[AZ-Observing] Re: Great Weekend
- From: Russell Chmela~ <rchmela@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: az-observing@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 11 Mar 2002 09:27:39 -0700
Steve wrote:
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I would also like to thank all the people who showed up to make it a
worthwhile venture to set up this group observing session each year. It is
fun to share the sky.
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Thanks Steve, it was a pleasure to be there and my thanks also to
the SAC club and all who helped them prepare this event. Its been a while
since I was at Sentinel, when last there I was two cars down from
Pierre Schwaar.
Was torn between bringing my 12" with one of Pierre's mirrors or
the big binoculars. Ikeya-Zhang won the arguement and the binoculars
came along. In this instrument, the comet showed two tails with a
thin separation, a slight color difference between the two and a small
"clumping" in one of the tails about 2 degrees from the nucleus. Some
color evident in the comet, a shade of blue with a green added. The
tail(s) were almost to 3 degrees in the instrument.
Was surprised at how much more Yuma was in the sky than my last
visit but it was not too bad. The Zodiacal light looks ready to pull
in the comet soon, so this might be the last few days to see it at best
before the morning show for it begins.
Following the Comet sketch, a pleasant night of clusters, large neb's
and a tour through the Virgo and Coma Galaxy groups. The air never
really became cold but was fine for a nap after 1 am. Some morning
horizon clouds made it not possible for a two-comet night with a
absence of WM1(Linear). Woven between objects were visits from some
people in the Yuma Astro club, and folks I have observed with more often.
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I completed the list of a dozen of these and once I was done I had reached a
milestone in observing the sky. I try not to brag about what I have been
fortunate enough to observe over the years, but this night demands a moment of
reflection. Once I completed these Centaurus objects, I had observed all the
deep sky objects in Burnham's Celestial Handbook that can be seen from
Arizona. It has taken 18 years of enjoyment and concentrated effort. I know
that other SAC members have similar long-term observing projects that they are
pursuing and I wish them the best. It is a good feeling and I have acquired a
reverence for the beauty of the night sky that I certainly didn't have when I
began.
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Wow! thats a milestone alright. I have about one year less observing
time than you do. Congrats on the feat!
After taking in a few views with others scopes and sitting back
behind mine Saturday night, I reflected on how many people I have met along
the way and scopes looked through. The Vermont skies - both Burlingtons'
and at Stellafane, the Florida sites, and those around Chicago, followed
by Arizona, then the SFO Bay region and now Arizona once again. The scopes
are in the many dozens and maybe even the low hundreds with some standouts
like the 36" Lick and 40" Yerkes refractors, the Porter Turret telescope
and the Mars Hill scope at Lowell to remember. The people, many of them
just forms in the stellar light or voices in the dark, all with tales
to tell and experience to share- even with those who would otherwise be
total strangers to them, but for a telescope or a pair of binoculars.
Those people who sit under thier sky blanket of discarded photons all
night every weekend watching the boob tube just cannot know what they're
missing!
RC
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