Public day follows a clear night

We opened our tents at Kelling Heath this morning to a very misty start, with the sun trying to break through the cloud. But it followed yet another great night for the skycamp, with the sky largely clear for most of the night. Observers were plagued with the dewing up of cameras and telescopes in the moisture-laden air. But the dark skies kept everyone busy finding new objects to observe. A team from the BBC's The Sky At Night TV programme were touring the field, with professional astronomer Lucie Green interviewing observers. Thankfully they were using a night-vision camera rather than the usual bright lights! One camper, observing supernova remnant the Veil Nebula in Cygnus with a giant instrument, used a laser pen to show them just where to find it in the sky. I had not seen one demonstrated before and it was most effective. Today was a fine one for the open day and one of the fields became a village of astronomy dealers with many of the well known UK names represented. Many campers came away with new telescopes or must-have accessories. They included Andy Wilson, pictured here, from Paddock Wood, who picked up a very nice Williams Optics refractor and Vixen mount that together make a very useful portable instrument. ©PAUL SUTHERLAND, SpaceStories.com