Clouds were somewhat broken when members of the NWFAA started setting up their solar equipment at Topsail Hill Preserve State Park, but by the time we were all setup, there were only a few small spots of blue in the sky. Dean Covey, Tom Haugh and Robert Sutphen provided the solar telescopes. However, the Sun and the holes in the clouds rarely lined up. Luckily, a few of our guests were able to catch a quick glimpse of the Sun before it set. A band of clear sky to the south, out over the gulf, kept promising clearing skies so we stuck around. Eventually, the clouds started to break and the later it got, the bigger the holes were until it was mostly clear. By the time the Sun set, club member Cliff Schornak added his scope to the group for the nighttime portion of the event.
We had 40+ guest observers throughout the afternoon and evening. This was one of the better attended events at Topsail and we must acknowledge the assistance of the Friends of Topsail Hill Preserve State Park for the larger crowd.
As has been the pattern recently, Jupiter was the first object that was visible. The planet was so bright it was visible through the lighter parts of the cloud deck and it was the only object visible for some time. Later, the great Hercules cluster was also spotted high overhead as well as the Ring Nebula and Antares over the southern tree line. Even though the sky still had some clouds, the Milky Way was just visible.
Finally, just before we shutdown, Saturn rose over the southeastern treeline. As usual, Saturn stole the show and wowed the first time observers.