I second all of Chuck's sentiments here. I have attended MANY a star party, but this was a first for me in terms of all the binos set up; I must say they certainly enhance the overall experience. I too was surprised at the superb image of M51 in the Bears -- better than what I've seen in many telescopes of far more aperture (of course it helps that it was perfectly positioned in a dark sky...). It was also a pleasure to observe with so many seasoned veteran observers. I would have stayed all night if I didn't have to be at work today. Again, the only downside for me was trying to stay awake on the long drive home. Rich --- Chuck Hards <chuckhards@yahoo.com> wrote:
Don't ever let a lack of equipment discourage you from attending a star-party with a particular emphasis. I brought six binoculars; there were plenty to go around. Several people arrived with no equipment at all, and got their eyes full.
Most of us would find an object, then "make the rounds", seeing what others had found, making a circuit back to our own, to find a new object. Rich was making log entries fast and furiously. He also had his 6" Dynascope and I brought my fiberglass 10" Dob, so occasionally we would see what an object looked like with more power and aperture. He also brought a laser-collimator, and we tweaked our alignment before it got truly dark. Neat little device, I think I'll start looking into one seriously.
Jupiter was too low to see any detail other than blurred banding and of course the moons. Venus was a fat gibbous pearl.
The moon was distinctly three-dimensional in the binoculars; someone else made the same observation though I can't recall who it was at the moment. Played "Also Sprach Zarathustra" while moongazing (before the Floyd). Felt like throwing a bone in the air.
I remembered to check the mileage from the interstate exit this time: 5.25 miles from the point where you get off the exit ramp to the turn-off to the site. Patrick got a photo of the sign at the turn-off, hopefully will post it when he gets back.
Hope to see you at the next one, Joe!
Chuck
--- Joe Bauman <bau@desnews.com> wrote:
Wow, sounds like everyone had a blast. Wish I'd been there, even though I don't own a pair of bios. -- Joe
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