[AZ-Observing] Re: 5 mile meadow
- From: "Jack Jones" <spicastar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 21:53:00 -0700
Not being quiet on the Saturday party, just trying to keep the repetition
and foofara to a minimum. I was amazed at the sheer numbers of us there, can
we have a count from someone? The white lights from the other two campsites
were minimal, and you just had to remember to not look at the flareup
whenever they threw another log on the fire. At a distance of over 100 yards
it was not really a factor. The dew was the big factor and by 2 AM,
eyepieces, binocs, and Telrad were wet.
What a sky. I scored on every NGC I looked for with the 14.5 inch except NGC
15, which I didn't give a lot of time or it just may be too darn tiny, and
got others easily at 14 to 15th mag. Not having observed for 3 months I
couldn't take a break from galaxy hunting to surf and with that dark a sky,
the hunting was brief, almost instant with the Telrad. I got 20 obscure
objects even tho trying out (playing with) new software.
The new software on the laptop was SkyTools, a skychart and listing program
with powerful sorting capabilities that I am now delighted with:
www.skyhound.com. Click on an object on the list and go directly to the
naked eye, finder and eyepiece view. No page turning, looking up in an
index, bookmarks, or wondering where my magnifiers or pencils went. Actually
a lot easier on the back, too. I still needed Megastar running to check
starfield objects because I am more familiar with it and have it configured
how I want it.
At 140 miles, and a 2.5 hr drive, that's the farthest I have gone for a
1-day party, but it's fantastic for a 2-day event. Feel great, I've had my
fix.
Jack Jones
Saguaro Astronomy Club
Public Events
Phoenix AZ
spicastar@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Well, my first foray into the two-nighter was a success. although there
were
> some problems with car & campsite lights at the site, I was able to get
some
> solid observing in both nights before the dew won out. Thad & I both
agreed
> the transparency was excellent giving it a 9 both nights. I'd could see
> detail in the Milky Way during twilight. The seeing on Friday started out
at
> about an 8 but as the moistons emerged, it went down to a 5-6 by the time
I
> packed it in for the night. Saturday night was much the same except the
> seeing was about one grade lower throughout the night.
> And a big thanks to Rick Rotramel for the loan of the battery for Gert's
Eq
> platform (my power source crapped out).
>
> BTW for those interested the Site specs are:
>
> Lat N34d 41m 59s
> Lon W111d 26m 49s
> Elev 6835'
>
>
>
> Rick Tejera
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