Hello,
On thursday 9th, many clubs gathered at the country's Space Camp, the
Eurospace Center, near France and Luxemburg.
For most of the afternoon, my PST was used to show details on the surface of
the Sun and lots of people had a look at our star. I dressed up in my
astronaut blue suit (at least I can do that once a year) and was interviewed
by RTL-TVI, the french speaking national commercial TV station.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JYKbkx3zMmY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2_C686Pt8Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4dWdDFNnWg
Later, we went inside to avertize about our astronomy clubs (we have tables
and cables for our PC's) and after sunset, went back outside with our
telescopes and showed the stars, this time (and the space station) and a few
shooting stars !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ub8mP3qo6I
Pictures:
https://picasaweb.google.com/108584325990837650927/NEF09Aout2012#
I was back home at 3:00 AM.
The next day, the 10th, I was too tired to travel much with the car, but
went to the port of Antwerp with my binoculars and Canon camera, on the
bike, and did see the triangle Saturn-Mars-Spica and again the space
station. This time, it was improvized, people from my town got interested
and we looked together at the stars:
https://picasaweb.google.com/108584325990837650927/Nef10Aout2012#
On saturday, the big day for Astrovéga and CAO at Louvain-La-Neuve, not far
from the Cyclotron (it's a university town, 30 km south-east of Brussels).
Many people came (about a hundred) and so did the press. We had two
astronomy conferences, outside, before it became dark enough for the
observations. We even had radio-astronomy to show to the public ! Our
telescopes were all the time sollicitated, mainly by children ! I hurt my
back while unloading the Dobson Sky-Quest xx12 from the car but could still
guide the crowd. We saw twice the space station, many double stars, galaxies
and Perseïds too! It was all over at 00:40 AM! A huge success; two clubs
together, billboards in the towns, websites adapted, arrows placed to guide
people to the place....beautiful weather, shooting stars, ISS passes,
control over lamps in the direct neighbourhood........Everything!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE2j_DCJiIo
https://picasaweb.google.com/108584325990837650927/11Aout2012NEFParAlainC#
https://picasaweb.google.com/108584325990837650927/11Aout2012NEF#
https://picasaweb.google.com/110824215516837863525/NEF11Aout2012?authuser=0&feat=directlink#
And press reports:
http://www.lavenir.net/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20120813_00191786
http://www.lavenir.net/article/detail.aspx?articleid=DMF20120813_00191784


Raoul Lannoy
Nerviersstraat 19
2018 Antwerpen
0486/89.24.61
Lat N 51°12'22" Long E 04°25'16"