ill keep an eye out on the thread

Ok kids....

We are still a go, but.....

It looks mighty hazy & thick out there - and there's a large cloud mass heading into the region - uncertain on how it will effect the star party tonight.

The Park Dist and I will meet up on-site at 6:00 pm and make a call on setting up or not. If cloudy by 6pm...I will re-schedule for most likely this Friday evening at the same location.

Joe.. did you figure out where the scopes are going to be in the park?

UPDATE:

We are a go for Friday's 21 October joint star party with the Chicago Park Dist. at 6:30 pm.

Our coordinator likes the spot I selected and the weather looks like it will break in time for the evening's activities for a clear night.

I will set up the scope at 6:00 pm and remain until we all decide to call it an end...sometime around 9pm I would assume.

I'm thinking about dragging out the Sewer pipe Dob for some action before the public viewing season comes to an end. Paulie, will you be there?

Planning on it. My friend Jason may come as well. He has a scope, but I haven't seen it yet.

I'd be honored to give the sewer pipe Dob a whirl! Count me in.

Gonna be a good night

How about Wile E Coyote style?

A great final joint 2011 session of the Season...



We have been proud to have been selected as the Chicago Park District's Resident Astronomical crew for two years now...and it's been a blast!

One never knows what the success rate of a park session will be - located a different parks throughout the city....and some have been with higher visitor counts than others...but every single one of our joint sessions have been a positive experience. With this last one at Palmisano Park...it was a last of the season big bash.



Arriving at 6:00 pm, Chicago Astronomers Paulie and Rich were already on-site and we set up scopes. Rich with his 10" Dob, Paulie with his 6" dob...and I brought the C11 - and the rarely seen Sewer pipe Dob. I wanted to test the optics out at this last session. Evaluation later.

This was an unusual spot to set up. In most of our former joint sessions, we set-up the scopes in the park proper, but I desired a highly visible locale and the corner of Halsted & 29th street promised good foot and automobile traffic. Ideally, I would have wanted to set up on top of the hill - just behind us. But with all the equipment to haul, it would have been an ordeal. And, as always the case.... as soon as we started to set up, we started to get the curious stopping by...



Here was a nice treat...



This beautiful couple read about our event on the Park District notification and stopped by for a peek - and stayed for the entire session...some three hours in the chilly air. Asking questions and enjoying the high energy atmosphere of astronomers and visitors. They would like to join us again soon.



Paulie volunteered to work the 8" Sewer pipe Dob...



There are some issues with the sewer pipe...such as a heavy and bulky base and a bit wobbly...also, Paulie was having some difficulty targeting objects...as without a finder scope, it was a chore. Rich donated his Telrad for the session, and we used duct tape to loosely attach it, but it was not totally secure and we mostly abandoned the sewer pipe for the majority of the session. But, the optics were good, showing Jupiter crisply and clear - using 25mm and a 17mm 1.25 eyepieces. I think it will be well worth the effort to redo the base and cradle of the dob and bring it into service for Chicago Astronomer activities.

This site - on a street corner - was indeed a highly visible locale and not only Chicago Astronomer fans arrived to view, but we attracted major street traffic...



Chicago Astronomers Patrick and Maria joined in a bit later, and we had a full house of five scopes, four astronomers and our photographer...



For pure astronomical viewing, this was not the best site. With street lights blazing and car lights washing across our site throughout the night, most of the sky was blotted out, but we did pick up various targets - such as binaries, Jupiter, Vega, Arcturus and with Patrick's go-to scope...he was bringing in objects such as Neptune, Uranus and the Andromeda galaxy...all from our site and to the delight of our visitors.

Very cool.



It was non-stop all night, attending to our visitors, discussing astronomy, sharing first views and we were constantly asked when we would be out again...



We had a special treat with Jupiter this evening. Not only was the Great Red Spot facing us, but got Io peeking from behind the planet...and a loud shot from Paulie "We've got four Moons!" I use a 80B blue filter on a 26mm 2" eyepiece and it brings out good contrast without darkening the disk.

Many times this evening, we were thanked for being here and sharing the skies with them - many of whom never peered through serious telescopes before. My cards were passed out and the Chicago Astronomer request for email notifications have been received/twitter-facebook followers increased.



The park here closes at 9:00 pm and we could have gone for another hour easily, but all star parties come to end and we broke down the site...but I asked Rich to keep his scope active and attend to those who were waiting eagerly for a Jupiter glimpse.

(We did have a chick attempt to infiltrate & siphon our crowd to promote clean air and protest the power generator plant close by. She was directed to go elsewhere... )

This was a very nice session. We counted 85 visitors to our scopes this evening and a big shout out to Paulie, Patrick, Rich and Maria for making this a great last star party with the Chicago Park District for the 2011 season.



