Hello everyone! The July 11 star party at the Columbus site was a rousing success. We had quite a large crowd braving the heat for some clear skies, including several newcomers who met me at the Whataburger to follow me to the site. Many brought their own scopes. Some others just hung out and looked through my 16" and also other users' scopes. A number of users were in their private observatories as well, and even Larry Mitchell and his 36" made an appearance. It was a great night, with nearly no clouds to be seen after dark. A sincere thank you to everyone who came out. The experience really reminded me why I signed up for this job. It was great to see all the new people coming out to learn more, and all us veterans more than happy to help out.
Quick housekeeping note: one thing I forgot to mention to the newcomers is that you are supposed to fill out a log report regarding your site usage every time you go to the site. There's a box on the field near the power outlets that contains the form... but if you don't remember to do it when you're there (like this time), you can fill it out later on our website at www.astronomyhouston.org. Just log in to your member account and click on "Create Observatory Log Report" on the right hand side under Member Features.
See you all out at the site next month!
Stephen Jones
