Day 13 blog entry.
Saturday 21 May 2022 - Tour Under Clouds
Up early. Ugh. Made extra coffee.
Finished the revisions to 16-inch telescope operator's manual! It's in pretty good shape. Finished the text overhaul of the 10-inch user manual. Next step: add the images back in.
Started collecting all the official user manuals for the telescopes, mounts, accessories, cameras, software, etc. For the operator library.
Looked like it wasn't going to rain so I hopped on the bike. It felt SOOO good. I do believe it was the first official bike ride of the season. Didn't have a heart attack, didn't get off the bike on the hills, didn't have a diverging fall, didn't experience a fast leak in the front tire, and went fast enough to outrun the blackflies.
I checked out the park's amphitheater, Yurts area, small Nature Centre building, and Trout Creek section. I paused at the scenic La Cloche Silhouette trail head. Ah, the smell of campfires. Experienced flashbacks when I arrived at Bear Alley. I remembered the steep roads, walking along them at night without a flashlight, site 67 and where I set up my tent, and spending an afternoon at Second Beach.
Dinner? It's Vindaloo night!
About an hour before show time, I heard Kate setting up in the observatory grounds. I decided to deliver my presentation at the front, beside the projector, with my laptop directly connected. I wanted them to see me, and me them. More intimate.
I did a redux of my Tour of the Night Sky. Virtual tour as we were clouded out once again. Actually, the deck was updated with our recent supernova and lunar eclipse images! And I added a slide encouraging people to try for the RASC Explore the Universe certificate. Any one can do it. The presentation seemed to go well, with the biggest crowd yet. Haven't used my remote presenter device for a while--handy as I had gloves on.
Some intriguing questions at the end such as "Can aurora happen at any time?" Yes, but it depends on the Sun! Showed some of the monitoring sites I watch and suggested trying a smartphone app.
I apologised that my science team has not perfected the cloud filter. Alas.
Tomorrow: it's Ask Me Anything.
The Astronomer-In-Residence program is coordinated by the Allan I Carswell Observatory (AICO) at York University with the Killarney Provincial Park Observatory (KPPO).
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