Spoiling An "A" Student

September new moon this year saw amateur astronomers from all over California converging on Lake San Antonio, for the annual CalStar observing event. It was in many respects typical of prior years... hot weather with temps around 100 degrees Fahrenheit, clear night skies, some newcomers, and familiar faces returning for the sheer enjoyment of seeing each other again. This year's event was lightly advertised, more word of mouth like the original events had been a decade ago, and in fact it had the casual feel of the old early get-togethers - the only rules were no white lights, and that any other rule making was simply an exercise in rule-mockery. And guess how it turned out? Even when the event encountered a little "bump in the road" (a car's alarm system flashed lights for some time), it was handled without incident, complaint, or really even any notice. All the astro-animals were a peaceable kingdom! How nice to see such a pleasant event...

I arrived the first official day, Thursday, in the mid-afternoon. A good number of attendees were already on site.... and I picked out a space along the western edge of the field. Up went my two canopies, I made my bed in the back of the truck, and kicked back to have a few cold beers, snacks, and catch up with friends at the Wicks' under their canopies and aluminet. Bantering went on until around sunset at which time I moved to my scope and began observing targets on the very lengthy list I'd put together - virtually all challenge objects for this trip. I went on until around 3 a.m., in temps that required no more than a light sweater.

The next day, more friends arrived. Paul Sterngold set up next to me, so I had an old buddy close by - it really is great to see friends who are usually hundreds of miles away. As we prepared to start our night's activities, a woman I'd met at Houge Park, and had told about CalStar, appeared. It was Olga S., whom I assured, if she came to CalStar, she would be able to observe through my scope, or pretty much any one on the field, stressing what a friendly group it was. Her 11 year old son Kirrill was along too, an active and bright boy who was clearly enjoying being outdoors - and away from home. I had known Olga only a short time, but knew she was quite bright - and in fact is a research scientist at a prestigious bay area school. She had never, to my knowledge, been to a real dark sky event before, and this would be her introduction to deep sky observing.

I'd had a good night on Thursday, logging some Abell Planetaries and various Sharpless nebulae, the most interesting being Sh2-158, also known as NGC 7538. I could see in my 18" Dob it was an unusual object, looking at times like a planetary nebula, other times like a face on spiral galaxy. I went over to Paul Alsing and a group of us observed it in his 25" scope, where it appeared even more like a big spiral at first, then a planetary with a huge extended envelope. It is an emission nebula, but unusual enough in appearance to warrant a visit if you're in the area.

Friday night I decided that with Olga, I'd coach her as long as she was interested. I would ask her at times if she liked what she was doing, as I soon had her hunting mostly targets off my list. It was a good arrangement, I'd coach, and watch, and ask if she was doing ok. She'd reply that if she got bored, she'd wander off.

It was not easy for her at first. Getting the hang of using a unit-finder, in this case a Rigel Quickfinder, proved challenging, but only briefly. She was a very quick learner. Her first target was the easy to find M31 and its satellites M32 and M110. She easily described the dust lanes without any prodding. Next, a bit more challenge, to M15, and the star hop off Enif from the crook in the neck of Pegasus. Pretty good. Then I suggested we get into some of the challenge objects.

The first was the Miles Paul galaxy trio UGC 12064 A, B and C. With a lot of effort, we picked up all three down to mag 15.5. Honestly, I was astonished to have a rank newbie see these targets, but I had also been coaching her about averted vision and relaxing while observing. I moved over to NGC 7331, to show an example of a large spiral galaxy with detail, after the dim trio.

The big galaxy was looking very good - a broad spread, and three companions clearly visible to its east. Olga was able to describe 7331, but at first did not notice the dimmer ones nearby. I showed her the computer screen, and back to the eyepiece where she easily picked out the other members. I asked if she was enjoying this and she said yes, let's keep going.

I asked what she wanted to see, and she replied some interacting galaxies. Well, Stephan's Quintet was a few eyepiece fields away.

At low power we picked out four galaxies. With the 7mm and 294X, all five were easily visible. It was a very good view.

