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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

It is now 8:00 am Sunday morning, and 15 hours later....it is now over.

Exhausted and quite sleepy, I want to thank our gracious host Al, for setting everything out for us for an exceptional night of great astronomical observation.

I will post a detailed account of the session after much needed sleep, but it was far...the best star party that I ever experienced. I saw deep space objects I never was able to target in Chicago, and actually saw the Milky Way for the first time!

Messier objects were being targeted left and right, meteors entertained us all night and satellites sought our attention.

For a very first time out for us, we all had a very good time, had laughs and The Chicago Astronomers are pleased.

More soon.

[NatureDevil]

I couldn't agree with you more. My friend Jay, who isn't even a member on the forum (no computer, much less computer skills) had a great time, and was thrilled to see Saturn for the first time through a scope.

Aside from the viewing, playing guitar around a fire and having interesting discussions ranging from all kinds of subjects with Becky, Bill, and Sarwat really made it much more than just looking at the sky. It was an overall great experience.

Thanks again Al for hosting the event. It was well above what I expected, and you are lucky to have such a great home where you live, and a family who is supportive of your passion.

Until our next gathering.....

NatureDevil

[sarwat]

An amazing night, milkyway overhead, guitars strumming in the background, impressive equipments, conversations ranging from down to Earth to stars and beyond. It was perfect.

Thankyou Al for everything; and most of all, for giving us the starry skies.

Thanks to all the participants for the companionship and great conversation.

Doug and Joe, lost you guys in the blinding Sunshine. Hope you arrived hale and hearty and still awake!

Sarwat

[stargazer]

I just wanted to thank Al once again for a great evening under the stars. I had a great time meeting everyone and sharing the cannon with you all. We will have to do it sometime soon. Maybe near me. We can discuss it after we all recoup from last night. Al- if you want to the local for Vesta just let me know. Iam glad you enjoyed seeing it.

B&B

[Keefer]

Hey everyone!

Just wanted to send a shout out to Al once again for welcoming me to him home and sharing some of astro toys with me. I hated to leave so early but I had a commitment early on Sunday. I won't poop out next time I promise. Also, it was fun meeting everyone last night and seeing all the amazing nebula and constellations. I look forward to the next star party. I think this is a great way to learn how to use my scope and better understand our galaxy.

Till next time,


Keith

[Doug]

Hey Everyone!

I just wanted to add my thanks to Al for hosting the party and his home. And wanted to say I had a really great time. I'm still blown away by everything that we saw. I can't believe how much can be seen out in Woodstock compared to Chicago! It was great meeting everyone and thanks Brian and Jay for the musical accompaniament. I have been sleeping most of the day and I'm only starting to wake up now (at 10 PM)!

At any rate, I had a great time, and I look forward to seeing all of you again sometime soon! Thanks again Al and everyone!

-Doug

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Chicago Astronomer Joe's Account of the Star Part of 9th & 10th of October 2004...

It was in August that Chicago Astronomer Al suggested that perhaps we grungy group of astronomers would like to trek out to the boonies and share an observation session. And so, for the next month or so we discussed and planned the event. A couple of days before...It had hit me that all was falling into plan and it would actually occur.

We had a great location, good people pledged to participate and the weather...oh my God...the weather was gonna be great!

Final check on the weather and equipment Saturday afternoon, and I was set. Nancy and I set off a bit later than expected and I feared that I would arrive after sundown. I was quite disappointed, and the traffic we encountered while still within the city limits of sin did not give me much hope. But with Nancy's skilled driving and familiarity of the area...we were making excellent time. I called Al from time to time on our voyage to the promised land to let him know how long we would be.

The directions provided by Al were precise and set to the minute in travel time. Greatly appreciated, as this city astronomer depends on the grid system of directions and think corn is available only in supermarkets.

We pull into Al's driveway and I see Becky's and Bill's van with the huge antenna, and know we are where we are supposed to be. Doug was there as well scoping out the land for a night of observation. Sigh.

Al had everything all set out and ready to go for us. Red lights in the garage and along pathways to preserve our night vision, drinks, snacks and most important...access to the facilities.

We all selected our patch of land, and started to set up our equipment, all looking for the best sight-lines for the best views. Other members now started to drift on in, like travelers crossing the tundra. Al promptly saw to their needs and we were now complete.

Our list of attendees were: Doug, Sarwat, Keith, Becky, Bill, Brian, Jay, Nancy, Al and myself. With a horde of different telescopes from Becky's 10" dob, Keith's 90mm refractor, to a few Cassagrains, we were ready for some serious looking up.

Now, myself...I couldn't stop grinning. The night sky opened up before me, exposing for the first time to this astronomer, naked-eye faint stars - clusters - nebula, and the whole of the Milky Way stretching from tree line to tree line. I was amazed! I needed to constantly reorient myself to the familiar guideposts and constellations, as in the midst of my usual Chicago stars...were hundreds more to filter thru! I just looked up without using my scope for about an hour, identifying known objects, and making mental note of other objects I could clearly see, but did not know what they were. I consulted my star charts to guide myself and used my police mag light with a red balloon stretched over the lens. Economical and worked like a charm. I could also beat about the head any wildlife that would clamp to my leg during the night.

Becky set up her 10" cannon with tv monitor, laptop and was on her way. Quite a cool setup. One of the first objects targeted in her scope was M57. A great sight in her eyepiece, big and detailed. With Cygnus at zenith, it was explored extensively by our scopes with star hopping techniques and go-tos whirring, I grew accustomed to Doug's 90mtx whirring though out the night and found it comforting. Al's monster Cassagrains mighty motors slewed to different objects, and that was my regular cue to head for his location for a peek.

Becky, (asteroid hunter), plotted out Vesta's location and Al punched in the coordinates. Vesta shown quite brightly in the eyepiece. My first peek at a space rock.

We all traveled from scope to scope like hummingbirds in search of space nectar. Question's about our scopes, conversations about space objects and experienced observers displaying targeting skills. A constant hum of activity permeated the night.

The pizza arrived and it was time to gather and dine together, as we left our instruments of exploration in the field alone. We chatted about ourselves, ate and drank beverages, where we then presented our Host Al, with a Certificate of Appreciation, signed by all of us and framed.

I had wanted to take a great many pictures, but my camera was way out in the field, and by the time we all set up, it was already dark and too late to gather all for a group shot of the Chicago Astronomers and their equipment. But, Al's understanding wife took a few shots of us, and hope to be able to post them here soon.

I laid down on a blanket and was joined by soon by Nancy, Keith and Doug just looking up...marveling at the clear star filled sky. Meteors flashed in our skies throughout the night and we proclaimed Nancy Queen of the meteor spotters, as she had spotted over 14 for the night. Many bright and with dust trails...quite cool!

We then proceeded to return to our observing session. I started to target a host of Messier. Andromeda was easily spotted naked eye, in binoculars and in the eyepiece. M13, M15, M44, M45. M57, double cluster near Cassiopia...it just went on and on. Comparing views thru the many scopes was a treat and what a star party is all about. From Chicago, I could never really see what was in the constellation of Auriga. With the naked eye, I could see smudges. I grabbed my binoculars and could discern three distinct clusters, but did not know what they were. With Becky's help, we determined that I had indeed targeted M36, M37 and M38. A great sight in the eyepiece.

Brian and pal Jay, brought their guitars and serenaded us with a compilation of their tunes. As they played and sang around a roaring fire, the melody washed over the observing field with a pleasant tone and was a treat to listen to. They do indeed play quite well and I will go to their next public performance! Thank you both for the tunes. Encore!

It was now after 1:00 am and some needed to leave. But the majority stayed for the duration. Orion now started to make it's appearance in the East, and we all slewed our scopes to M45. I have never seen the nebula so detailed and defined as I had this morning. Usually, all I get to see in Chicago skies is a grayish cloud with somewhat form. But this night, the wisps and folds were clearly visible. Sarwat, Doug and I spent quite a bit observing this target.

Saturn popped over the tree line and we all made a bee-line for it. Saturn displayed it's great ring system to us, but as the atmosphere conditions were degrading now, the image, although good, was not good enough to view the Cassini division.

The crescent moon and Venus were now in view and some time was spent on them now. I was amazed that the thin crescent moon was actually casting shadows! Unknown in the city. Venus was targeted, but really unremarkable.

The weather now got colder, and alertness was waning. We just sat in chairs looking up, and spotting meteors and satellites whizzing overhead. I had my Nortons with me, and was identifying objects and correlating them to the star maps.

As signs of the raising sun was now evident, we started to pack our equipment away. All was covered with dew, and Sarwat mentioned that his now soaked Sky map was now lost. I noticed that even the slightest interference of the coming sunlight washed away the fainter stars rather quickly, and then my familiar Chicago skies came into focus as only the brightest ones remained.

I had noted an interesting sight. When we first started, the Big Dipper was sinking into the northwest - left of the north star. Now, as we concluded our session, Ursa Major was now to the right of Polaris. The Earth rotated 1/2 turn under our feet as we looked out into the depth of deep space. Quite cool.

With that, we got into our respective vehicles, and went on our way. Nancy and I went a bit off course on the return trip, but soon gathered our bearings and before we knew it...we were home. We attempted to keep Sarwat and Doug within our sights in case of trouble, but after some time, we lost sight of them. The raising sun blasting into our faces heading back into sin city didn't help the matter.

I had such a great time, not only for me, but for my friends and for our first Chicago Astronomer Star Party. The views thru the various scopes were great and conversation enjoyed tremendously. We all agreed that the gathering of the Chicago Astronomers must occur again.

I thank Al for his initiative, organization, hospitality and love of astronomy, and for his offer to share it all with us. It will be a memory that will be remembered for a lifetime and a priceless gift. Thanks Al ;D.

It was great weather, great company and a great time to be an astronomer.

Hail the Chicago Astronomers.

[Al Degutis]

I'm glad that everyone enjoyed the event. It was my pleasure sharing my relatively small patch of terra firma with such a great group. Many of us had been observing for only a year (some a little more) making Chicago Astronomer Joe our expert. Yet, everyone had something to offer. Joe, Becky, Bill and Sarwat were quick to help locate and identify objects, provide insight into what we were seeing, in addition to providing assistance with equipment.

It was a treat being able to get views of the various objects through the different equipment. Even those with small aperture scopes geared towards lunar and planetary viewing in the light polluted city/suburban skies were getting wonderful views of some deep space objects. It was fun trying to help those with less experience than myself whenever I could (I only hope I didn't confuse them more) and was impressed with Sarwat's knowledge, skills and passion. Sarwat has learned more in 8 months that I have in 14 months. Becky and Bill's knowledge and passion for astronomy was just as insightful and contagious.

Thank you Becky, for helping me to see my first asteroid, Vesta. I've got it in SkyTools now so I can visit it again and I plan to locate other space rocks.

It was cool seeing Doug getting more and more comfortable with his 3 week old telescope and it was obvious that Keith's interest in astronomy was broadened that night. I enjoyed Brian and Jay's musical talents and shared Nancy's excitement everytime I heard her exclaim "that was the bomb!" upon seeing one of the many meteors that she spotted.

While some of us spent a full 12 hours together, we bearly put a dent into getting to know the sky and each other so I look forward to future gatherings. Drop me a line if you want to plan a visit up into my neck of the woods for some more celestial sight seeing.

With Vesta being my second best highlight of the night, the top highlight was the entire evening as a whole: the event, the gathering, THE PEOPLE. Thanks to everyone for helping make this event so enjoyable, especially Chicago Astronomer Joe who co-coordinated the event!

[Al Degutis]

I will post the group picture on the site in the next day or two. Unfortunately, the red lights wrecked havoc with the contrast and focus so I'll need to do some photo editing to fix up the pictures a little first.

I didn't get to them on Sunday because I rewarded my family for their considerate efforts to minimize light pollution from inside the house unto our observing field by taking them to a pumpkin farm. I dragged myself out of bed at 11:00am for the family outing and as you can imagine was exhausted by the time we turned for dinner.