Jan 2019 ISS Solar Transit

ISS Solar Transit January 28, 2019

What: “Star party” to watch ISS solar transit

Who: BAS and BYA members only and invited guests—not a public party

Where: John Blaesi’s workshop

When: Jan. 28, gather at 4 pm to set up equipment in preparation for transit at 4:40 pm

Who coordinated: John Grismore received an email alert from CalSky on Jan. 27. He forwarded this to some of the Board members and spoke to John Blaesi about using his workshop, since it would be very close to the center line of the transit. When some Board members agreed to publicize, John put a link to the event on the Astro Events page of our Club site and Derek sent an email to BAS and BYA Club members Sunday evening.

Publicity used: John Grismore posted to Astro Events page of our Club site Jan. 27 and Derek sent an email that evening to BAS and BYA members.

Number of people who attended: 5 BAS members

Number telescopes used: 3, with astrophotography

Other materials brought: Binoculars with solar filters. Some people also brought lawn chairs and hot beverages.

Materials of location site used: The warmth of John’s workshop inside, as it was cold!

BAS expenditures: None

What we observed: Just clouds, in the end. Thought we might have a reasonable chance at it but there was cloud cover when it happened.

Comments: Very short notice but we got the word out. Had the weather been clear, we might have had more people come; also, the fact that this happened on a work day/school day in late afternoon made a difference. (The 5 people who came were all retired!)