We finished Friday night observing a number of other dim Abell Planetaries, until Olga turned in. I continued for a while, observing, and visiting friends.

During the day on Saturday, Paul and I decided to beat the heat, jumped in his car and headed to the coast, to the quaint artist community of Cambria, near Hearst Castle. Neither of us had ever been there, and thought it a great place for a weekend getaway with wife or girlfriend. The town is fun and interesting, and Moonstone Beach was a very pleasant place to walk and play in the cool coastal fog. Chasing Sterngold down the beach, whipping at him with a long "kelp rope" was just so much fun!

That night I decided to let Olga have the reigns of the scope again, and pointed it at some eye candy. The Veil Nebula at 212X with an OIII filter, in a dark sky, is spectacular. First part she found was Pickering's Wisp. Soon she had navigated the Witch's Broom and the Waterfall. Other excellent views that and the next were the Crescent Nebula, NGC 253, NGC 246 (which had outstanding brightness and detail - right after a very dim Abell Planetary - what a contrast!), B86 and M33.

But those objects were thrown in only to add some fun and eye appeal to what was an otherwise very daunting list of targets that she was, pretty much apprenticing, helping hunt down. I think the singular most challenging target we looked at was Abell 1, observed by Richard Ozer and me, with Olga and Paul Sterngold doubting our claims. Another difficult one was Abell 85, a supernova remnant in Cassiopeia, which was marginal at best.

We shot over to another galaxy trio, NGC 48, 49 and 51, ranging from mag 14.1 to 14.5, all in an E/W chain. Just south of those, in the same high power eyepiece field was another trio, IC 534, 535 and 536, from the high 14's to about mag 15. While the NGCs were challenging, they were obviously there. We needed to refer to the computer for the position of the dimmer trio, but we both were able to confirm each of the components. I find this pair of trio chains so close together, very enjoyable to observe.

Other outstanding targets, without naming everything we looked at, were NGC 7635 (The Bubble Nebula) IC 5146 (The Cocoon Nebula), and NGC 6543 (The Cats Eye). I found the Bubble, Olga found the Cocoon. The bubble was just full of rich detail, especially around the embedded stars. There was an obvious arc toward the north. Wonderful view. The Cocoon was, well, a major surprise. With the 20mm Nagler at 103X, it stood out as a grey mottled circular area without any filters - like I said, a major surprise, I've had some good views in the past, but never like this, unfiltered. The Cats Eye was simply amazing, at around 600X, in a 20" driven Dob. The mottling in the ring outside the bright neon green torus was way more detailed than anything I'd ever seen....

We finished up with two very different targets. I had been swinging the scope around at anything bright I could think of, when I noticed M42 was up high enough for a peek. The contrast between dark and bright nebulae in this object is always spectacular. I showed M33 again, pointing out NGC 604, commenting that it was a similar object to M42 in the external galaxy. We were both wearing down, so I decided to head to the Pegasus 1 Cluster, where we tracked down nine galaxies in a single field, without really pushing it.

Olga said good night, and headed to her tent, where her son was sleeping. I thought for a bit how much fun it had been to have such a good student. Amazing she did so well on such difficult targets!

Looking around, I noted a definite sign that the star party was at full tilt. The smell of burning popcorn and laughter were coming from the direction of Chez Dan's. I headed over to find a crew of partiers with a table covered with ripped-open Jiffy-Pops, and various libations. I sat down and began partaking in the revelry, with a few shots of good scotch, and popcorn covered in Tabasco Sauce.

The last thing I remember...

before heading off to sleep was...

Dionysus, in red light...

while I sat with friends...

with the skies of ancient Greece whirling overhead....

A few days later, I received an e-mail from Olga, thanking me for the time at the telescope, and saying she's afraid she might be spoiled, by starting out on an 18"... but what the hell. It reminded me that those were my exact thoughts, sitting there that last night with my buddies, the scotch, popcorn, and sky.... and spoiling an A student.... what the hell.

Can't wait until next year...

