[AZ-Observing] Re: GCSP 2012 North Rim
- From: Skylook123@xxxxxxx
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Sat, 30 Jun 2012 19:54:06 -0400 (EDT)
Nice write-up, Steve. Interesting to have the windbreak on the veranda;
we just get the wind on the South Rim. With my granddaughters running our
two scopes for the last couple of years, I haven't really done the scope
looking thing much, but doing short sky walks with the folks waiting to look
through the girls' scopes, and the official constellation tours once or
twice a night (love that Merlin line), has been a great enhancement to my own
nights.
Sorry to hear about Bill's stumble. Hope he and his scope both recover
well.
And sounds like you did a couple of great talks. Thanks for the news from
the cozy North.
Jim O'Connor
South Rim Coordinator
Grand Canyon Star Party
gcsp@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In a message dated 6/30/2012 12:47:24 P.M. US Mountain Standard Time,
fester00@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:
This year's edition was, a little strange it seemed to me. From the
planning stage and signing up volunteers, it just seemed out of phase,
somehow.
I managed to get the veranda filled with astronomers, and Kaibab Lodge was
booked specifically this year, but it just felt odd.
So, on to the actual star party. We were all set to have a record number
of large telescopes-three 20"ers, a couple 16's, a C-14 and so on.
Smallest scope was set to be a 4" refractor. On Sunday, we were set to have
over
180" of aperture on the field for the visitors! The weather was mild,
except for a bit of wind on a couple nights, but the veranda and canyon wall
shelters us, deflecting all but direct hits up over the lodge and into the
trees. You can sure hear it howl, but it doesn't seem to affect us all that
much. The skies were amazing, if a bit hazy closer to the horizon. All
week long, the lowest part of the Scorpion's tail was misty and gunky.
(Yes, technical term.) Courtesy of The Sierra Club, my attention was drawn to
a long string of red aircraft warning lights on a new windfarm west of
Williams. Miles long, they blinked on and off all night, but didn't seem all
that bad to me. I'm still conjuring up a response to Sierra and a possible
request to the FA
A for action. (Now, I'm a lobbyist, too, I guess.)
For some reason, everyone set up their scopes farther back from the edge
this year, and we didn't expand as close to the fireplace as we normally do.
As a result, the veranda seemed a bit crowded, even with fewer scopes.
Maybe I need to give a little more direction in that area, but we did have
several newcomers to the group this year, too. So maybe that was part of it.
One of my main volunteers, Jim Mahon, was delayed by a family emergency
for a couple days, compounded by mechanical trouble with his trailer rig.
Cody, the wonder dog, was feeling very ill and needed treatment, so they had
to delay leaving L.A. until Sunday. Then, had trouble with the hitch and
didn't actually hit the road until Monday. Jim was scheduled to give a
"What's In The Sky Tonight" talk on Saturday, so I had to throw one together
to
cover for him. It actually went pretty weell, just throwing pictures up
on the screen and describing what they'd see in the eyepieces. I may have
to add that one to the regular schedule. Thanks Jim! ;-) I also had a
couple volunteers I've had in the past just show up without any notification.
Our Volunteer Ranger, George Varga shows up Saturday night to tell me
there's someone set up at Bright Angel Point trailhead, and who it was. Can't
say I was surprised, but they really are supposed to tell me, first. The
NPS gets a little
miffed if they do that, so I have to make it clear, soon.
Between doing the talks, answering questions afterward and then running
down to the observing field to run my 20", I didn't have as many visitors as
I'd like, but the others did a great job when I wasn't there. We averaged
about 150-180 people per night. Funny thing about it though, they seemed
to evaporate, or sublimate actually, all at once. Later than usual, closer
to midnight, but when it was over, it was OVER. We didn't have as much
onesie-twosies after the crowd left as usual. Of course, Chris and I had some
stragglers, just because of 20" aperture curiosity, but that was about it.
Nice folks all around.
It was nice to actually have some activity on the Sun during the first
part of the week. Rosie and I got to set up our solar scope a couple times
and I actually had to do a sketch! We showed about 300 people sunspots in 5
hours over two days and told them about the evening programs, mostly to
squeals of delight, and a couple, "Oh, too bad. We're leaving today!" It's
all good, though, as showing old Sol is among my favorite things to do. We
were quite rusty, though. Forgetting our chairs and our step stool for the
vertically challenged, but thanks to a local block of limestone, we
managed.
