[OneOfOne (Trevor)]

I was hoping to return to Brighton Beach last night for another squiz but it looked too cloudy. A friend of mine ended up there anyway and rang to say that although it was cloudy, there was a large break in the cloud so it may be visible when it got darker. He also said there was over a hundred, possibly 200, people standing on the foreshore waiting for the comet to appear! The footpath near the playground was lined with a queue of people, many with binoculars. The car park was full and people were double parking to fit in!

So we headed down there only to be met by a stream of cars leaving the car park. A great big dirty cloud had wiped out everything, even the Moon.

Apparently, Olivers Hill in Frankston was as clear as a bell? A friend rang us to get some directions on how to find the comet and he said there wasn't a cloud anywhere.

The weather tonight may be better, however Thursday and Friday nights are expected to be quite cold, implying little nighttime cloud cover...fingers crossed.

I am hoping to set up my binos again at the beach on any "clear" nights if I can. Perhaps we can get a sort of mini "space camp" going and make the best of the hundred or more people I expect that may turn up (based on last nights turnout). McNaught may be our best chance of promoting Astronomy to the public, even if we can get a handful to buy a scope and a dozen or so members for IIS it would be worthwhile. I was thinking of making some small handouts with web links to IIS, Astro suppliers, Astro clubs etc. I might even take the scope to set up for views of the Moon.