[AZ-Observing] An excellent summer night under the stars

The Antennas site, south of I-10 at the Hovatter Road exit, was my destination 
for a surprisingly clear new Moon Saturday night in August. Totally unexpected, 
especially since we just had a clear 'last quarter' Saturday night a week ago. 
I'm not complaining.
I arrived just past 6:00 pm, after my 125 mile trek. It's not as bad as it 
sounds, as 95% of the drive is on the freeway (US60 and I-10). Hovatter Road is 
marked as being primitive, but is in very passable condition. I was the fifth 
person to reach the site, and decided to set up next to Dan. Already present 
were Dan Gruber, Joe Goss, Steve Coe, and Matt Lutinen. Jack Jones arrived 
next.  Just before sunset Lynn Blackburn and Paul Lind arrived to complete the 
octet of observers looking for dark skies.

As I unloaded the trailer and began preparations for the night ahead, a gentle 
breeze helped to keep the flying pests at bay. This wind persisted after 
sunset, but was all but gone as darkness fell upon us.

I had not been to this site before, but was curious enough to forego more 
northerly locations to investigate this reputedly dark site. I was not to be 
disappointed. Since the desert floor was free of cloud cover, one could easily 
assess the true light dome of metropolis to the east. I estimated that the glow 
from metro Phoenix extended about 10° from the horizon. Quartzsite offered a 
much smaller glow to the west. From the north end of the spacious observing 
field, the sodium vapor illumination from a rest stop along I-10 (5 to 7 miles 
away) could be seen, but wasn't a distraction. Two small greenish lights were 
off in the distance in a field to the south, again providing no distraction. 
That's it, with regards to light trespass onto this site. In my opinion, this 
is the darkest of the sites commonly used on the desert floor. 

Coming from the east valley, using this site requires a 4 hour drive-time 
commitment (there and back again). Using my personal rationale for site 
selection on any given night, this is an overnighter. My criteria stipulate 
that I spend more time observing at a site than the combined drive time.

Once the 25 was assembled and collimated, and the trailer had been converted 
into the night's sleeping quarters, I made my rounds to greet my fellow 
observers. After a quick 'hello' and a dinner of organic wild forest mushroom 
couscous, I was ready to align the Argo Navis and get ready for some observing. 
On the agenda for the night: continue work on the Herschel 400 and observe 
challenge object IC 1296.

I happily observed, with just an occasional coffee and related bio break, until 
just past 03:00, when I collapsed onto the accommodations inside my trailer. I 
can happily report that I made significant progress on the Herschel 400 (now 
standing at 187 down, 213 to go). Some of the night's highlights:

NGC 1501, a 13.3 magnitude planetary nebula in Camelopardalis. I confess, in 
addition to being on the unobserved portion of my H400 list, its position 
allowed for an observation with both feet planted on terra firma (a rarity in a 
dob with a focal length of 125"). The nebula was observed at 198x and was 
circular with a noted brighter ring comprising the outer third. The 14.3 
magnitude central star was obvious with direct vision.

NGC 6553, an 8.2 magnitude globular cluster in Sagittarius. This cluster was 
observed at 244x and noted as very dense, large, and moderately bright. The 
cluster occupied nearly half of the field of view of the 13mm WideScan.

NGC 247, an extremely large, diffuse spiral galaxy in Cetus. Very elongated 
with a bright core. Dark patch at one end gives hint of spiral structure. 
Observed at 198x, 244x and 353x.

IC 1296, a 14.8 magnitude barred spiral galaxy in Lyra. Observed at 198x, 244x 
and 353x. Small, extremely faint, hint of spiral structure with averted vision. 
Jack and I both searched for this faint fuzzy, situated just northwest of the 
Ring Nebula (M57). Best results were obtained by placing the Ring at the edge 
of the field. Location within star field verified using Vickers Atlas.

Over the course of my maiden visit to this site, I was impressed with its 
usefulness for good, dark sky observing. Two quick observations noted in 
support of this claim: the visble width of the Milky Way near its core extended 
from Tau Sagittarii to a faint bulge extending nearly to Zeta Ophiuchi (if I've 
gotten my Bayer designations straight); and as Taurus rose, Aldebaran was 
prominently glowing orange not much more than a degree off the horizon.

I'll definitely be back.

Peter
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