Subject:   [TAC] OR: Losing Ten Inches Ain't Fun!
Date:  Mon, 05 May 2008 17:36:27 -0700
From:  Mark Wagner <mark.wagner@...>
Reply-To:  The Astronomy Connection <sf-bay-tac@...>
To:  tac <sf-bay-tac@...>


Last Saturday Richard Navarrete convinced me to ignore my instincts, and
meet him at Henry Coe State Park with our 18" Dobs.  The plan was to see
how it went, prepare to stay the night, but be ready to bail out if
conditions were poor.

Well, they were.  Driving down 101 looking toward Fremont Peak from
around the Coyote Valley, well, there was no Fremont Peak.  A low mucky
haze covered everything.  If I didn't know better, I'd swear we were
back in fire season, it looked like we were smoked out.  I arrived at
Coe before Richard, and was pleased to see Jim Collins there.  Hadn't
seen him in ages, as he had moved to Chico a year back.  Good to see you
Jim!  At the time, a stiff wind was a worry.  It was chilly too.  And,
did I say it was mucky looking?   Well, it was mucky looking.  Richard
arrived, his usual upbeat self.  I had a hard time remaining glum about
the prospects.

Sunset was spectacular.  It was then that I realized a good observing
night is a great thing, but even getting out and seeing a view like that
sunset was worth the drive.  I was feeling good again.  Thanks Richard!
I hope those reading this looked at the photo Richard posted on the TAC
Flickr account, quite good, giving a nice feel for what it was like there.

Reading the other observing reports that have come in, the few of them,
its clear that it wasn't, clear.  The only place that oddly did well was
Fremont Peak - and there's Jamie popping his buttons about it.  Phooey
Jamie.  I'm happy for you, and Rich, and my long lost bud Rod, but it
didn't help me feel better ;-)   When I read your report, I could only
think of one of my favorite lines in "Oh Brother Where Art Thou" - - -
when Clooney can't get his Dapper Dan, and tells the store owner that
his place is some sort of geographical oddity - its 2 weeks from
everywhere!  Well, that was Fremont Peak I guess.  The oddity of
observing sites last Saturday - a good one!  I do see Steve got in some
good observing too.  Well, not me.

As Richard stated, our 18's were more like 8's out there.   For sure,
losing ten inches ain't fun.  What frustration!  But I did log some
targets, and had fun with the rest of the gang there.  Hawley had
brought a new imaging gizmo, which looked quite slick.  I met Marcel and
Janet (is that right, Janet?).  Scott Baker was fun to be set up by.  He
took my imaging ribbing right in stride.  Anyway, all in all, it was
fun, even with the frustration.  We packed up and headed home about
12:30.  Enough rest to enjoy the Lakers game and not enjoy the Sharks
game (marathon) on Sunday.

By the way, Richard and I took a short hike to pay our fees at the
ranger station at Coe.  Very nice little hike.  A few wildflower,
mosses, lichens, all sorts of cool stuff to look at, and a bit of
exercise.  Try it next time!

Here are the few raw notes I logged from Saturday.  You'll get the idea:

N5585 Uma GX 6.1'x3.8' 11.2B 14 19 47 56 43 45
Very large, very dim, elongated n/s.  No detail in bad sky.

N5443 Uma GX 3.2'x1.2' 13.1P 14 02 11 55 48 56
Nice elongated galaxy ne/sw, appears mottled or ragged, almost as if
there is a double core, 7mm, poor transparency. Actual core is large,
fat, and has hint of stellar nucleus.

N5485 Uma GX 2.4'x1.8' 11.4V 14 07 11 55 00 05
Round galaxy, fairly small, dim halo with smallish brighter core and dim
stellar nucleus, 12mm.  With 7mm, hints of elongation n/s and some
mottling, possible spiral structure noted to N of core.

NGC 5473 Uma GX 2.3'x1.8' 12.4B 14 04 43 54 53 35
Round disk of a possible small face on spiral, dim halo, small brighter
core with bright stellar nucleus popping in averted.

N5687 Boo GX 2.4'x1.6' 12.6B 14 34 52 54 28 35
Small, elongated wwnw/eese, dim, brightish core, potentially a dim
stellar nucleus.  Nice galaxy with foreground stars embedded in leading
edge.

NGC 5474 Uma GX 4.7'x4.7' 11.3B 14 05 01 53 39 38
Roundish or slightly irregular, mottled appearance, little to no
detail?  Offset core?

After a while, I began losing interest.  Fortunately, Judy (Julie?)
asked me to show her some constellations.  Scott had a green laser
(woooo!) that he lent me, so I was off and running, drawing lines in the
sky.  Hawley came over saying he was shooting wide-field where I had
just begun to move too, so I put gave the laser back and we moved to the
eyepiece.

M13 was way muted, but Julie and Marcel enjoyed it anyway.  Same for
M92.  The one surprise of the night was M51, with a 12 Nagler, up high.
Decent detail.

