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Dear CCAS Member/Friend,                               October 30, 2021

Despite the Delta variant, life proceeds, and we were happy to announce that our first scheduled Star Party after a year and a half would be on October 30th, weather permitting. But weather did not permit, and so the October 30, 2021 Star Party was cancelled, which means we wait until our next scheduled one, on November 6th. Please remember, Cape Cod is not exactly known for having perennial clear skies, and extensive cloud cover, rain, or active snowfall will mean cancellation for that night.

Also, as regards Star Parties, please remember that we are still in a “high caution” phase of the pandemic. So, we will be keeping activities outdoors at our Werner Schmidt Observatory (WSO), with only a few masked and vaccinated club staff operating our main scope indoors, and projecting the photos being made of sky objects (in real time) to a wide screen outside. We will also be giving a binocular sky tour, with constellations and mythology and sky attractions and science being interwoven. And a smaller scope will also be available outside, to give a feel for “through the eyepiece” telescope views.

As we are operating WSO on school grounds during this pandemic, we will be adhering to agreed-upon safety rules that will be posted both inside and outside the Observatory. These include having a sign-in sheet, recommending social distancing and masking even outdoors, and giving each group individual equipment to use (e.g. binoculars). And, of course, there are the more usual common-sense precautions – dress warmly, use insect repellant, and bring a small flashlight if you have one.

Again, please check the weather first! If it is mostly cloudy or rainy, the event will be cancelled. We can’t do indoor activities yet, so the outside weather rules for now! And we will be planning more Star Parties from here on in. These will be cold weather parties for the next few months. BUT, there are some beautiful fall/winter sights to see, and clearer night skies in general, so please come visit us, and just have some hot cocoa waiting for you when you get home!

One further note – we have a special event in the planning stage, a “Day of Astronomy” to be specific, which will be in tandem with one of our Star Parties, but in late afternoon. This will have some gifts and special attractions. We are still fussing over the best date, which might be in November, or even later. Please stay tuned for more information on this, both here and in our monthly newsletters!

I hope the summer has treated you well, and we look forward to sharing the autumn and winter skies with you!

Jim Lynch,  President, CCAS