This was my first star party with the NY Amateur Astronomy Association where I was a telescope operator, showing the public what can be seen through my Questar telescope. I used for the first time my new Hyperion 24 mm eyepiece; it made quite a difference from the ‘stock’ 24 mm that I use with this telescope, almost doubling the field of view; and the contrast and crispness was noticeably better.

The weather was not very much on our side, as a long cloud formation made its way up the east coast. Luckily, Manhattan was on the edge of it. I learned twenty-five years ago to be patient. I was taking a class with the late George Lovi at the Hayden Planetarium. He was using the same type of telescope as I use today. George led us outside to view the planet Jupiter. The weather was not so good, but he told us that there are always holes in the clouds and that with a little patience we will see the planet. Sure enough, it did appear and we all got to see it.

So last night, that adage proved to be the same- after what seemed to be a long time, the sky cleared out just enough so I could share the view of Saturn, Mars and the Moon, to enchanted, interested people; not the least of which an eager group of Central Park rangers, who were visibly excited by the opportunity. We all had a great time!

At some point in the evening when the sky would not cooperate, I started taking pictures of the event; here is a selection:

A wide view of Sheep’s Meadow highlighting the cloudy sky

Telescopes are lined up under the ever changing skyline on Manhattan

While the clouds passed by, a crowd watched a talk and presentation about SETI

Behind the crowd, Mars makes an appearance (small dot at 2 o’clock from the tall building)

As I re-located my scope to the back after the talk, some park rangers took an interest

I took this picture of a happy ranger family