I think that's what I closed the night with.  I don't know if others
stayed much later, but the Clear Sky "Charts"  indicated a worsening of
transparency around 1 a.m., and I just wasn't into seeing how correct it
might be.

Looking forward to next time.  I can only get better, and I'd dearly
love those ten inches back!

Mark
--
Are you attending GSSP? http://www.goldenstatestarparty.org
Add to TAC's Flickr Group! http://www.flickr.com/groups/tac/
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Greeting TACos far and wide...

A new e-mail address has been configured to use only for sending the
various TAC's each other's observing reports. This was just tested on
TAC-SAC and TAC-Shasta, with a posting of Mark Johnston's report from
sf-bay-tac:

OR: Sat May 3, 2008.  A Fremont Peak night to remember.

The idea is to let people across the state know what others are
observing, be able to easily see the reports, get to know who in the
state is getting out, and encourage others to observe and post reports.
Reports will be culled from four TAC's across California:

TAC (SF bay area)
TAC-SAC (Sacramento great area)
TAC-South (San Diego and southland)
TAC-Shasta (Redding and surrounding area)

Clear skies!

-------- Original Message --------
Subject:  [TAC] OR: Sat May 3, 2008. A Fremont Peak night to remember.
Date:  Mon, 05 May 2008 10:30:16 -0700
From:  Mark Johnston <mark@...>
Reply-To:  The Astronomy Connection <sf-bay-tac@...>
To:  Tac Mailing List <sf-bay-tac@...>



OR: Fremont Peak Saturday May 3, 2008
Observations using Jamies 11" (felix) and mostly I used my 18" dob and
17mm,9mm Naglers.

Drawn by a change in plans combined with the Sat images showing cloud
cover combined with the elevation of the clouds clearly below the peak
on the KSBW webcam http://www.ksbw.com/wxcam/811980/detail.html .
I'll try to present another view than Jamies already posted great OR.

Present as stated by Jamie were 5 scopes total with Jamie, Rich
Neuschafer, Denis Lefebvre, Rod Norden and myself with still new big-dob.

I had spent the entire day doing a nasty under-the-house plumbing job
from hell (Where was GregLF when I needed him? LOL)  combined with a
very busy work week before so the Peak was the Medicine I badly needed
and it delivered. Haze was extending fairly high as the Astro-Van
climbed the Peak and even near the SW lot some haze was clearly at that
level but the muck was clearly very low and below the peak from San Juan
Bautista view.  Normally I look for the Peak from 101 south near Coe but
haze was covering that view.

The night was from a Bootes star counts 6.0 or perhaps better later on.
And although some people think SQM is garbage, I like it as 'one more
indicator'  so will state that the peak pulled out at best around 2am a
21.5 mag/ArcSec darkness reading which was best I have measured there.

Logged 23 objects and re-visited tons more mostly mentioned in
highlights below.

Highlights:

Milky way was absolutely amazing at 3am and naked eye gazing was
perfectly acceptable.   Jamie, Rich, and I  stood there gazing at the
bands with clear seperation.  By 3am it was high and darkness on both
sides ... stunning.   Did some random wide-field gazing near gamma CYG
as well.

Earlier in the night several of my objects were from the TAC Eye Candy
list which I had converted to MegaStar and had went through in detail
last week to come up with a list of the 8 or so I had not yet observed
from earlier sessions.  Also browsed a few goodies while at it.
Notable eye candy that stood out were the stacked galaxies of 5985 (at
the base) then eliptical 5982 and edge on 5981 on top.  Now I see above
that is a 4th little guy 'on top' 5976 so I'll revisit next time.

Another fantastic area wad on and by M106 which was absolutely stunning
and loaded with detail.
I logged a large number of galaxies there and loved it.  I am sure I had
seen several before but just was having so much fun ... kept going.

Jamie has mentioned the area he called me over to see which was 3 and
soon to be found 4 galaxies forming the tips of a cross and 2 more we
discovered in the general areas just outside FOV.  Cross was (in sign of
cross form) a fairly diffuse 3:1 elongated E-W 4424 on top, the largest
on bottom elongated in same direction was 4442 and to the left (in dob
eyepiece) was edge-on 3:1 elongated at 45deg slant 4417 and finally off
to the right (east) was the very dim (mag 13.7) elongated E-W 4445.  The
last two off to the S-E were 4451 and 4483 which were smaller.  What was
missed was 4380 but then again there are so many all about because 4442
is truely dead center in 'Downtown Virgo' you could go on forever ...

After 3AM, had a great time in Sag Star cloud, thanks Jamie for view
through Felix-the-wonder-scope).  I gotta say Felix has one heck of a
fine mirror with excellent contrast.  After seeing CAS rising over the
trees pulled in 7789 with my new toy and even though low, it was great
to see this favorite once again and with much detail.  Also visited down
south the Lagoon, Trifed, Eagle, and Swan all with 17mm nag and O-III
filter and all stunning.  Very near the Lagoon was a discovery of a huge
blinking Red-giant ... oh wait, that was the radio tower's light ...

