A report on the joint observation with our visitors in the Nettepark

A report on the joint observation with our visitors in the Nettepark The weather forecast was promising for the rare opportunity to observe a partial solar eclipse in Osnabrück on 12.08. The place in the Nettepark was chosen because from there the setting sun was still easy to observe during its cover. The local press had already published our great moments in a small article in the NOZ and the many calls and e-mails we received led us to expect a large number of visitors. But then came the horror news that a major fire had broken out exactly in the line of sight to the setting sun - the column of smoke could be seen for miles. No solar eclipse would have been observable if so much smoke and steam had risen at the beginning of our stellar hours. We are glad that no one was harmed in the fire and that the fire brigade managed to extinguish the flames so quickly that the smoke was no longer an obstacle at observation time.

We, Wilhelm, Thomas G., Achim, Gerold, Olaf, Werner and Fitten, had set up telescopes, spotting scopes and binoculars equipped with sun-proof equipment and were prepared for the 200 -250 interested and good-humoured visitors.

Ulrich and Jörg B. have joined us as support. The visitors used our devices extensively and observed the moon closely as it covered the sun's disk. Our SoFi glasses, which we had brought with us from our stocks, were passed around and used by many. Many questions were answered and interesting conversations were held.

After sunset, many people stayed to observe the Perseids with us and to take a look at the constellations, double stars and various deep sky objects with the telescopes. For us and hopefully all our visitors, the evening was a lot of fun until late into the night with shooting stars and a guided tour of the sky!

Here are a few impressions: