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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Mini Chicago Astronomer Star Party

Saturday - 07 August 2010

For no other reason than to have one.

Sunday will will be hot and may bring T-storms...so Saturday night it is.

As usual, The Chicago Astronomers will set-up telescopes by the Adler...

We will set-up at 8:00 pm and stay....well, till we get tired or kicked out.

We can catch Saturn on it's last weeks before it sinks below the horizon and I wish to take some images as well. I'll bring the C11 and Chicago Astronomer Paulie from Indiana can make it for a couple of hours with his equipment.

NOTE: With Lollapalooza going on nearby, parking will most likely be constricted along the Drive, (it was Thursday morning after we left the area after a private session), but if you can arrive to the area...cool.

Short notice I know, but if you can make it, (both astronomers and fans), it would be great to see you...

[RobbW]

Awesome, Joe! Glad to hear the fan base is growing. Just wait till that Chicago Tribune article comes out!

Alas, I cannot make it tonight. I already have previous plans. If the weather holds out, tonight I will be attending a KLJDFMKVNUKIDXXJONASBROTHERSXXPYQNLKNAIOERN concert (names have been poorly hidden to protect the innocent from embarrassment). Then I'll be heading up to the Wis. Dells Sunday through Wednesday. I'm still trying to decide if I want to take my scope with me or not. There should be ever-so-slightly darker skies than around here, but the forecast is calling for scattered T-storms and such. The new scope case takes up a lot of real estate in the SUV, and that's a lot of cargo to bring along if I'm not even going to get to use it.

You guys have fun tonight. I will be there for the Thursday night session for the Perseids. See you then.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

IMPORTANT UPDATE:

The Chicago Astronomer mini Star Party will NOT be conducted by the Adler Planetarium tonight - 07 August 2010.

Instead.....

Fellow Chicago Astronomer Patrick suggests that we do another session by "Horner Park" in Chicago's Northwest side off of Montrose & California.

I must agree and relocate the crew there.

With that Lollapalooza event going on, the area by the lakefront, it will be difficult to access for fans of the Chicago Astronomer. So...we will set-up telescopes around 8:00-ish. Plenty of parking and we will be on the "Hill" at the park. Can't miss us.

Look for the handsome mustachioed astronomer with a big instrument...

Details on the Chicago Astronomer Observing sites can be found here - including the "Horner Park" site...

astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=StarParty&action=display&thread=2784

Sorry for the last minute change, but I think it's a better locale for tonight.

[patrickm]

See you guys when I get back from a south side housewarming party.

[patrickm]

AND at least one part of the tribune says that the Bears are practicing again tonight at Soldier Field. Not sure if that's true but what horrible planning! (Not you, by the Bears/City). What a globular cluster frak that place will be tonight!

[patrickm]

AND the Grant Park Music Festival is happening with the GPSO playing opera finales! Sounds fun, but a nightmare too!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Then great that our session is moved away from all that mess.

Kind of cloudy now...hope it clears up.

Now...for some sleep...I hope.

[Paulie pchris00]

Hmmm... Decision time. From the Adler I was going to be pushing it to get to work on time leaving at ten o'clock. Moving up to Horner can only mean one thing then: I will stay until 10:30 and go to work an hour late. Everybody wins. See ya later!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Yay...! #Yay#

[RobbW]

Aug 7, 2010 11:49:16 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

Now...for some sleep...I hope.

Ummm... when, exactly, do you EVER sleep, Joe? I see posts from you at all hours of the night, and you often engage in multiple observations per night. You're either an extremely devoted amateur astronomer, or you drink too much Red Bull.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Robb,

Sleep is for sinners...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

A nice quiet time out under the stars....

The relocation was a good thing, as we had a nice quiet session with the park practically all to ourselves.

I was running late, with Chicago Astronomer Paulie & Hillary already on site and set up by our 8:00 pm schedule. I arrived and discovered that the mosquito population was intense and fierce. I couldn't take it, so I ventured in search of some DEET, but got a call that Chicago Astronomer Patrick arrived...and with some bug repellent.

Excellent.

We applied and for the most part, kept the insects at bay for the rest of the session.

In my haste to arrive at Horner Park, I forgot my trusty Canon Powershot S3...and had to rely on the on-board camera on my new LG Ally Android phone....better than nothing. Cell phone cameras are just not there yet in really good imaging, although this one has the features of ISO adjustment, timer and many other goodies.