Lastly we saw our old buddy Jupiter up high enough to catch a nice
pre-season view.

All in all the night was amazing

--
Are you attending GSSP? http://www.goldenstatestarparty.org
Add to TAC's Flickr Group! http://www.flickr.com/groups/tac/
Mailing list preferences: http://seds.org/mailman/listinfo/sf-bay-tac

For all those interested in observing reports, and especially for those unaware
of this resource,
TAC's Observing Reports Archive has been updated with content from this past new
moon weekend.

Here is where to find it:

http://observers.org/reports/

Some good reading in there.

Reports are being archived from TAC, TAC-SAC, TAC-Shasta, and TAC-South (if
anyone submits one!).

Clear skies!

Mark

Very nice report, Michael.

It reminds me of a time long ago and a place far away:

In 1974, I was taking courses at the College of Marin, preparing to
study physics at UC.  I was interested in astronomy, and had done some
observing from my backyard with a 50mm refractor and a 4" newtonian
reflector.

I took the only astronomy course offered, which was designed for
non-science majors.  In fact, the teacher was my differential
equations teacher!  We both knew I didn't really belong there, and
when I came in he looked at me both smiling and accusingly, and asked
me what I was doing there.  I replied that I loved astronomy.

The most memorable experience of the course, narually, was our trip to
a dark site.  Not as dark as Whiskeytown Lake or Devastated, but as
dark as I had ever been to at that time.  We didn't even have
telescopes.  We were just looking at the constellations and the Milky
Way.  It was overwhelming.

I'm thankful Mark and Randy initiated the revival of TAC-Shasta. I
told them I owe them an observing report since it so happened I took
my astronomy class (2 students + 1 friend) to the Devastated Area in
Lassen Volcanic National Park on Thursday night.

BACKGROUND
I teach physics and astronomy at Simpson University in Redding, CA.
For six years I've been taking my fall astronomy class to Shasta Mine
Trail parking lot at Whiskeytown Lake. Most of the students have never
been under a dark sky with someone to point objects out to them. I set
up the school's two 8" Meades (2001 vintage LX-200 & 2005 LX-90) and
my Celestron 9x63 binoculars on a tripod. A lot of students cite this
as being the most memorable experience of the course. Two years ago I
added a trip to Bumpass Hell at Lassen. Seven students, one telescope,
binoculars and I crowded into my GMC Safari and went up for a
spectacular evening. Last year I had more students and several friends
in a car pool. We arrived early enough to hike to the mud pots (the
peak was closed due to possible lightning) and then enjoy a night
under the dark skies. Right now I am teaching a three week summer
course for which I've planned in trips last Thursday and next Thursday.

1 MAY, 2008
The plan was to leave campus at 7:00 and arrive just at sunset. When I
called the Ranger station in the late afternoon the ranger told me
they had just opened the road from the south entrance from the Sulpher
Works to Bumpass Hell. I was tempted, but didn't have time to change
plans. Besides, I'd never observed from the Devastated Area. We left
at 7:00 and arrived at the Devastated Area about 8:10, right after
sunset. On the way up I had the students look over their SkyMap
(skymaps.com) and What's Up from universetoday.com and plan some
targets. We arrived and I set up the 8" LX-90 in the twilight. I could
tell it was going to be a gloriously dark night. Wind - nothing. Very
still. There were two empty pickups in the parking lot, and another
with a 78 year old waiting until early morning to start a ski around
the base of the mountain. We invited him to join us, but he said his
eyes were too bad for telescopes.

We looked at Mar & Saturn. They were washed out by the atmosphere.
Possibly a sighting of Mercury, in between trees. I am reluctant to
call it because I couldn't see any other stars. The students were able
to spot Mel 11, M44, and M35 with binos, even in the twilight. As the
sky darkened I showed them Castor & Mizar. (Castor was hard to split,
so I think the scope need collimation.)

They were awed by M36, 37, & 38, but I knew as it got darker they
would be even more amazed by the globulars.

Finally around 9:30 twilight was nearly gone and the sky was pitch
black, the darkest I remember ever seeing it. Easy mag 6 based on the
Little Dipper.

We looked at M51, M81 & 82. The spiral arms in 51 were clearly visible
as was the dark splotches in M82.

I remembered the double cluster in Perseus, and we caught it before it
set.

We turned to M3 in the east and the students got their first look at a
globular against a very dark sky. Hundreds of stars, it seemed popping
out. After that we turned to M13.

Then we turned to the Virgo cluster. M84 & 86 and their friends were
very easy to spot. I let the students look and see 5 or 6 easy-to-see
galaxies fill the eyepiece.

Epsilon Lyra was hard to split confirming the scope needs collimation.