Date Night at Houge Park

Friday August 28th was an public star party night for the San Jose Astronomical Association. I had arrived late, after dark, having run from an Aikido training in order to support the event. As I was setting up my telescope, people were coming by asking to look through it, asking questions about it, and generally being inquisitive. I hurriedly finished the set up and began showing views of the moon and Jupiter...

Both targets were nice, lots of detail, steady enough seeing to allow decent higher power magnification. It is always fun seeing children, sometimes not even tall enough to see into the eyepiece (I bring a ladder for the shortest attendees) get their first real views of a world beyond the earth. The moon is especially good for them, as craters, rilles, mare, and mountains are very easy to see in great detail. Even Jupiter provided detail the youngest could discern... cloud bands and moons... It is a great experience for them, for me, and their parents.

I had been expecting a guest, a woman I had a few e-mail contacts with on Match.com. She seemed quite nice by e-mail and had expressed interest in the sky, so I invited her to come out. I thought it a decent relaxed place in a public setting for a first meeting. So there I was, showing whatever to whoever, and I see appearing out of the dark, a face I'd seen before. It was Cat (Catherine), from Match. It was only then, that the realization hit me, I was on a "date" (sort of) at Houge Park, with a bunch of my friends around. In my comfort zone, but not feeling all that comfortable!

Cat turned out to be great... fun, intelligent, inquisitive, playful, and was certainly getting plenty of attention from the nearly exclusive male make-up of the SJAA. If women want to meet science guys, with something of a nerdy cant (in some cases, major), I realized this is the place!

So, I found myself relaxing into the experience, and began to show Cat a few things. She wanted to learn some constellations and see a nebula, but this was not the night for dim extended objects - the next Houge Park event on a 3rd quarter moon would be much better for that.

I began by showing (after the moon and Jupiter - the dogs and ponies of the night), I put the scope (10" Dob) on Alberio. This is where I soon learned that my "date" was quite bright. I asked about the color of the stars, and what they meant in terms of their longevity. This gal nailed it. Really, a first. I was astonished (been doing this for about 15 years). I smiled. She wanted to know where the star was, so I borrowed a green laser pointer and outlined Cygnus, and the location of the pretty double.

I showed a few more constellations - Pegasus, Lyra, Corona Borealis, the Teapot in Sagittarius. I thought maybe we had a new observer, as her vision was quite good. So, I turned back to the scope and hit M15. The view was very good, considering the ambient light pollution and first quarter moon was still up. I showed it to a young couple who had joined us....

If fact, and undoubtedly due to Cat's presence, a number of amateur astronomers had gathered around... The couple looked at M15, and then Cat did. I talked about how ancient the stars in it are, how they are first generation stars comprised essentially of only hydrogen, their age, about stellar evolution...

It led to others joining in, a PhD physicist who teaches locally going into details about supernovae, and where new elements are created, and eventually about our "real" connection to the stars.

While the talking was going on, I would move the scope to new targets. Eta Cassiopeia, the pretty yellow and copper double star, M31, which despite the moonlight was showing its core along with its satellite galaxy M32.

During all this, Cat was sitting on the tailgate of my truck, clearly enjoying herself around the other attendees... and participating in the discussions.

As things wound down, she said it was time to call it a night. For me too. She took off, I packed up and I left as well. I thought about what a fun time I'd had. Date night at Houge turned out very well....

No Need For Speed

Friday night at Plettstone was a great get together of friends that rarely get the chance to spend time with each other. I had not seen Michelle Stone in a year. Hard to believe. I think the same goes for Rashad Al-Mansour. Albert Highe reminded me that we'd seen each other at CalStar and Dinosaur Point, and I thanked him for correctly pointing out the deficiencies in my memory! I probably had not seen Carter Scholz in that long, and know I'd only met Dan Foy a handful of times previously, at most. It was a great group. Fortunately for us, the skies help up all night, and I think we all got in our fill 'o photons. I spent quite a bit of time just visiting, so my observing "count" was well down, but a big count is no longer part of my observing routine, if it happens it happens, but odds are I'm going to be taking my time now, teasing out any detail I can in some of the deeper stuff out there, and sharing views with my friends. It is very relaxing, and fun. Below, I am posting my unchecked raw observing notes. I have no idea of how accurate they are in terms of what to have expected. I am just posting my impressions.

