[Friends_of_SSASTROS] A New Beginning

[Mike McCabe]

Members and Friends of the SSAStros,

Welcome to the beginning of the second half of the year2024! The first half, if you didn’t notice, was quite spectacular in its ownright. We had several meetings with great presentations, a few group observing gatherings, wenton a couple of field trips, and were even graced with a Great Eclipse. Over the course ofthe first six months we got to see many unique sights in the sky both day andnight, and in general just made the best of it.

And maybe the best is yet to come! We’ve got our annualStar-B-Que coming up in just five days, then Stellafane a few weeks beyond that,and after that the observing situation starts getting really observer friendlywith earlier darkness times and the return of the planets to the evening sky.Hopefully we’ll do some more successful outreach at the Scituate Lighthouse andother venues, and who knows, maybe we’ll hit a Fall star party or two. What’snot to like?

Speaking of Stellafane, the annual Observing Olympics lists forboth binoculars and telescopes has been issued, and I’ve attached them both tothis email. These always prove to be a great way to get introduced to newobjects and even get to see some familiar objects in a new light. Training forthe Olympics starts tonight. Start stretching and hydrating so that you can beat your best!

And don’t forget about observing that incredible Sun by day!If you don’t have your own equipment you might consider reaching out to SteveLaFlamme and visiting his observatory some morning, and if looking at the Sunis really piquing your interest but you can't stand the idea of coming to Bridgewater, there are also those of us that don’t mindsetting up remotely for an hour or two of Sol gandering.

But once you’ve seen the Sun you’ve seen the Sun, right?WRONG! As an avid sun-gazer I’ve looked at ol’ Sol through telescopes literallythousands of times, and just last week I got my socks blown off by what I saw!It was Wednesday, the 24th to be exact, and the Sun had a prominenceon the limb that was so delicately beautiful it took my breath away. I likenedit to the Bleeding Heart flowers that bloom in my garden every spring, whileSteve L. likened it to a weather balloon. Of course my look was visual, so Ihad to look elsewhere to find recorded images of it. There was no shortage onSpaceweather.
Below we have still images from Phillipe Tosi (top two),Michael Karrer and Max Teodorescu, and an animation from Andy Devey;










May the best of 2024 be yet to come for all of you!
Sincerely,
Mike McCabe
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