It was close to 11:00 and students (all of us are men) had endured the
cold with just a little foot stomping and sprints across the parking
lot. But I had promised we'd get back by 1:00 AM. One tried to light
the camp stove to make hot chocolate as we broke down, but couldn't
get the stove to pump up. I wondered if they had had too much, but one
said, "So we're coming back out next Thursday?" I hope they're hooked!
I know this report may not wow the serious observers out there, but I
have some very engaged student right now!

Next week we'll head to Bumpass Hell early enough to see the sunset
and spot Mercury.

Carpe Noctem!

Michael Huster

If you are interested in what equipment is expected at GSSP this year, a
web-page showing it has
been added to the web-site:

http://goldenstatestarparty.blogspot.com/2008/02/telescopes-anticipated-at-gssp-\
2008.html

Looks like a fun time!

Mark

HI, Randy,

I am so glad this list has been cleaned up and revitalized. I actually didn't
know it existed
until a few days ago and when I first checked the messages I was very
disappointed to
see all the spam. I live in Redding and am very interested in finding people to
go
observing with. I don't really want to go out by myself. And, if possible, at
least at first, I
would like to accompany someone, in other words, let someone else drive. Right
not I
don't like driving at night especially when I don't know where I am going. My
equiipment
is small and I also enjoy browsing/scanning with my binoculars. I am very new to
amateur
astronomy and really want to do more observing where it is dark. My local area
(my
house) is not good because of: trees blocking the sky, street lights, porch
lights plus
general Redding light pollution.

Guess that's enough for now. Thanks for rejuvenating this group.
Dorothy



--- In tac-shasta@yahoogroups.com, "Randy Muller" <randygmuller@...> wrote:
>
> Greetings!
>
> My name is Randy Muller, and I am from Roseville, CA, and I am the
> founder of TAC-SAC (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/tac-sac/).  I
> was one of the original members here, back when this list was created
> in 2002.
>
> Today I was invited to help clean up the spam here, and implement some
> anti-spam protective measures, like we have on TAC-SAC.  There are now
> 3 list co-owners here:  Michael Huster, Professor of Science at
> Simpson University in Redding, Mark Wagner, founder of TAC
> (http://observers.org/) and me.  Our goal is to clear the spam, revive
> the list and re-focus on observing.
>
> I believe we have eliminated all the spammers and have removed the spam.
>
> If you have been afraid to post because of the spam, worry no longer!
>  We want this to be a safe place to discuss visual observational
> astronomy and learn from each other.
>
> Please encourage your friends who might be interested in visual
> observational astronomy to join here and discuss observing plans.  If
> you know people who have left because of them spam, or for any other
> reason, encourage them to come back.
>
> A new moon weekend is coming up!
>

Greetings!

My name is Randy Muller, and I am from Roseville, CA, and I am the
founder of TAC-SAC (http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/tac-sac/).  I
was one of the original members here, back when this list was created
in 2002.

Today I was invited to help clean up the spam here, and implement some
anti-spam protective measures, like we have on TAC-SAC.  There are now
3 list co-owners here:  Michael Huster, Professor of Science at
Simpson University in Redding, Mark Wagner, founder of TAC
(http://observers.org/) and me.  Our goal is to clear the spam, revive
the list and re-focus on observing.

I believe we have eliminated all the spammers and have removed the spam.

If you have been afraid to post because of the spam, worry no longer!
  We want this to be a safe place to discuss visual observational
astronomy and learn from each other.

Please encourage your friends who might be interested in visual
observational astronomy to join here and discuss observing plans.  If
you know people who have left because of them spam, or for any other
reason, encourage them to come back.

A new moon weekend is coming up!

In case anyone is interested in observing targets for this new moon cycle, I'd
like to remind you
about TAC's Observing Reports Archives:

http://observers.org/reports/

For several years TAC-SAC's Randy Muller was the archivist, and is responsible
for their format
and structure.  If you like how they look (or hate it), let Randy know, I'm just
the labor.  ;-)

I'll also mention an exchange between Steve Gottlieb and me from Saturday
evening, pertinent to
the observing report archives.  We were picking objects off a list I put
together, and Steve
commented that the description I had included sounded rather familiar.  Many of
us know what an
observing monster Steve is, responsible in great part for descriptions in such
references as The
Night Sky Observers Guide, and the mammoth NGC-IC project (www.ncgic.org - but
here's Steve's
contributions - http://www.ngcic.org/gottlieb/default.htm ).  So, when Steve
commented, I had to
admit it was his description.  But I also mentioned where and how I get
descriptions...

First I look in TAC's Observing Reports Archives.   I told Steve I did this in
order to have
variety in the types of descriptions, otherwise, they'd all be his!  I then
said, next I go to the
NGC-IC Project, which almost invariably turns out to be his descriptions.  But,
it turns out many
of the descriptions in TAC's OR Archives are also Steve's (when I do a search of
the archives for
a particular object).  So, the truth is, a good majority of the descriptions I
use, and that we'll
find out in the Internet ether, probably belong to our fellow TACo!

