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[RobbW]

Anyone have the info from Audrey on what we need to do or where we need to go if we are participating in the inaugural star party at the Marriott Lincolnshire tomorrow night? I intend to go and bring the mini-beast with me. I emailed Audrey and sent her a message on Facebook, but I haven't heard from her yet. On info would be helpful. Thanks! BTW, anyone else going?

[patrickm]

I will be in spirit, but will be on Austin hoping to talk nephew Jordan into bringing his scope over to grandma's for a "preventive colimnation checkup."

Have fun!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Ok kids here is the deal....

I will be there after picking up Chicago Astronomer Steve. Chicago Astronomer Bill and John will meet up with us there. We won't be on site until about 7:00 pm, as we can't leave any earlier and really do not want to battle the traffic.

Here are the details:


-

Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedules to support the efforts of Audrey Fischer and her "One-Star-At-A-Time" Star Park celebration at the Lincolnshire Marriott Hotel this coming Friday evening.

Btw, they are offering free access to their championship golf course to the volunteers... as well as a nice selection of food and drink... celestial style. Exec chef Joe is heading this up.


Here are the latest updates concerning the event:

1) According to the Accuweather forecast, the skies are supposed to be mostly cloudy with a 20% chance of rain Friday night in Lincolnshire. Of course this may change between now and then. The low temperature for the evening is supposed to be around 56 degrees, so be sure to bring a jacket, gloves, hat, or whatever you need to stay warm.

2) We will have access to the golf course area where we are planning to hold the event at approximately 5:00 p.m. Please try to arrive no later than 6:30 p.m. if possible. There are a lot of things that need to be done and we will need people to help with parking, equipment transport to the observing area, display set-up in the club house, etc.... Refer to the aerial map that I have provided (and have attached to this e-mail) with the various areas we will be using marked. Please park in the Volunteer's Parking Lot (the grassy area to the north of the 10th fairway).

3) There will be a golf event taking place at the Marriott on Friday and it should be wrapping up around 5:30 p.m or 6:00 p.m. (hopefully sooner). There will be about 75 golf carts on the course for the event and they will be heading back to the clubhouse in the late afternoon. We will just have to work with the hotel and make the best of the situation. The Marriott will be providing golf carts for us to use that are capable of carrying scopes and related equipment from the parking area to the observing field located in front of the 10th tee.

4) Look for Audrey or me when you arrive so we can check you in, give you a name badge, and let you know what the situation and timing are at the time you arrive. We will be at or near the clubhouse.

5) Each volunteer will be given a wrist-band and a name badge. These will identify you as an "Astronomer" vs. a "General Public" person.

6) Remember that we are guests of the Marriott and should be respectful of their property and their guests. If you have a problem or concern, let Audrey or me know ASAP so we can try to address it as quickly as possible.

7) We want to have everything set-up and ready to go prior to the 7:00 p.m. start time. The formal "Star Park" presentation ceremony will take place at 7:30 p.m. Over 100 Marriott VIPs have indicated that they will be attending, so we should have a lot of people to talk to about astronomy.

8) I don't have the e-mail addresses for everyone who has indicated that they will be at the Marriott Friday night. Please pass along this information to anyone who you think might need it.

9) If possible, leave home or work early, drive safely, and have a good time!

See you Friday night!

- Map of the area...



--------------------

Let's assemble our scopes together, make friends and represent the Chicago Astronomers as cool cats we are....

[RobbW]

Joe, I plan to leave directly from work at 5pm tomorrow. Depending on traffic and construction, I'll probably be there between 6:15pm and 6:45pm. If I'm the first Chicago Astronomer there, do you know of anything I can do to try and reserve site space for our group?

Also, I know this is kind of weird to ask as a guy, but what are you wearing tomorrow night? Audrey sent me an email late tonight indicating it will be a dressier affair than the typical jeans and sweatshirt attire amateur astronomers are used to. I'm probably just going with my business casual work clothes. Most likely an all-black ensemble so I can blend in with the night!

I really hope there is a good turn out of both astronomers with equipment and the general interested public. We really need a good showing to support the cause of preserving our dark night skies. I'm very excited!!!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Robb,

I'll be wearing my usual Adler Planetarium garb...White Shirt and dark slacks with black shoes.

Not bummy, yet still comfortable and presentable.