Wednesday, Rosie and I set up at Kaibab Lodge. Due to a scheduling snafu,
(oops), we were by ourselves there. I set up Rosie's 8" SCT and struggled
a bit with the computerized GOTO. It's amazing how slow the GOTO seems
after whipping around with the 20" Dob! I kept it together somehow though,
gave a laser constellation tour to, as Jim put it, "Reestablish myself as
Merlin", then went on to show most of the showcase pieces-the Leo Triplet,
M57, M13, M23 and so on. Plus Saturn of course and even did a request for
Mars. Ellen Winchester, Lodge Proprietor came out and I had to show her the
Stargate, as that's really the object that fired up her imagination. She
loved seeing it again of course, and promised to have us back again next
year. Works every time! :-)
Just as Rosie and I were sitting down to dinner at Kaibab, I got called to
the front desk for a phone call. It was Robin Tellis, our Interpretive
Ranger. She informed me there had been an accident. Bill Dellinges had
fallen on the stairs while carrying his telescope to the veranda. He was cut
severely, had a couple broken fingers and maybe a fractured wrist. He'd
been taken to Kanab for treatment, but seemed to be fine. The problem was, I
hadn't had him fill out the Volunteer Agreement papers yet, having not seen
him when he arrived the night before. He'd opted to wait to set up until
Wednesday while we were gone. This incident has, apparently, caused a
wave of fear among the volunteers that, if something happened, Saguaro
Astronomy Club could somehow be on the hook for damages, medical bills and
lawsuits up the yin-yang. NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. After
several
conversations with Robin Tellis about the incident and its implications, a
simple change of
policy is mandated. This will be reflected on the GCSPNR website before
volunteers are accepted for 2013, so I won't go into it here, but all those
present at the party this year were informed. It boils down to this, Bill
is responsible for his own injuries and treatment. No one is being sued, an
d Bill feels more embarrassed than actually injured. Had he filled out
and submitted the papers, he'd have been compensated. When I saw him after
our return from Kaibab, I told him, "Bill, if you don't want to do the star
party, just SAY SO! You don't have to throw yourself down the stairs." He
took it in his usual Bill manner and everything went back to normal.
Well, as "normal" as Bill can be. :-) Here's to ya, Bill!
Thursday night, after the party, I stayed up to do some observing on my
own. I'm doing the Herscel 400 and took the opportunity to get some time in
Sagittarius and Ophiucus. It was simply amazing! The sky was so
contrasty, I had no trouble finding all the objects on my list except two that
were
not on my Sky Atlas 2000 charts. Fourteen new objects in under 2 hours,
including logging time. Just shows the power of a really dark sky!
("Stupid Dark", to quote Mike Wiles, a new volunteer this year.)
Friday, I made a mistake I feel I'll be paying for. I approved an
"experiment" and I should have checked with Robin Tellis first. Try to do
someone
a favor, and it comes back. I accept the blame for any misunderstanding
and hold no hard feelings. I hope the person involved can do the same.
Bottom line, we're looking into implementing the experiment in a safe,
consistent manner and will decide once fully evaluated. 'Nuff said.
Saturday was our last night, once again. I gave the talk, "Astronomy
Is...", tying what we do as amateurs into how we cooperate with pro
astronomers
and the benefits both receive. It went over very well, and the talk is
evolving. It really seems to get people interested, judging by the amount of
inquiries I get afterward. Fun! We got everything packed up and ready to
go, collected all the visitor contact sheets without resorting to violence
or bribery, ;-), and drove back home. Such a wonderful, scenic drive from
the north rim back to Phoenix! I just can't get enough of the Painted
Desert and Vermillion Cliffs and so on. Quite spectacular.
Watch the SAC website for the changes in policy for next year, and I'll
keep this list informed of any other changes that may or may not come about
in the next month or so. Remember: the 2013 GCSP is being held from 6/8
through 6/15. North rim signup begins August 1, 2012 for those arranging
their own lodging, please check with me for scheduling, and January 1, 2013
for
camp site assignments.
Thanks to all for you help! I couldn't possibly do it without each and
every one of you. See you next year.
Steve Dodder
Chairman, SAC Novice Group
Coordinator, Grand Canyon Star Party, North Rim
Director, Stone Haven Observatory
fester00@xxxxxxxxxxx
http://www.stonehavenobservatory.com
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