Still, there are others I include. Muller, Huey, Johnston, my own, Dillon,
Jardine... variety
makes it more interesting.  So.... send in your OR's. They get archived (OMG!
Back to 1995!). And
do go to a good use - people all over the Internet read 'em.  And don't think
"beginner" reports
are unwanted, fact is, those are the ones that get more people out observing!

Mark

Saturday night I joined Steve Gottlieb for an observing session hosted by Kevin
Ritschel at his
property at Willow Springs.  The drive down was a snap, very little traffic,
just the occasional
Sunday Driver going too slow (for me) on the two lane roads.  Spring was just
starting to pass
"peak" as the green grasses carpeting the hills was just beginning to brown.  It
was still a
spectacular ride, well worth the hour and forty minutes from downtown San Jose. 
I was a bit
concerned about wind, as it was blowing hard in Morgan Hill when I stopped to
top off the gas
tank.  But it was quite calm, and in the low 80's when I arrived just before 7
p.m.  Conditions
looked great.

The first view of the night was Saturn.  I used it to align my finders, enjoying
the confusion
having it next to Regulus causes.  Saturn looks just slightly brighter the
Regulus, and the color
differences between the two is easily seen.  I was also confused by Mars being
up in Gemini.
Having not been out much over the last few months, the planets really throw a
monkey-wrench into
the sky, as I know it.  The view of Saturn was very steady and showed lots of
detail.  Mars was
lower and softer, although I felt at times I could "feel" a whiter area on it.

I had a list of objects that included some Herschel 400 and 400-II, Arp, Abell
planetary and
Hickson targets.  I did not get through most of them, as my (stinking) laptop
once again crapped
out.... I think the adapter is flaky.  I resorted to Uranometria and SA2000, but
it is awkward
after years of star hopping in the eyepiece, which is a luxury the computer as
an atlas provides.
  So instead, I teamed up with Steve, letting the GoTo on his Starmaster find the
targets, and I'd
then look through his Telrad.  We selected targets off my list that appeared
interesting.

Additionally, we enjoyed some very good views through Kevin's behemoth 33.25"
f/5 Dob.

Views of the night....

Kevin pulled in the NGC 2686 group in Ursa Major.  At first just the brightest
"3" galaxies were
seen.  But given some time for the dimmer ones to start popping, a total of 8
were seen.  Of
those, 7 are part of the group.  How this one is not a Hickson is hard to
understand.   Look at
your planetarium program to see how tight this group is. Observed NGC 2684,
2686A and B, 2687A and
B, 2688, 2689 and MAC 0855+4906.  Only the MAC was not seen in an 18".

The Ringtail Galaxy, NGCs 4038 and 4039, were also quite interesting in the 33. 
This is the first
time I've seen 4038 as annular, and 4039 clearly trailing away.  The "shrimp"
shape of 4038 was
obvious, and the darkened inner portion looked rough, or scalloped.  The best
I'd ever seen on
this pair before was the typical hazy glow that most galaxies exhibit.  Aperture
rules!

Views of M99, M51 and M83 through the 33 also revealed outstanding detail. 
M99's odd shape and
the sharp turned back arms off M83's big bar were very cool.

In the 18's, I think the most rewarding views were of:

NGC 5308 - 12mm - bright compact core with nearly stellar nucleus, long extended
edge-on arms e/w.
NGC 5322 - 12mm - bright compact core with nearly stellar nucleus, slightly
elongated e/w but
mostly roundish, star overlaying outer halo on south edge.
NGC 5430 - odd, almost bifurcated on the south side of a north/south elongation.
Disrupted
galaxy.  Perhaps two cores, brighter but not bright, with averted vision.

As the night wore on, I kept noticing an aroma I could not identify.  Spearmint?
Wintergreen?  It
was everywhere, and pungent.  I was really pleasing, and lent an "aroma therapy"
feel to the
evening...   I eventually asked Kevin what was going on.  Well, the Spring
carpet underfoot turned
out to be Camomile.  Like in the tea, good for relaxing, supposedly helps with
insomnia.  I
absolutely felt all mellowed out... kind of a sleepy time observing session...

A few other views....

NGC 5585 - 12mm - bright, large, diffuse.  Had a  bright middle but no distinct
core.   Possibly a
face on spiral.
NGC 5631 - small, bright, had a non-stellar core centered in a diffuse roundish
halo. NGC
5480/5481- 5480 is elongated NW/SE with a large bright core, no nucleus, and
surrounded by a small
dimmer outer halo.  5481 in contrast has almost no core, but a bright stellar
nucleus.  It is
slightly smaller than 5480, and seems dimmer as its round outer halo makes up
much more of the
galaxy.
NGC 5485 - bright and round with a bright non-stellar core.  There are other
galaxies close by to
the N, SSE and further to the WSW.
NGC 5474 - what an odd galaxy!  Large, but at first I only noticed a brighter
and dimmer "half".
Turned out the dimmer part was much larger than I initially thought.  There is a
bright "core" on
the north side of this one, with the larger dim "oval" extending away to the
south.  Worth a look!

