Post by RobbW on Oct 1, 2010 13:44:10 GMT -6
Alright, I'm sure the probability of anyone being able to join me is in the negative percentile, but I'm just going to post it anyway.
Sunday, Oct. 3, I plan to go observe the night skies out in Algonquin. As some of you have read in my other "star party" post, I have been searching the western 'burbs near me for a decent site to host a star party for all my CA friends. I found a couple really good sites, but unfortunately cannot get through the red tape to make it happen.
A coworker of mine (actually the president's personal assistant) told me about a nice, big open field just down the road from her house in Algonquin. I went out one night last month to check it out, but it was during the full moon. So, it was very difficult to gauge how the site would fair under new moon dark skies. Well, this Sunday night is being forecast with a 9/10 for stargazing by AccuWeather.com, and The Weather Channel is forecasting perfectly clear skies, albeit a little on the chilly side. With the moon a waning crescent at only 23% of the disc illuminated and not rising until nearly 2am, I decided this would be as good a night as any to go check the "dark sky-ness" of the site.
The site is in the Dundee Township Dixie Fromm Briggs Nature Preserve. The site is a wide open space lined with trees/forest preserve on three sides. The fourth side is the entrance to the site that backs up to a road with homes on the other side of the street. These homes have exterior lights and such, but I intend to walk a little bit into the center of the open space where the lights aren't really a nuisance.
I'm thinking of doing some imaging. So I will be bringing my full set up with scope, camera, table, laptop, etc. I won't set up immediately for imaging as my coworker and her family want to come by and have a peek through my scope. I'll wait until I'm alone later in the night to do astro pics, as I will be doing prime focus photography.
Just in case anyone else is interested at all, the entrance to the open space is directly across from 1521 Wynnfield Dr. in Algonquin, IL. Here is a link to Google Maps showing the location and the satellite imagery. I don't know yet what time I will get out there. It depends on my wife and whether she wants me to wait until after we put our daughter to bed or if she doesn't mind me taking off earlier in the evening.
It is supposed to be chilly Sunday night. So I will definitely be dressing warm. I'll also have my sneakers or hiking shoes on as the site is a nature preserve and does not have paved trails. The hike to the actual observing site will be somewhere between 500 to 1000 feet from the entrance of the park. It will depend on how far in I want to lug my equipment and how far I have to go to find a clearing off of the main trail. It is a wide open space, but it is more of a prairie land preserve with prairie grass covering most of the surface. It has great open views of the sky in all directions from about 10-15 degrees on up, if I remember correctly.
In the unlikely event that someone would like to join me, please definitely post here to let me know. I intend to go whether or not anyone joins me, but if I know for sure that someone else is coming, I will definitely be there. If I know for sure that no one else will be there, then it may be a judgement call for whether I stay or not. The time I was out there last month during the full moon, I had enough light from the moon that I really didn't need a flashlight. However, depending on how dark it really is without a moon in the sky, I may have to rethink the whole idea of standing out in the middle of a nature preserve, alone, with hundreds of dollars worth of electronic equipment out in the open!
It is quite a haul for anyone coming out from the city. And once you get out in the general vicinity and get off of I90, you still have a little bit of driving to do. I'm not trying to scare anybody about the distance you'd have to travel, but I want you to be aware that it isn't just a quick jaunt down the expressway. If you have a GPS unit in your car, you will want to use it.
Of course, all these plans could be scrapped if Joe announces a session by the Adler for Sunday night and EVERYBODY was going to be there.
Sunday, Oct. 3, I plan to go observe the night skies out in Algonquin. As some of you have read in my other "star party" post, I have been searching the western 'burbs near me for a decent site to host a star party for all my CA friends. I found a couple really good sites, but unfortunately cannot get through the red tape to make it happen.
A coworker of mine (actually the president's personal assistant) told me about a nice, big open field just down the road from her house in Algonquin. I went out one night last month to check it out, but it was during the full moon. So, it was very difficult to gauge how the site would fair under new moon dark skies. Well, this Sunday night is being forecast with a 9/10 for stargazing by AccuWeather.com, and The Weather Channel is forecasting perfectly clear skies, albeit a little on the chilly side. With the moon a waning crescent at only 23% of the disc illuminated and not rising until nearly 2am, I decided this would be as good a night as any to go check the "dark sky-ness" of the site.
The site is in the Dundee Township Dixie Fromm Briggs Nature Preserve. The site is a wide open space lined with trees/forest preserve on three sides. The fourth side is the entrance to the site that backs up to a road with homes on the other side of the street. These homes have exterior lights and such, but I intend to walk a little bit into the center of the open space where the lights aren't really a nuisance.
I'm thinking of doing some imaging. So I will be bringing my full set up with scope, camera, table, laptop, etc. I won't set up immediately for imaging as my coworker and her family want to come by and have a peek through my scope. I'll wait until I'm alone later in the night to do astro pics, as I will be doing prime focus photography.
Just in case anyone else is interested at all, the entrance to the open space is directly across from 1521 Wynnfield Dr. in Algonquin, IL. Here is a link to Google Maps showing the location and the satellite imagery. I don't know yet what time I will get out there. It depends on my wife and whether she wants me to wait until after we put our daughter to bed or if she doesn't mind me taking off earlier in the evening.
It is supposed to be chilly Sunday night. So I will definitely be dressing warm. I'll also have my sneakers or hiking shoes on as the site is a nature preserve and does not have paved trails. The hike to the actual observing site will be somewhere between 500 to 1000 feet from the entrance of the park. It will depend on how far in I want to lug my equipment and how far I have to go to find a clearing off of the main trail. It is a wide open space, but it is more of a prairie land preserve with prairie grass covering most of the surface. It has great open views of the sky in all directions from about 10-15 degrees on up, if I remember correctly.
In the unlikely event that someone would like to join me, please definitely post here to let me know. I intend to go whether or not anyone joins me, but if I know for sure that someone else is coming, I will definitely be there. If I know for sure that no one else will be there, then it may be a judgement call for whether I stay or not. The time I was out there last month during the full moon, I had enough light from the moon that I really didn't need a flashlight. However, depending on how dark it really is without a moon in the sky, I may have to rethink the whole idea of standing out in the middle of a nature preserve, alone, with hundreds of dollars worth of electronic equipment out in the open!
It is quite a haul for anyone coming out from the city. And once you get out in the general vicinity and get off of I90, you still have a little bit of driving to do. I'm not trying to scare anybody about the distance you'd have to travel, but I want you to be aware that it isn't just a quick jaunt down the expressway. If you have a GPS unit in your car, you will want to use it.
Of course, all these plans could be scrapped if Joe announces a session by the Adler for Sunday night and EVERYBODY was going to be there.