I do not know the set up, but make sure we have room for 5 scopes as a group.

I might even have placards for us.

[Paulie pchris00]

Man, that's a drive, even by my standards. I don't think I'll be able to come help out and still be back for work tonight. I wish you guys luck, and if the weather cancels the event, maybe they will reschedule for a night. Clear skies and good luck!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

The Chicago Astronomers enjoy a night at the Marriott...

I was rushed today, as I was covering a story at a local school with some heavy police action and I was delayed in arriving home. It was a hectic afternoon, prepping for the star party and picking up Chicago Astronomer Steve for the trip.

It took longer fighting the traffic on the Near North side of Chicago, than it was to head out to Lincolnshire Illinois, where the gathering was, but we arrived in plenty of time - with Chicago Astronomers Robb, John and Bill & Hongxia already on site.

I picked up my Name badge and headed over to the area.

The crew set up at the far south end of the observation area, with the rest of grounds filled up by various Astronomical groups from around the area. I had intended to stop by all the scopes and meet the fine astronomers while it was still daylight, but time just slipped away from me.

There was a nice banquet spread for us and I got my fill of eats and drink - bringing it back to the observation site and watching Robb set-up. He got some new equipment and hope he elaborates on it soon.

I didn't have the usual opportunity to take many pics, as hotel guests were making their way from scope to scope. I had my ambiance tunes on, and people made positive comments about it throughout the session.

This sub-par attempt at a panoramic shot kinda shows the wide spread of scopes we had. (I was on an angle and did not lend to proper leveling of images.) From dobs to refractors to SCTs, - sadly, I did not have the chance to view through most of them....

The Chicago Astronomer crew all had our Logo placards on our scopes...and at least with me, was the subject of questions from the public...

Here, Bill and Hongxia work their scopes.

Most scopes were trained on Jupiter or the Moon or M57 or the Double Cluster. After setting up the C11, I went after the "E.T." star cluster throughout the session, as many people have never observed it...and with great results.

I could not use the flash for pics at this session, so it was mostly Moonlit time exposures. Robb, Bill, Steve and John were busy throughout the night, talking astronomy and sharing views...

About an hour into the session, I was called away to take some shots of the certificate presentation to the Marriott officials....

Here, Audrey presents the first Marriott Star Park certificate. It was through her tireless efforts to create dark skies and dark Sky parks that this evening was possible...

Audrey, Peter Birren and I share a pic together.

...And Peter and I.

I would like to share a drink with Peter and talk shop.

Robb, with his newer 8" SCT. A very cool scope that he recently got...I dig it!

Joe and his son from the Chicago Astronomical Society. Joe is very cool and glad to have seen him this evening...

C.A.S Terry and I grab a pic...

I like group shots. Shows the number involved and the fun of shared astronomy. We take a Chicago Astronomer crew shot first....

Shown: Robb, John, HongXia, Michael, Bill, Margie, Steve and myself.

Then, with my members in one spot, I rushed around grabbing everyone that I could for a mass group shot...

Those familiar with me, know the routine - but by this time though, some had already packed up and left or were wandering around the grounds. (The astronomers stood still for 15 seconds - amazing! )

Another main organizer of the event was Darryl....

Here is a nice image of two Skokie Valley Astronomers, swapping out eyepieces on a 10" Meade mounted on a wedge and a very cool Kendricks Anti-Dew system...

I hope they write me with their proper spellings of their names and details on the system. Very nice people...

We hung around chatting after all the scopes were packed away, covered with very heavy dew. But my corrector plate remained clear - thanks to my Extended Dew Shield, (E.D.S) on both the main OTA and 9X30 scopes. The 60mm got dewed over and requires a E.D.S soon!

(I got my equipment drying out in the garage now, with open cases and bags.)

Thanks to the Chicago Astronomer crew for coming out and supporting this very noble event and for the organizers whose love of dark skies will bring back the stars.

[patrickm]

Wow! What a blast that must have been! I had no idea so many different groups would show.

Audrey, you freakin' ROCK!

Wish I could have been there! Waaah! Instead I'm stuck scopeless in clouds from Hermione for the weekend.

How were the skies?
p

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Here are some after event details of the gathering from Darryl Hedges, the Program Chairman/Coordinator of the star party event:

Hello Everyone!

