Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Orionids Star Party




Last Saturday, after finishing the NJC open day, the astro club went to the East Coast to join the Orionids star party organized by the MPCC astro club. It was an activity open to all the astro clubs in Singapore. As we reached the destination, Anne taught the members how to set up a telescope and align the finding scope. Everything was ready, but the sky became a bit cloudy and the whole group had to wait. Certainly a lot of activities were prepared to entertain us as the backup plan. At midnight, the moonlight pollution flawed the whole plan and it really disrupted the observation to a certain extent. Fortunately, most stars could still be spotted.

Let me tell you how many things I have learned in this star party:Trace the stars. Yeah, you need to know some important stars, like Archenar to help you confirm the direction and then use the star chart to help you have a general idea about the position of the star you want to find. Yes, by using this method, I found Pleiades. That’s really the most thrilling moment. One more thing, next time do not forget to bring a jacket, otherwise your are going to freeze.


Hemiao