Post by atomant on Jul 20, 2005 2:50:13 GMT -6
Hi Fellow Starnuts,
After the Triton Star Party, Arvind, Rajasi and I headed toward one of my favorite observing sites.
Located about a hour from the heart of Chicago, just south of Yorkville, is the Silver Spring State Park.
With dark skies toward south and west, it's a place to enjoy the summer Milky Way not too far from home.
At first glance, it looked like it was going to be a tough night. The moon was still hovering above the treeline as we arrived right around midnight. The moon washed out the dark half of the sky. The air was also very thick and moist. With the Summer Triangle above us, we decided to stay.
Arvind brought his Meade 5in GOTO reflector. I brought along my trusty Orion Mini Giant 15x70 binoculars mounted on Sky Window. I also brought along my light bucket, an Orion 10in dobsonian. We caught the moon on Arvind's scope as it turned orange again.
As soon as the moon set, the stars quickly overtook the night sky. With a laser pointer, Arvind, Rajasi and I took turns tracing the constellations in and around the Summer Triangle.
We saw another naked eye satellite streak across the sky, almost as bright as the Space Station earlier that night. Delphinus, Sagitta, Hercules were also visible with naked eyes.
Besides the sticky air and the skeeters, the night was grand. The Hercules Cluster M13, Wild Duck M11, Dumbbell Nebula M27 and Andromeda Galaxy M31 were all visible with binoculars.
With the light bucket, we were resolving the stars in the grand M13 globular, catching the ducks in M11, soaking in the smokey ring of M57, the apple core of M27 and Andromeda's companion M32.
We finally closed out the night with a glimpse of Mars rising. With Arvind's 5in scope, Mars was definitely a disc. Can't wait for fall to arrive.
By the time we got back to Chicago 5am??!, the sun had already started taking reign on the skies.
FYI, the local police were very cool in allowing us to use the park.
Please let me know if you have a favorite dark site not too far from Chicago.
Clear skies!
After the Triton Star Party, Arvind, Rajasi and I headed toward one of my favorite observing sites.
Located about a hour from the heart of Chicago, just south of Yorkville, is the Silver Spring State Park.
With dark skies toward south and west, it's a place to enjoy the summer Milky Way not too far from home.
At first glance, it looked like it was going to be a tough night. The moon was still hovering above the treeline as we arrived right around midnight. The moon washed out the dark half of the sky. The air was also very thick and moist. With the Summer Triangle above us, we decided to stay.
Arvind brought his Meade 5in GOTO reflector. I brought along my trusty Orion Mini Giant 15x70 binoculars mounted on Sky Window. I also brought along my light bucket, an Orion 10in dobsonian. We caught the moon on Arvind's scope as it turned orange again.
As soon as the moon set, the stars quickly overtook the night sky. With a laser pointer, Arvind, Rajasi and I took turns tracing the constellations in and around the Summer Triangle.
We saw another naked eye satellite streak across the sky, almost as bright as the Space Station earlier that night. Delphinus, Sagitta, Hercules were also visible with naked eyes.
Besides the sticky air and the skeeters, the night was grand. The Hercules Cluster M13, Wild Duck M11, Dumbbell Nebula M27 and Andromeda Galaxy M31 were all visible with binoculars.
With the light bucket, we were resolving the stars in the grand M13 globular, catching the ducks in M11, soaking in the smokey ring of M57, the apple core of M27 and Andromeda's companion M32.
We finally closed out the night with a glimpse of Mars rising. With Arvind's 5in scope, Mars was definitely a disc. Can't wait for fall to arrive.
By the time we got back to Chicago 5am??!, the sun had already started taking reign on the skies.
FYI, the local police were very cool in allowing us to use the park.
Please let me know if you have a favorite dark site not too far from Chicago.
Clear skies!