The last object I looked at was NGC5395, aka Arp 84.  This is another unusual
object.  I sketched
it and Steve showed me a photo in the Night Sky Observers Guide, which was
virtually identical to
my drawing.  The main galaxy, 5395, is largish, but seems to have a central
brighter section
offset along its major axis.  The dimmer part of the galaxy appeared to "splay"
away from the
brighter section, possibly interacting with the smaller and dimmer NGC 5394. 
The splay off the
bigger brighter galaxy appeared to contact the smaller one.  It was a very
interesting object.

We looked at other targets as well, but by about 1 a.m. or so the sky was
getting pretty well
clouded over, and we were all certain that even the "clear" sections were
actually covered by thin
cloud.  So, we called it a night.

It was well worth the trip time down to Willow.  Good company, a huge scope, and
fun target list.
By the time I climbed into my truck to grab some sleep, the Camomile had done
its job.  I hadn't
had such a good night's sleep in ages!

Looking forward to the Golden State Star Party this summer up in your neck of
the woods...
http://www.goldenstatestarparty.org

Clear skies,

Mark Wagner

Just a quick reminder that Early Registration Period for the Golden
State Star Party ends tomorrow, Tuesday, April 15th at midnight.

If you've decided to attend, now's the time to take advantage of the
discounted early registration fee of only $45 for all four nights. If
you haven't decided yet, there will be open on-line registration until
June 25, but the registration fee goes up to $55 after April 15.

Visit the official GSSP 2008 Website at goldenstatestarparty.org to
register, and to see all that this great star party has to offer.

Clear skies,
Jane Smith

Greetings Fellow Astronomers!

The Astronomy Connection (TAC) organizations of the San Francisco Bay
Area, the Sacramento Area, and Southern California are pleased to
announce The 2008 Golden State Star Party. This year's event will be
held July 2 through July 6; four nights at our new site near Adin,
California.

Ever since our first Lassen Star Party in 1994, we have searched for
the perfect site with ink black skies and no intrusive light domes,
360 degree horizons, minimal dust problems, and an area large enough
to fully accommodate a large group of avid astronomers and their gear.

Our 2008 location is truly the place we've been looking for. GSSP is
one of the premier Star Parties in California featuring the darkest
skies, plenty of room and accommodations for camping and RVs, on-site
food services, showers, sanitary facilities, ice, and water.

Off-site accommodations and services are also available in the nearby
towns of Adin and Bieber. Astronomers will have the convenience of
leaving their equipment set up for the duration of the event. TAC has
along history of excellent Star Parties, but this year's summer event
promises to be the best ever.

Registration opens January 1, 2008. For more information, visit our
website at http://www.goldenstatestarparty.org or contact
info@...

Clear Skies! Hope to see you at GSSP 2008!

-- The GSSP 2008 Organizing Committee

Come join us at the 7th Annual Shingletown Star party from June 30 -
July 7 2008!
Located on an unused airstrip at an altitude of 4,000 feet in Northern
California, this site is in the gray on the light pollution map, and
usually has skies to at least mag 7. There is room for more than 300
telescopes along the airstrip (and the area could be expanded if
needed). Horizons are excellent all around, and the site boasts a
superb daytime view of Mt. Lassen. You can camp out in a tent, bring
your RV, or rent a nearby cabin. You can leave your equipment set up
for the entire week. Shower facilities are available (and included in
the registration fee), and there are many daytime activities to enjoy
in the area. Imagers - we provide power for your equipment. We also
boast a dinner delivery service to your telescope, and a cafe where
you  can get a sno-cone to help you cool off in the daytime, as well
as freshly brewed coffee at 2 am. Over the past few years we have
hosted observers from foreign countries as well as amateurs from all
over the US. If you register early, the fee is only $40 for the entire
week.

We expect a number of vendors to attend SSP - check the vendor list
after April 10.

For all the details, and to register, go to our web site:
http://www.shingletownstarparty.net

Clear skies,

Shneor Sherman

Today is the last day to register for Shingletown Star Party 2007 at
the low $40 early registration rate. Tomorrow, May 1, registration
goes up to $50 for the July 9-16 star party.

Register at http://www.shingletownstarparty.net

Shneor Sherman
for the SSP 2007 Organizing Committee

Come join us at the 2007 Shingletown Star party from July 9 -16, 2007!
Located on an unused airstrip at an altitude of 4,000 feet in Northern
California, this site is in the gray on the light pollution map, and
usually has skies to at least mag 7. There is room for more than 300
telescopes along the airstrip (and the area could be expanded if
needed). Horizons are excellent all around, and the site boasts a
superb daytime view of Mt. Lassen. You can camp out in a tent, bring
your RV, or rent a nearby cabin. You can leave your equipment set up
for the entire week. Shower facilities are available (and included in
the registration fee), and there are many daytime activities to enjoy
in the area. Over the past few years we have had a number of observers
from foreign countries as well as amateurs from all over the US. If
you register early, the fee is only $40 for the entire week.

