i attended my astronomy clubs public observing session last night. mars was the hot topic and the turnout was amazing. we had about 200-250 people turn out in addition to around 30+ members with about 30 telescopes. we had everything from little 2” celestron, 10 & 12.5” portaballs, big amature made newtonians, huge 155mm astrophysics apo refractors and massive 30” obsession telescopes along with everything in between. there was really a huge offering to choose from all with fantastic views by all.


i really enjoyed not only looking at mars through all of the instruments but getting a better feel for the pro’s and con’s of each type of tool. i was able to look at the dumbbell nebula, m13, m31, the ring nebula, mars, the north american nebula, and others through more than one telescope. the differences between the refractors and reflectors on deep sky objects was amazing. it reenforces my decision to get in line for my 12.5” portaball.


a great time was had by all and i look forward to bringing my telescope to a future public session to share with others. on a side note, i did think the public was pretty interesting to talk to. some thought this was the only time they could see mars. some thought that earth could hit mars and were seriously concerned about a collision. still others asked seriously if i thought there were martians looking back at us from mars, i kid you not. either they had some wicked imaginations or astronomy education is seriously lacking in schools. it was fun talking to everyone though, regardless of their “viewpoint” on the world.