Charles
Excellent! GSV 2007 was my first star party also and your article echo's my
impressions and experience.
Joel




In a message dated 1/3/2008 9:10:28 A.M. Eastern Standard Time,
canstey@... writes:





Why Georgia Sky View should be your first Star Party.

If you have never gone to a star party before you might be very nervous
about going to one. Thoughts of upsetting other astronomers or breaking
some unwritten rule go through your mind and dampen your enthusiasm.
You may have heard horror stories about unfriendly observers yelling at
others about white lights, noise, or ruining their time under the stars.
Such stories are generally few and far between and tend to get
exaggerated. Common first timer concerns are: where you will set up,
how you will get around, where to eat, what happens if it rains, and
will the experience be worth the effort? GSV makes attending a star
party very easy and natural.

GSV 2007 was my first official star party and I found it exceptionally
enjoyable. I am a member of FRAC, the club holds the star party so I
did know many of the observers but it didn't matter. The setup at
GSV is very simple. There is one observing / parking / camping field.
You can park your car on the field and then set up your scope and tent
right next to it. Those with RVs or travel trailers normally set up
along the edge of the tree-lined field to keep their large vehicle from
blocking the views of others on the field and to minimize generator
noise. During the day you can drive on an off the field all you want to
get something to eat or go on a day excursion. Some people bring food
to eat but most seem to head out to the local restaurants for lunch and
dinner. I brought food but I think this year I will eat out.

The facilities are excellent. There is a very large meeting house with
kitchen where the presentations and potluck dinner are held. There are
almost always a few people milling around here any time of day or night.
Drinks, coffee and snacks are available there for $0.50 - $1.00 on the
honor system. If the unfortunate happens and it rains, it is more than
large enough to accommodate everyone. There are two bunk houses, one
for each gender, a short walk from the observing field with bathrooms
and showers. Bathrooms are also located in the meeting house. You can
choose to sleep in the temperature moderated bunk house instead of on
the field for a small additional fee. Each bunkhouse has around 20
top-bottom bunks on each of the two sides of the building, with
bathrooms and showers in the middle.

Some comments about GSV at night. You are not supposed to drive on or
off the field after dark unless there is an emergency. If you are
really nervous about that issue or you have chosen to stay off-site, you
can park by the meeting house and are free to come and go. I don't
think anyone at GSV2007 had a need or desire to drive after dark. Most
everyone will be observing or simply wandering around between the
observing field and meeting house. You do not need to use a light to
get around but if you use one, it should be red. If you accidentally
turn on a white light, no one is going to be yelling at you to turn it
off or throw you out. At worst someone will kindly remind you to use
only a red light. I found GSV to more on the social interaction side of
"star party" than a whole field of serious observers hunkered
down at their scope.

My observations about GSV and maybe about star parties in general; you
get out of it what you put into it. The star party is not organized to
make people meet each other or to have experts specifically teach
novices. Attendance at the presentations and workshops is purely
optional. Everyone is free to do as they will. Normally I am not a
gregarious person in the least but at GSV I went out of my way to
introduce myself to others and see what they were doing. By doing so I
met many people and learned quite a bit. I was able to view through a
large 20" Obsession and also a solar PST. I had never looked at the
sun before and it was quite a treat. There are always observers willing
to help you out setting up or answering any questions you might have.
You only need to introduce yourself and ask.

As with most unfamiliar situations, your imagination of all the bad
things that could happen is far worse than the reality. Georgia Sky
View has a very simple layout, great facilities, and friendly people
that make it an excellent choice as a first star party or the 100th.

Charles Anstey

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