Recent Public Events
By Donna Pursley
Silver Sands in Milford, October 17, 2025
Many started setting up before it was dark. When I was done setting up, I took a walk and counted 15 scopes!! I don’t think I can remember when we had an event with this many scopes. There were a few people who had asked earlier if they could bring their scope – of course you can! It was a very clear night with no Moon. All of us were too busy to count, but we think we had to have over 200 people. Even I had a line for my 6” scope. I wasn’t able to move off of Vega for over 2 hours. By then it was quieting down a little. Mike had his SeeStar set up and took pictures of both comets. I think others found the comets in their scopes and were able to share with the crowd. Saturn is very nice with its moons and the edge on rings. We needed to pack up around 9:30 to make sure we were out by 10. This was a very successful, busy night.
Young’s Park in Branford, October 18, 2025
After last night, we needed a break, and we got one. When we arrived at Young’s Park there were the usual dogs running around the park. It was mostly cloudy. I think we were all standing around waiting for each other to make the first move to set up a scope. About 6 of us set up our scopes. There was one person waiting for us. Then a couple showed up about a half hour later. We were able to find Saturn and a few other things through the clouds and haze. After they left, we hung around for a while until it was called a night. Just about when the last scopes were being put into the cars, 2 more cars of people showed up – and there was a clear patch in the sky. The best that we could do was to tell them about the future events.
Young’s Park in Branford, November 8, 2025
We started off with just one lonely scope set up. Then a few more started showing up. There was one visitor for quite a while. He had never looked through a scope before, but he was able to see Saturn, a few star clusters, a galaxy and a few double stars.
We ended up with 7 scopes set up and around 40-50 people staggered throughout the night. That is a large crowd for Branford. There were many families which is always encouraged. The sky was on and off clouds, but we were able to find enough objects in the clear sky to keep everyone happy. When the last of the visitors left, we looked up and it was total clouds. Good timing. We were able to end our public events for the year on a good note.
By Jim Mazur
Family Astronomy Night at Hammonasset Beach State Park, October 24, 2025
The last Hammonasset Family Astronomy Night of the year was held outside the Meigs Point Nature Center on Friday, October 24. The weather was clear and not too cold, a good combination for fall stargazing. Besides ASNH, two other groups participate in these events, the Thames Amateur Astronomical Society and the Shoreline Astronomical Society. About 15 telescopes were set up and we had about 200 visitors attend. Two planets were visible that night, Saturn with its rings and distant Neptune appearing as a small blue-green disk. We also viewed a variety of fall favorites including the Andromeda Galaxy, the Pleiades, the Perseus Double Cluster, the Dumbbell Nebula, and some colorful double stars. These events at Hammonasset are very popular with the public, and more astronomy nights are scheduled for 2026, starting with one on Saturday, March 21.
Osbornedale State Park in Derby, November 22, 2025
At the invitation of the Kellogg Environmental Center, we set up our telescopes on a hilltop in Osbornedale State Park. We had 7 scopes, and about 30-35 people came to look through them. The weather was cold but typical for late November. Those who came were a mix of adults and children, and they were enthusiastic about looking through our scopes. The sky was mostly clear but there was a lot of light pollution, making it difficult to see even the more prominent constellations. Still, we were able to show people Saturn, Neptune, and at the very end of the session, Jupiter. We also looked at some double stars, the Perseus Double Cluster, the Andromeda Galaxy, and several other targets. Even with the bright skies, it was an enjoyable evening of observing.
Club Meteorites Travel to New York State
By Al Washburn
On September 24, 2025 the ASNH meteorite collection was presented twice at Mohonk Mountain House Resort, outside New Paltz, New York. The first session, at 2 pm was intended for children and included a meteor drop box and magnets to test the samples to identify their basic type. The second session, at 9 pm, was for adults, and included a PowerPoint presentation on meteorites, followed by the opportunity to handle and ask questions about the samples.