I brought the smaller C5 SCT for this session, as the skies were uncertain and were more cloudy than clear when we started, but did indeed clear up later after 10:00 pm. And besides, with the van parked away in the lot and the hill we must climb...the C11 beast is much too heavy and clumsy, even with the new foldaway cart I'm now using.

astronomer.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=Equipment&action=display&thread=2795

Works great...!

Paulie spent some time scanning the skies with his binos...

...and 4.5" reflector go-to & 60mm refractor...

We had my good friend Janet, her Husband Lorenzo and Barney the dog join us for a bit...

Venus was observed, as well as Saturn, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune. In addition to M57, M31, double-double, the double star at the bend of the Big Dipper and the Alberio pair.

I don't care what Clear Sky Clock said... transparency was horrible. Checking on my Smartphone, it showed deep blue...LIARS!

On M57...it was probably the worse visual I ever had of the ring nebula. Now, I'm not sure if I got spoiled with the C11 and the great light gathering power it offers, but the object was washed out, thin and faint in not only my C5, but Patrick's 4.5" go-to reflector as well. So bad, that I spent a long time searching for it...passing it up numerous times, until the skies got "just a bit" cleaner. I attached my 50 Mw laser to the C5 and it helped greatly to locate the Messier object - the beam showing in both the finderscope and the main eyepiece - pin pointing it. But for the object it's self this evening....not exciting at all #bored#

We observed Jupiter raising over the trees, boiling from the muck, but the bands were visible and satellites in line. The "Where's IO" app on my Smartphone showed that Io slipped behind Jupiter just as I passed the scope over to Patrick, who only saw three satellites. Very cool app.

The comparison between Uranus and Neptune was nice...and the colors of blue-green for Uranus and more blue for Neptune was evident in Patrick's scope. Another cool moment

Paulie left the session earlier for his long drive to Indiana, (I appreciate it every time he makes the trip for our sessions), and it was just Patrick and I. We spent the next few hours talking, joking and telling stories while behind our respective scopes under cloudless, albeit hazy skies. We packed up about 1:30 am and with a nice easy session behind us.

I'm really waiting for the cleaner, deeper and clearer sky that will soon be on hand.

Cool...

[Paulie pchris00]

Running a little bit late for the Horner Hill star party, I drove the Indiana Toll Road/ Chicago Skyway to save time, if not money. Just after crossing the state line, the Skyway goes up a very high bridge over a shipping canal, and affords a great view of the city skyline in the distance on a clear day. Driving over the bridge, the setting Sun was peeking through clouds, but a thick haze was hanging over Chicago. Great. I left behind a fairly cloudless sky at home.

Arriving at Horner Park, the clouds started moving out to the northeast, letting the evening planets show through. Joe arrived on site just as the twilight glow was fading to night, and the mosquitoes intensified their already aggressive blood lust. After only a minute or two of the onslaught, Joe left to get some repellant. Patrick arrived only minutes later with bug spray, so Joe was called back to join us.








At first it looked like the clouds would clear, but they came back in force for awhile.








It was a hot, humid night, but we wore hooded sweatshirts to help keep mosquitoes off.

We were going to lose the evening planets soon regardless, but the clouds rolled in again, stealing most of our sky from us. After Janet and Lorenzo joined us, there were enough sucker holes that we were able to share the double stars of Albireo, Mizar, and the Double Double to them, but the Ring Nebula was the only DSO they were able to view.

I needed to leave early for work, and Janet and Lorenzo were about to leave too when Jupiter presented itself above the trees east of us. We all stayed to give Jupiter a proper viewing, and a parting group picture.

Given that Mars and Saturn will soon be disappearing behind the Sun, and that four or more planets in a night will become rare, I consider the session a success, since Hillary and I observed Venus, Mars, Saturn, and Jupiter, and Patrick and Joe saw 6 planets. That’s worth fighting clouds to see. Maybe not worth dealing with some of the crazy drivers on Chicago’s expressways, but since we shared the abbreviated planet party with friends, it was worth the drive.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Paulie,

It was a good session, with Patrick & I staying in the park till 2:00 am and half a dozen planets.

The pictures from other members and fans... always are appreciated.

Thanks for crossing the state line!