Wheeler Farm Star Party, Friday 17 Apr
Lured to Wheeler by the sudden appearance of a blue sky I trekked over to Wheeler Farm to find a small contingent of SLASers already there. A local High School class with teachers and home made telescopes in tow also showed up with the hope they would get try their new creations on the night sky. The blue sky didn't last long and by near dark we were surrounded by expanding clouds, after a short tease the last large sucker hole filled in. We had a small number of other people the came over hoping to see something but most were disappointed and went away with yellow schedules in hands and a promise that Saturday would be better and directions to SPOC. Most of us stayed around for while hoping to get a chance to se a few things before packing it in. Unfortunately it was not meant to be. Or was it? After the bulk of the SLASers went of for waffles and coffee the sky started to break and low and behold the Big Dipper and Saturn were clearly visible soon other stars and constellation began to pop out and the clouds were in full retreat. A handful of us: Craig and Ann Blanchard, Jim Gibson, Dan Turner and myself were all that was left, with only one 80mm refractor left assembled. The Clearing was enough to bring some people out and before we long we had a handful of visitors meandering around wanting to see something. All were delighted by the views of Saturn in the small refractor and a double star and after a lot of chatting and talking up the club and SPOC left with yellow schedules and directions to SPOC and promises of bigger and better viewing, nicer weather and more telescopes. Overall the wheeler site is pretty good for the middle of the valley, last night there was considerable moisture in the air, transparency was poor as a result but he it was steady and Saturn looked good. Once the trees around the site fill in the site should improve, there are no real bright lights shinning into the site but there are numerous businesses and dwellings in the area each with there poorly designed lighting. Full trees will help to cut this down and provide a darker site. No guards or steady winds to worry about, the grass fields made a good place to set up and parking was plentiful. As cars came in their head lights would light up the area, that will be a little bit of a problem but otherwise I think this will be a good site for in-valley star parties. Robert Taylor
Glad to see that some members made it. I was going to go but from my house in West Murray, it looked as if there would be no way. Some people are true die-hards! Rodger Fry ----- Original Message ----- From: "Robert Taylor" <robtaylor3661@comcast.net> To: <Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com> Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 2:44 PM Subject: [Utah-astronomy] Wheeler Farm Star Party, Friday 17 Apr
Lured to Wheeler by the sudden appearance of a blue sky I trekked over to Wheeler Farm to find a small contingent of SLASers already there. A local High School class with teachers and home made telescopes in tow also showed up with the hope they would get try their new creations on the night sky. The blue sky didn't last long and by near dark we were surrounded by expanding clouds, after a short tease the last large sucker hole filled in. We had a small number of other people the came over hoping to see something but most were disappointed and went away with yellow schedules in hands and a promise that Saturday would be better and directions to SPOC.
Most of us stayed around for while hoping to get a chance to se a few things before packing it in. Unfortunately it was not meant to be. Or was it? After the bulk of the SLASers went of for waffles and coffee the sky started to break and low and behold the Big Dipper and Saturn were clearly visible soon other stars and constellation began to pop out and the clouds were in full retreat. A handful of us: Craig and Ann Blanchard, Jim Gibson, Dan Turner and myself were all that was left, with only one 80mm refractor left assembled. The Clearing was enough to bring some people out and before we long we had a handful of visitors meandering around wanting to see something. All were delighted by the views of Saturn in the small refractor and a double star and after a lot of chatting and talking up the club and SPOC left with yellow schedules and directions to SPOC and promises of bigger and better viewing, nicer weather and more telescopes.
Overall the wheeler site is pretty good for the middle of the valley, last night there was considerable moisture in the air, transparency was poor as a result but he it was steady and Saturn looked good. Once the trees around the site fill in the site should improve, there are no real bright lights shinning into the site but there are numerous businesses and dwellings in the area each with there poorly designed lighting. Full trees will help to cut this down and provide a darker site. No guards or steady winds to worry about, the grass fields made a good place to set up and parking was plentiful. As cars came in their head lights would light up the area, that will be a little bit of a problem but otherwise I think this will be a good site for in-valley star parties.
Robert Taylor _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
Thanks for that report, Robert. Kudos to you, Daniel, Jim, and the Blanchards for seeing it through. Was that Jim's ED80 that you were using? Terrific scope! Tonight does look much better so it should be a good time at SPOC tonight. I believe all three observatory telescopes have operators assigned tonight. Erik and I will be operating the 32-inch. I have a feeling the turnout will be good. I was at my car club meet this afternoon and most of the members are planning a cruise out to SPOC at some point. If you like RX-8's, you're likely to see a few at Stansbury this evening. Oh, and probably some celestial sights as well, lol!
In this case it was my 80mm. Tonight looks much more promising. Robert Taylor -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Chuck Hards Sent: Saturday, April 18, 2009 5:12 PM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] Wheeler Farm Star Party, Friday 17 Apr Thanks for that report, Robert. Kudos to you, Daniel, Jim, and the Blanchards for seeing it through. Was that Jim's ED80 that you were using? Terrific scope! Tonight does look much better so it should be a good time at SPOC tonight. I believe all three observatory telescopes have operators assigned tonight. Erik and I will be operating the 32-inch. I have a feeling the turnout will be good. I was at my car club meet this afternoon and most of the members are planning a cruise out to SPOC at some point. If you like RX-8's, you're likely to see a few at Stansbury this evening. Oh, and probably some celestial sights as well, lol! _______________________________________________ Utah-Astronomy mailing list Utah-Astronomy@mailman.xmission.com http://mailman.xmission.com/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/utah-astronomy Visit the Photo Gallery: http://www.slas.us/gallery2/main.php Visit the Wiki: http://www.utahastronomy.com
participants (3)
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Chuck Hards -
Robert Taylor -
Rodger C. Fry