Reports - 2011
Astronomy Benalla Dark Sky Site Report - Saturday 29th October 2011
After a few days of on-again off-again wet weather, eight members turned up to see a magnificent blazing red sun set
at our dark sky site, fully expecting the clouds to completely roll away.
The two day old slim moon was first to be seen through the frontal clouds in the early western horizon dusk. The
Moon’s eastern sunlit limb brilliantly showed the four large craters Langrenus, Vendelinus, Petavius and Furnerius,
and finer details were easily seen - especially when higher powered eyepieces were inserted.
Next to peep through the masses of clouds on the opposite side of the sky was Jupiter, king of the planets, set
symmetrically in the centre of its four Galilean moons, Io, Europa, Ganymede and Callisto.
Three visitors from Wangaratta, after talking to Ron Edwards found their way to Benalla, joined the team and were
eager to catch a glimpse of anything that popped its shining beams thru the clouds. Within minutes they were
rewarded with the view of the binary star alpha Centauri for a moment or two, then it was back to the Moon and then
the Earth’s twin Venus brightly beaming adjacent to the major star of Scorpius Constellation, Antaries.
Finally the clouds beat us into submission/ ‘Supper’ at 10-00pm.
Rupe Cheetham.
Pictures from the Hubble Site
