December 2018

It’s official! New England has just seen it’s wettest fall on record. Wonderful for our lakes and reservoirs, pretty horrible for those of us who would like to see a clear night sky once in a while.

I’ve been a member since 1973. Over that time, yes there have been washouts and some cancellations of events, but nothing like what I’ve seen over the past year. At least 2 meetings and a number of observing sessions cancelled due to weather. I can only hope that this represents the worst weather year ever and that we can only go up from here.

Being as positive as I can about all of this, I’m looking forward to some upcoming celestial events and some of the beautiful winter sights like the Orion nebula. If you are out and about on the evening of December 7, point your telescope towards Mars. Neptune will be very close to Mars, within 2 arc minutes and it’s a great chance to not only see 2 planets in one field of view, but also to see Neptune itself.  Check Mars a few days before and after as Neptune will be nearby during that time. Neptune is not very bright and not often seen, so I hope you don’t miss this chance.

On Saturday December 15, we will be having our annual Skyscraper Holiday party. This year will feature a dessert pot luck type buffet and some talks by our own members Bob Horton and Gerry Dyck. It’s always a fun time and there’s lots of food and fellowship to be had. Take a look at our website for more details as this will be a really unique meeting. Hope to see you there!

Happy Holidays, Happy New Year and let’s hope for more clear skies in 2019!