We expect a number of vendors to attend SSP - check the vendor list
after April 10.

For all the details, and to register, check our our web site:
http://www.shingletownstarparty.net

SSP is also pleased to announce that GSSP attendees are welcome to
visit SSP during the daytime hours and can walk through the gate on
presentation of their GSSP badge.

Clear skies,

Shneor Sherman
for the SSP Organizing Committee

You're welcome to use the airport for observing as long as you don't
block the entrance gate or impeed access to the helicopter landing
pad, which is located straigh across the runway from the entrance
gate.  The helipad is used for the local life flight air ambulance.

There is a lock on the gate, but don't let it fool you. It actually
takes two locks to lock it.  You can still pull the locking pin out
and open the gate.

Clear Skies,
Jim Ster





--- In tac-shasta@yahoogroups.com, "ratcrawl" <hstarboy@...> wrote:
>
> I was up by shingletown today, I was wondering if anyone knew what
the
> usage policy is for people wanting to take their scopes to the
> airport.  Thanx in advance.
>

On 3/2/07, ratcrawl wrote:
> I was up by shingletown today, I was wondering if anyone knew what the
> usage policy is for people wanting to take their scopes to the
> airport.  Thanx in advance.

You might want to contact Jim Ster (notsosirius1 at gmail dot com or
sterjf at ecs dot csus dot edu) or Shneor Sherman (shneor at dcn dot
davis dot ca dot us), both of whom live in the Sacramento area, but
use the airport at least semi-regularly for observing.  They would
know access details.

RATCRAWL,   I tried to contact you through the "send e-mail" link about
your previous posting.  I don't think it went through, and I would like
to discuss observing sites with you.  As for Shingletown Airport, I
seem to recall Robert Thompson of our local astronomy club mentioning
that we could no longer use the airport.  If you contact him, I am sure
he could tell you.  Thanks Gary

--- In tac-shasta@yahoogroups.com, "ratcrawl" <hstarboy@...> wrote:
>
> I was up by shingletown today, I was wondering if anyone knew what
the
> usage policy is for people wanting to take their scopes to the
> airport.  Thanx in advance.
>

I was up by shingletown today, I was wondering if anyone knew what the
usage policy is for people wanting to take their scopes to the
airport.  Thanx in advance.

Hello Folks, I recently moved back to the Redding area and looking
forward to doing some observing.  I received my new scope the other day
and of course the clouds/rain now rolls in.  The scope arrived without
all the parts (oops) but the maker assures me they will arrive within
the week.  Anyway, by the time it clears hopefully it will be ready to
go.  I have observed at the lake (Whiskey Town) and of course look
foward to finding any good observing sites. I was down in the bay area
and found this site via the TAC website.  Let me know if you plan on
doing some observeing and wouldn't mind another scope to look through.

Hi All,

I plan to observe at Shingletown Airport on Sunday night, October 22,
and possibly Monday night October 23 a well. Was wondering if anyone
else was planning to observe then.

Clear skies,
Shneor Sherman

Every year I look forward to this class: sharing my views and
understanding of the universe with interested students. Spending a
week with Steve Gottlieb is also rewarding!

I put a lil webpage together last week to help advertise this
class. . . Hey, it ain't far; tuition is less than a decent
eyepiece, and it doesn't compete with Shingletown. . .

Our observing site is open to the public. In the past, TACos have
camped out there--and observed--without taking the class. See
the "Kevin Daly" links at the bottom of the page, I know Mark W.,
Rashad, Richard N., Marsha, will get a kick out of reading these old
s.a.a. postings. . .

http://members.aol.com/anonglxy/deepsky.htm

Feel free to e-me with any questions.

Ray Cash
San Francisco

It's so tough to make a call during the winter because of the weather!
It's like > 50% bad. That makes it hard to plan weeks in advance that
the paper requires. I'd like to try. Get your dew shield ready.

--- Jess Delaney <callisto9993@...> wrote:

> Well, what a last week of truely BAD weather!!! My two hobbies, golf
> and astronomy have had to give way to things like, organizing my
> closet and thinking about how much better off I would be if I lived
> on Maui!!! But.....I don't!! At least not yet!
>
> We, at the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society (www.svas.org) had
> a very successful public event "Mars Returns" a few weeks ago. The
> Public LOVES it and it is VERY rewarding to share our hobby in
> this "sidewalk astronomy" kind of way.
>
> Now that Saturn is up and Jupiter is on the way, we are planning our
> next event which we will call either Return of the Giants or Night
> of the Giants, something catchy like that.
>
> Let's try and do something similar in Redding!!!! I'm sure we could
> get the Record Searchlight and the local Radio and TV to help
> promote it. Let's discuss it!!
>
> Jess Delaney
> Callisto Products
> 877-721-7747
>
>
>
>


__________________________________________________
Do You Yahoo!?
Tired of spam?  Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

Well, what a last week of truely BAD weather!!! My two hobbies, golf
and astronomy have had to give way to things like, organizing my
closet and thinking about how much better off I would be if I lived
on Maui!!! But.....I don't!! At least not yet!

