer suggestions for making them even better.
Remember as CTAS star party hosts you are welcome to attend the Learning the Night Sky classes free -- all or any one(s) you wish. The Mar. 20 & 21 sessions will be at my residence; the Mar. 22 & 23 sessions will be at the Wetlands -- all starting at 7:30 p.m.
See you April 15 if not before. Hope to see many of you Friday (Mar. 24) night at the Midway Middle School star party and/or Saturday (Mar. 25) at TRS. [Report by Paul Derrick 3/19/06]
Yeah -- we finally had our first outdoor star party at the Waco Wetlands with a respectable attendance including several new folks -- bet we might pick up a new member or two! Skies were OK although not great as there was some cloudiness, but we viewed between the clouds. Thanks to Bill Zboril, Dave Eisfeldt, Paul Derrick and others who brought and shared scopes, and to co-hosts Amanda & Maurice Schulz, Richard Wilson, Dee Hutchinson and Trudy LeDoux. [Report by Paul Derrick]
May 20th the night sky was very clear as viewed from the Waco Wetlands. The Public Star Party hosted approximately 25 members and visitors. There were four telescopes focusing on various objects including Jupiter, Saturn, M65 & 66 (galaxies in Leo), M13 (Hercules globular cluster) and M57 (Ring nebula). Paul Derrick provided a tour of the night sky pointing out familiar and not so familiar constellations along with tips for remembering patterns in the sky. He received a warm applause for his efforts. Thanks to Dick Campbell, Paul Derrick and others who brought and shared their scopes, and star party co-hosts Dee Hutchinson, Maurice Schulz and Trudy LeDoux. [Report by Trudy LeDoux, 5/23/06]