Monday 26th August was the annual Quay day in the east Essex town of Burnham on Crouch, an event that supports the week long yachting regatta that the town hosts. This year the East Essex Astronomy Club had a stand allowing the public to safely view the sun. 7 club members volunteered to help people view the sun through various telescopes. Available for use were 2 Coranado PSTs (both mounted on star adventurers), an 80mm refractor with Herschel wedge and an 8” Celestron Evolution with a Celestron solar filter.
The day was perfect for solar gazing without a cloud in the sky the temperature topped 30°C. Although the sun is (very) quite at the moment the public were able to view the sun to see limb darkening through all scopes and granulation through the club’s PST. The club was able to purchase the PST with help from the East of England Coop green token community charity scheme. Throughout the day around 150 visitors were able to view the sun for the first time through a telescope. The evolution was also trained on a waning moon visible in the daytime, with low contrast however, where Mare Crisium was just visible on the eastern limb.
Many thanks to the volunteers who made the day a success, perhaps we should have a go next year!
