The first Cronyn Observatory public night of the summer was a great success. About 60 people showed up for a presentation on the Eta Aquarid meteor shower, as well as for observing the planets Saturn and Jupiter through four different telescopes. Volunteers were Parshati, Jan, and Henry from Western, and Dale, Bob, Steve, and Dave #5 from the RASC.

It was a special night, with Rogers TV coming down to take some video and do some interviews.

But it got even more exciting when police sirens were heard outside, followed by the arrival of three fire trucks.  The observatory visitors were promptly evacuated until officials could find the cause of the alarm, which turned out to be an electrical fault.

Firefighters who went up to inspect the observing floor asked Jan what we were observing, to which Jan replied “Jupiter”. So these firefighters, decked out in their heavy outfits and wielding their impressive axes, had their first ever view of Jupiter through a telescope. Everyone else got to look at fire trucks in the dark with their lights flashing and spinning!

[images] [ Hume Cronyn Memorial Observatory ]

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