[AZ-Observing] Observing Report GCSP 2011 Day 3 - Learn As We Go

From: Skylook123@xxxxxxx
To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 21 Jun 2011 17:45:01 -0400 (EDT)
Grand Canyon Star Party - DAY THREE - Learn As We Go
 
Location:  Grand Canyon Visitor Center, South Rim of Grand Canyon, AZ,  
about 340 miles north of home in Tucson, about 7000 ft elevation
 
Weather: 70s at Noon, 60s at sunset, low 40s when we quit at 11 PM.   Clear 
skies for afternoon and evening, virtually dead calm after sunset.
 
Seeing and Transparency: Again improved from the first night, but a bit  
soft.  The surface calm seems to extend upward.  The cool temperatures  at 
sunset reduces the initial upper turbulence; focus at my maximum non-barlowed  
powers still are easily achieved.
 
Equipment: 
18â?? f/5 2286mm Teeter Telescope newtonian truss dob, Sky  Commander DSCs
10" Meade SCT on Atlas EQ-G mount
60mm Lunt LS60THa/B600 on  Atlas EQ-G MOUN5
 
A very nice night indeed.  I again set up the solar scope around 5:30,  
then tried to calm all the ruffled feathers over attempts to better organize 
the  group setup.  Here at the Visitor Center we have approximately 11,400  
square feet at our disposal.  At Yavapai, we had 8,600.  We have  plenty of 
space!  However, the space is defined by 12 tour bus sized  parking lanes, 
rather than the 28 short car spaces previously.  There is a  natural tendency 
to sprawl three telescopes to a lane, and some setups look like  a campsite.  
This is blocking visitor flow in places, and the visitors have  been quite 
vocal to us at the north end about the chaos.  So, we suggested  to people 
that they mimic Yavapai and set their creature comforts up along the  
entry/exit lane edges, with scopes inward and trying to keep a bit of walking  
space down the middle like a county fair midway.  Well, despite VOCAL  griping 
by three of the astronomers, it worked fantastically at the north  end.  
Returning visitors were remarking on how they had no trouble (well,  once they 
got past Dennis Young's crowd magnet 28") transiting the area.   Although the 
total crowd count was a bit less, our count at the north end was  four 
times the level of nights one and two.  As a couple of us remarked,  this is 
not 
the All Arizona Star Party campground for 48 hours of astronomy;  this is a 
three hour visitor surge.  It does not need to be as complete a  setup as a 
personal observing night in the desert.  That's my soapbox,  anyway.
 
George Barber did a very entertaining talk on stellar characteristics  
called What Kind Of Star.  He kept the time just right.  LOTS of  questions 
from 
the audience, well answered.
 
I had taken down the solar setup and let granddaughter Jessica set up the  
10" SCT while I unshrouded the 18" Teeter.  When I got back to the setup,  
Jessica had Saturn in the SCT and her sister Karina, 14, had collimated the 
18"  by herself based on how they do their 10" dob newt at home, and was 
already  showing Abireo.  Both were working the crowd like pros.  I moved it on 
 
over to the Ring while Karina started telling the Planetary Nebula story.   
Later we did some hops to other objects, and Karina only had to hear me  
introduce an object once to pick up the thread.  Paul Lorenz nearby was  
enthusiastically showing M51 and the supernova.  Between Paul and Karina,  the 
crowd picked up the enthusiasm and it was about an hour of total excitement  
and enjoyment.  This night, Paul and Karina put the party in star  party!
 
It has been extremely gratifying to see how Jessica and Karina have taken  
to the public outreach.  And the astronomy, and operating the  equipment.  
There is a new generation of astronomers coming!
 
 
Jim  O'Connor
South Rim Coordinator
Grand Canyon Star Party
Grand Canyon  Cell Phone: 520-405-6551
gcsp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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[AZ-Observing] Observing Report GCSP 2011 Day 3 - Learn As We Go

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