And a big thanks to Heather Corey, who coordinated all our park events from the start. The Chicago Astronomers hope to continue our popular partnership with the Chicago Park District for the 2012 season...and beyond.

When we do astronomy sessions for the Chicago Park District, I try to arrive early when traveling to a park I’ve never been to, in case I get lost. With the last Chicago Park District-Chicago Astronomer session of the year at Palmisano Park at 29th & Halstead, near the White Sox ballpark, there was little chance of me getting lost. I arrived early anyway, because I like to set up in daylight, and scout the surroundings.








Our set up site, outside Palmisano Park at 29th & Halsted.


I wandered around, and climbed the hill. The top of the hill would have put us above the pesky streetlights that hinder sidewalk observing, but it was agreed that it was too far too haul heavy equipment, and would cut down on foot traffic. The top of the hill, though, provides a nice view of the city skyline, and the power plant smoke stack that we see so often in Joe’s alley observation pictures. I even caught a sundog just before sunset.




The downtown skyline from the top of the hill.




Regular CA readers should recognize this.









Not the best sundog I've seen, but they're all cool.


After the Sun set, I caught faint rays of sunlight glowing above the horizon. They're still hard to see in these pictures, but I've manipulated the coloring and contrast to try to show the rays better.










Rays of sunlight filled the sky shortly after sunset.


I started getting ready just before Rich arrived, with Joe following shortly after. Joe brought out the “sewer pipe” Dob for me to use. I had seen it in pictures, but never in action. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. I’ll come back to it’s performance later. Even before full darkness fell, and before telescopes were ready for viewing, we started drawing a crowd. For the first time at a Park District observation, there were even visitors seeking us out.




The "sewer pipe" Dob makes a rare appearance.




Joe prepping the mount for the C11.




Rich's 10" Dob is almost ready to go.


The sewer pipe Dob was heavy, and a bit awkward to carry, so it took both Joe and I to carry and set up. There was no sort of finder scope for the Dob, so Rich lent his Telrad to make finding things a little easier for me. Under so many streetlights, it’s difficult enough to find celestial delights; with no way to scout the sky, it’s almost impossible. We wrapped the Telrad with duct tape to attach it to the OTA, which worked for awhile. At some point though, it was bumped into, and never held just right after that, even when wrapping it with more tape. At that point, I gave up on the scope until Jupiter was up, not long after. The sewer pipe gave nice Jovian views, at both low and high magnifications. At the end of the night I recommended to Joe that the scope was worth trying to modify for more regular service.

I showed Albireo with the sewer pipe Dob until the problem with the Telrad. At that point, I capped it, and set up my own Dob. Within a few minutes, however, Jupiter had risen above the neighboring buildings, and I kept both scopes targeting the Jovian system the rest of the night. It was quite a bit of work to keep up with both scopes, but it cut down the waiting time. Also, being nearest the intersection, I think it fell to me to make first contact with many of our visitors, keeping me even busier. I felt up to the task.




The C11 always draws a crowd.




Bill made a brief visit, and checks out Jupiter.








Think we had enough scopes showing Jupiter?






Patrick was able to snag some tougher targets with his go-to scope.




It's always good to make friends with Chicago police.






Rich handles the very last of the crowd.


When Jupiter first rose, only three satellites were visible. When a fourth Moon emerged, it was correctly assumed to be Io. However, shortly after, I noticed a shadow on one of the cloud bands, and assumed that Io must have transited, and now it’s shadow was crossing the planet. After checking Redshift, I now know that Io was occulted behind Jupiter, and the shadow most likely belonged to Europa, or possibly Ganymede. It could not have been Io’s though. It was still fun to show the solar system in motion.

Patrick was the last of our astronomers to show up, and I didn’t have a chance to talk to him before we set up. Despite an almost non-stop stream of visitors, I snuck off at one point to check out what he was viewing. From a distance I figured it was either Andromeda Galaxy or the Double Cluster. I was treated to a quick peek at our neighbor galaxy. Ah, the benefit of a go-to scope under bright streetlights.

It was a cold session, but with the constant action, I hardly felt it. I did notice dew nearly everywhere, though. The time zipped by, and before I knew, Heather from the park district advised that we should call it a night and pack up. We were still drawing a crowd though, and Rich handled the late comers while the rest of us got ready to leave. We took a parting group shot, but for Patrick, his friend Jason, and me, our night of observing was about to begin in earnest. They followed me to back to Indiana for more viewing at Conway Observatory until the wee hours. The session at Palmisano Park, wrapping up the observing season for the Chicago Park District, felt like an overwhelming success, and I’m already looking forward to helping out again next year, if they wish to continue the program.