Free Stargazing Talk - How to choose a telescope & binocular

[Gary]

Hi Friends. Details for my next stargazing talk:

Topic: How to Choose a Telescope & Binocular for Stargazing
Date: Monday, 18 Feb 2013
Time: 7:00pm-8:30pm
Venue: Toa Payoh Public Library, Programme Zone, Level 1.
Admission is Free. No pre-registration required. Feel free to walk in at any time.

I will be focusing mainly on how to go about choosing a telescope and binocular for stargazing. There will be audience hands-on and live demo sessions (e.g. how to setup a german equatorial mount).

On that very night, there will be a very close conjunction of Jupiter and Moon.



So if you are raising funds to buy a new telescope/binocular with your Chinese New Year ang pow money, come and listen to the talk first and then spend that "hard-earned" money wisely.


More details coming soon ....

[Gary]

Just a quick update about the talk tomorrow. The tentage outside library should be completely dismantled by then. All are welcomed with or without scopes. Special thanks to James in advance for taking leave to support this event. Looking forward to his very interesting setup tmr evening for the very close Jupiter + Moon conjunction. Clear skies!

[James Ling]

Hi ALL......

Hope tonight's weather don't disappoint us, as those who wants to take a look at the 152 APM ED APO, can drop by , for both Gary's talk and the night obs...



Regards

James Ling

[Airconvent]

Looks like a fun night James and Gary! I was there this evening with the missus but she wanted to go home then, so was not able to join you all.
The evening was cloudy though. Hoped to cleared up after that.

[Gary]

Looks like a fun night James and Gary! I was there this evening with the missus but she wanted to go home then, so was not able to join you all.
The evening was cloudy though. Hoped to cleared up after that.

Hi Richard. Thanks for the support and best wishes! The sky did clear up enough for a good view of the Jupiter and Moon conjunction shortly before the end of the talk. Not a single patch of cloud was blocking them for a few hours. Hope Weixing and others will upload their conjunction photos soon.

Kudos to Linda and Toa Payoh Public Library team for their support hosting these talks and the publicity with posters and updates in the GoLibrary website.

Big thanks to all who came for the event - we all witnessed yet another weather miracle! The turnout for the talk and stargazing was very encouraging for a Monday evening event. Can't wait for the next talk during the March school holidays. Glad to finally meet up with some of my Twitter friends in person.

Special thanks to James - the Toa Payoh clear-sky lucky charm. Once again, the 6" refractor performed well on Moon and Jupiter and we had a great time shooting it with our phones and helping the crowd with theirs. One of the most memorable moment for me was shooting the Moon with Ava's iPad - what a huge live preview just before the shot!

Big thanks to Haz for bringing his Mak127. Many wonderful Moon and Jupiter shots were taken through this scope. I was so excited I accidentally broke a telescopic component! Finally!

Big thanks to Clifford, Weixing, Zong Yao, Fung Ling, Dave and Ava too for the moral support and helping out with the sidewalk and talk. Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is really awesome. Hope to shoot with a Butterfly someday for image quality comparison.

This is one sidewalk I will remember for a long time - so much fun and laughter on a not-so-blue Monday. And I hope a few members of the public will remember the amazing live views of a close conjunction.

[Gary]

Here are some photos of the free public stargazing session that night: