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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

A spontaneous unannounced last minute Star Party... because I can

26 August 2010

Audrey, Linda & Alfred, myself, Steve and Dino

It was such a nice day, that it was a shame to let the evening go to waste without setting up a scope at our usual site off the Adler.

I made some calls to see if some of my crew were open to a gathering, but most were occupied with life's obligations and duties. All cool, I decided to set out on my own for a near quiet session and maybe do some solo lunar imaging.

Not to be.

Almost from the moment I set up, I had a host of visitors come up and excited to see the cosmos. Venus was up and bright, as was Mars, but Saturn is already too low for observation. Too bad, I'll miss her... But those early on in the session enjoyed the western planets, including tiny Mars, as we discussed astronomy, alien life and other related subjects.

Fellow Chicago Astronomers Steve & Linda stopped by and joined in...the group was getting larger. By this time, the Moon had risen, but yet still behind the Adler. So in the meantime, Steve amused me with his neat iPad with a great many astro apps and other fun stuff...

Throughout the "solo" session, I met teachers, engineers, pretty women and young astronomers...all eager to discuss things bigger than ourselves. I was asked if this was the group that was featured in the August 25th edition of the Chicago Tribune...

( astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Annoucements&action=display&thread=2842 )

Oh, but of course... ;D

The Adler also had a Members Night activity, and we were catching some of the members on the way to their cars...

Both adults and youngins' were fascinated by the Moon and Jupiter. The 2800 mm focal length and wide aperture of the C11 makes Jupiter a huge disk and observing the Moon seems like one is in orbit. I'm still amazed by it...

Throughout the night, Steve held spell bound the crew on his iPad...

...which is really quite cool. Hello Apple...I could use a sponsor!... ;D


Good friend Audrey from the Chicago Astronomical Society and high profile advocate for Dark Skies and the creation of "Star Parks" joined us by happenstance for the evening...

Myself, Audrey and Steve

In the background, Navy Pier had two firework shows for the Tall Ships docked there now.

And, the visitors kept coming and enjoying this opportunity to peer through a telescope...

With Jupiter so close in conjunction with the Moon, it was easy to slew back and forth between the two...giving the public a two-fer...

Getting close to 11:00 pm, the crew broke up and I was pleased that we had a good crowd for this last minute decision to set-up.

I wasn't ready to go just yet. Around my place, my skies are limited by buildings and trees, so having a wide open vista was inviting and I remained there alone in the park.

Thought I would try some lunar imaging now that I was all by myself...

These are by far, not the best lunar shots I have taken. The winds picked up and the Extended Dew Shield (E.D.S), made for a nice wind sail...shaking things up.

But, I was not through yet sharing the skies.

Well after the park closed, three very nice people approached me, curious on what I was doing there alone and in the dark. They spent a lot of time with me, talking astronomy and marveled at the Moon and Jupiter...which was now much better than earlier - rising out of the muck.

We take several pics together and I get a thank you kiss from one of the ladies.

She sent me her pics...

...and writes:

Hello Joseph, here are the pictures we took of you.

We all thank you very much for the opportunity you gave us by having a look at the Moon and Jupiter, especially me. Don't forget to send me the pictures you took of us besides the ones you mentioned about the planets that you have, (especially the Moon & Jupiter).

Let me know about the next event, please. Thanks again for your kindness and for being so friendly. My name if you forgot is Mercy, my sister Maria and her friend Arturo.

Good night.

And that's what it's all about kids.

I could have spent the night at home, paying bills, attempting to clean or other domestic chores...but instead made a few people happy, had a good time and pleased I could share what I love doing...making new friends in the process and fans of the Chicago Astronomer.

It's all cool.