On November 19 I was invited to by Cub Scout Pack 826, at St Peter's School in Greenville, to assist their scouts in the requirements for earning Astronomy Beltloops. The beltloops are similar to Boy Scout Merit Badges and the scouts must learn various aspects of using telescopes, learn the planets of our Solar System, and learn about other objects in our galaxy and beyond. Twenty-three scouts earned their beltloops that evening. As is sometimes the case in eastern NC the night sky was nearly clouded over by the time we went outide to do some observing. However, there were enough holes in the clouds that I was able to point out a few stars, such as Vega, Deneb, and Altair, (the summer triangle) and the constellations Cygnus, Cassiopeia, Pegasus, and Perseus, and located where the Andromeda Galaxy would be if it were clear and dark. Mars was also in a clear spot for a little while and several of the adults had brought their telescopes and were able to view the planet with them.