Saturday morning I woke early, and saw scattered clouds increasing from the south. By the time Richard, Rashad and I took off together for Glacier Point in Yosemite, the sky was gone. Where the temps

in and around Mariposa had been in the high 90's the day before, temps were as low as the mid-60's up high in Yosemite. The views were gorgeous. It is as magical an experience to be there as it is to look at the wonders through an eyepiece. Upon returning, we found some of the gang gone, along with the sky. Richard Ozer had shown up, surprisingly. We had a nice pot luck BBQ with Michelle and Paul. After dinner I packed up the truck, only to find the last of the observing crew pulling up the driveway.... first timer Olga S. We took her in, introduced her to Michelle, and hit the road for home. I hear Olga was heading to Yosemite too, so I'm sure she was in for a grand treat, in addition to meeting Michelle.

The drive home was uneventful. On the other hand, the trip to Plettstone found me getting pulled over by the CHP on highway 156 just west of Casa de Fruita (before the 152 junction)... doing 69 in a 55. Amazingly, I talked my way out of the speeding ticket. It is even more amazing, since I didn't have proof of insurance (which is what he ended up writing the "fix it" ticket for - no fine if I fix it). I thanked the officer, and asked him to adjust my side-view mirror before I pulled out. He did, and wished me well. What a pleasant fellow!

Yes, it was a really good weekend....

For some fun, have a look at Richard Navarrete's video observing report from the trip. Its very well done!

Here are the targets I went after, and the raw notes...


Sh 2-113 Cyg BN 15 21 20 48 38 05 29

18" 20mm - small almost triangular area of nebulosity involving approximately 6 dim stars, points are W, NE and SE.









Abell 78 Cyg PN 113"x88" 13.4 21 35 29 31 41 45 PK 81-14.1 = PN G081.2-14.9

12mm NPB, very dim, mostly round, stars embedded, possibly annular, small with central star?









Abell 74 Vul PN 871"x791" 15.8 21 16 52 24 08 51 PK 72-17.1 = PN G072.7-17.1

12mm UHC very dim , galaxy MCG 4-50-4 misplotted in The Sky, should be closer to flat triangle of stars. Galaxy with 7mm, Planetary w/35 Panoptic responds differently to OIII and UHC. Star in middle with UHC is bright, dims out almost totally with OIII compared to other stars in field. UHC shows dim arc with dark lane, with OIII just a large mottled area.






Abell 72 Del PN 134"x121" 12.7 20 50 02 13 33 28 PK 59-18.1 = PN G059.7-18.7

7mm OIII does not respond with UHC. Large, dim rounds, western edge shows best, possible brighter spots in W and S.









Abell 76 Aqr PN 0.4x0.2 21 30 03 -02 48 32 PK 5-036.1 = PGC 85185
No image available: 7mm OIII round, even brightness across the disk, central star. Dim.
*Note, this is listed as a ring galaxy, which I learned after returning from the trip.

Hickson 89 Aqr GX4 0.9'x0.6' 14.4 21 20 01 -03 55 20 MCG -01-54-012 66570

5mm Navarrete scope on platform. 89D occasional split off C, others not that difficult.









Hickson 78 Dra GX4 1.4'x0.6' 14.9 15 47 16 68 13 14 UGC 10057

7mm - definite sighting 2 galaxies dim but certain direct vision, preceding is NW/SE elongation with a tiny stellar nucleus and is smaller than the trailing galaxy, which is larger, almost even in surface brightness, E/W, averted gives very occasional glimpse of stellar nucleus.







Photos and drawings are culled from sources publicly available on the Internet - usually linked to the original. Star party photo Copyright (C) 2008 by Randy Muller.