We, at the Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society (www.svas.org) had
a very successful public event "Mars Returns" a few weeks ago. The
Public LOVES it and it is VERY rewarding to share our hobby in
this "sidewalk astronomy" kind of way.

Now that Saturn is up and Jupiter is on the way, we are planning our
next event which we will call either Return of the Giants or Night
of the Giants, something catchy like that.

Let's try and do something similar in Redding!!!! I'm sure we could
get the Record Searchlight and the local Radio and TV to help
promote it. Let's discuss it!!

Jess Delaney
Callisto Products
877-721-7747

It would be fun to meet up in Burney for some observing!

Carpe Noctem,

Michael Huster

--- Michael von schalscha <vonschalscha@...> wrote:

> Hello Jess,
>  I just moved up North from the Sacramento area. I am very new to
> astromony
> and will be getting a 3" refractor from family over Thanksgiving (I
> used to
> use this scope as a child). My folks say they are going to give me
> money to
> buy a nice scope as a house-warming gift, when we get our house
> built. I
> would love to learn from an experienced person. TAC-Shasta is
> extremely
> slow. I posted about two months ago, have not heard a peep until you.
>  We are up in Burney (an hour NE of Redding) and have really dark
> skys. I
> can see the Milky Way from my backyard. We just bought some land,
> which is
> on the outskirts of Burney and above the town. There is a nice view
> spot on
> top of a hill with 360 degree views of the sky. We can provide a
> room.
>  Talk to you soon,
>  Michael
>
>  On 11/20/05, Jess Delaney <callisto9993@...> wrote:
> >
> > I'm interested in getting involved in any astronomy events in the
> > Redding area. I currently live in the Roseville area, but am from
> > Redding originally and still have many connections to the area. I
> > Graduated from Shasta High in 1972. I am currently a member of the
> > Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society (www.svas.org
> <http://www.svas.org>)
> > and love to get
> > out and do public events and school events. Now that I live here I
> > really appreciate the dark(er) skies of the Redding area. If any of
> > you might like to get together for some "stargazing" let me know. I
> > always bring my Nexstar 11 GPS with me when I come North.
> >
> > Clear Skies!!!
> >
> > Jess Delaney
> > 916-765-4149
> > callisto@...
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
>





__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
http://mail.yahoo.com

I teach physics and astronomy at Simpson University in Redding, and am
a member of the Shasta Astronomy Club. I still need to work through the
Coma-Virgo cluster to finish my Master Messier certificate, so I want
to get out this spring. last winter we had the worst run of rainy
weather since I moved here in 2000, so I hardly got out at all.

David Ewart runs the Planetarium in town and works for the school
district. I am cc'ing him this e-mail.

You can e-mail me directly at mhuster@...

Carpe Noctem,

Michael Huster

--- Jess Delaney <callisto9993@...> wrote:

> I'm interested in getting involved in any astronomy events in the
> Redding area. I currently live in the Roseville area, but am from
> Redding originally and still have many connections to the area. I
> Graduated from Shasta High in 1972. I am currently a member of the
> Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society (www.svas.org) and love to get
>
> out and do public events and school events. Now that I live here I
> really appreciate the dark(er) skies of the Redding area. If any of
> you might like to get together for some "stargazing" let me know. I
> always bring my Nexstar 11 GPS with me when I come North.
>
> Clear Skies!!!
>
> Jess Delaney
> 916-765-4149
> callisto@...
>
>
>
>
>





__________________________________
Yahoo! Mail - PC Magazine Editors' Choice 2005
http://mail.yahoo.com

I'm interested in getting involved in any astronomy events in the
Redding area. I currently live in the Roseville area, but am from
Redding originally and still have many connections to the area. I
Graduated from Shasta High in 1972. I am currently a member of the
Sacramento Valley Astronomical Society (www.svas.org) and love to get
out and do public events and school events. Now that I live here I
really appreciate the dark(er) skies of the Redding area. If any of
you might like to get together for some "stargazing" let me know. I
always bring my Nexstar 11 GPS with me when I come North.

Clear Skies!!!

Jess Delaney
916-765-4149
callisto@...

Hey there,

My family and I just moved to Burney from Sacramento. I am a teacher
at the local continuation high school. My wife, Brianne and I have
been interested in astronomy for some time. As a young boy I was lucky
enough to be able to see through a scope or two, but it has been a
long while.

We (mainly I as late nights are not her thing since the baby) are
looking to meet friends and look through some scopes. We cannot afford
to purchase our own, yet! (young teachers do not get paid much).
Anyone close to Burney or ever up this way? I make some mean homebrew
and I am fairly social (plus I do not smell). Anyways just thought I
would say hello.

Michael