First of all, let me say "Thank You" to all of you who showed-up last night at the Marriott "Star Park" celebration in support of Audrey Fischer's efforts to have the Lincolnshire Marriott designated as the first hotel "Star Park" in the world (I think!)

Second, my apologies to anyone who I may have gotten "short with" in my efforts to get things organized. At times I felt like I was "herding a bunch of cats" with everything that was happening, but I'm sure that was due to my shortcomings and altered state of consciousness, not yours. My apologies to anyone I may have offended or been hard on.

Third, here are some of the numbers that resulted from the event:

Volunteers:

50 people signed-up to attend, 31 actually showed-up and participated. I have attached the list of people we were using who said that they would be at the event. Some of you who were in attendance may see the name of someone who I have listed as a "No Show", but who was actually at the event. If so, please let me know. I am just going by the name tags of people who didn't pick-up their badges.

Marriott Attendees:

According to the latest word that I received from Joe Plucinski (Chef Joe) this morning, the Marriott invited 140 of their customers (people representing organizations that have sponsored events at the Lincolnshire Marriott in the past) and 120 of those people showed-up. In addition, 10 people who attended paid for their food. These could have been General Public attendees.

All in all, the event seems to have been a big success thanks to your participation and support.

I'm sure that Audrey deeply appreciates your support and will let you know in her own way how much she appreciated you being at the Marriott last night!

Once again, my thanks for your support, patience, and enthusiasm!

Take care!

Thanks!

Darryl Hedges
Program Chairman
Lake County Astronomical Society (LCAS)

------------------------------

Excellent!

The Chicago Astronomers were 100% solidly represented!

We do have a great crew... #Yay#

[RobbW]

Sept 18, 2010 17:25:06 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

Excellent!

The Chicago Astronomers were 100% solidly represented!

We do have a great crew... #Yay#

We would never let you down, Joe! It was a great time!

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

My crew has never let me down...

Here is a nice note from Audrey, thanking the participants of the event:

[patrickm]

Awwww! Audrey had me at mead, but now I have an even huger astrocrush on her!

The whole thing is so great. Not that I don't agree 100% with it, but fighting against LP in the big city feels like a losing, slightly Quixotic battle to me. But this is real and concrete...and COOL!!

Bummed I wasn't there, with or without scope!

So, HOW WAS THE WEATHER/SEEING, he asks again, also wondering about the LP?
p

[RobbW]

Patrick, we truly lucked out with the weather. I had been checking it constantly for the two days leading up to the star party. AccuWeather's stargazing forecast kept giving Friday night a 3 out of 10 for fair skies. Not exactly an exemplary forecast. Weather.com was calling for mostly cloudy skies with storms developing in the evening.

During the day Friday, it started out kind of cloudy, then in the afternoon it really cleared up nicely; bright & sunny. It was getting my hopes up. Once I got off work, I headed home and changed and then hopped back in my car for the drive to Lincolnshire. I got there around 6:30pm. As I was setting up and it was getting darker out, the skies were still looking okay. You could see some cloud development on the western horizon, but nothing overhead just yet.

We started viewing activities around 8pm or so, if I remember correctly. Shortly after things got started, some wispy clouds started to slowly blow in. I'd say the sky overhead was about 40-45% clouded up. I was targeting Jupiter at the time and a cloud came in and completely obscured it for the guests who were viewing through my scope. It took about 5-7 minutes for the small cloud to clear out. Although we had slow moving clouds directly overhead now, the skies directly behind the clouds and looking all the way out west were looking relatively clear. We just had to wait for the clouds above to slowly move on out, and then we finally had clear skies.

The seeing and transparency were't stellar. I have no skills with rating skies, so I won't even try. I'll just say it was decent for Chicagoland. As for the LP, in our immediate area it was moderate, but nothing like our usual LP at the Adler. You could definitely see the light dome from Chicago off to the east. However, the surprising thing was a relatively bright light dome to our north. Joe and I were left baffled as to what could be causing it. It actually seemed nearly as bright as the Chicago light dome, but more of a white light than the orange glow from the city. Joe showed me some pics he had taken that clearly show the north sky brightly lit up in the background. The only thing I could imagine it being was probably sports fields/complexes in the local communities.

In any event, we had a great time. The site of the star park is on one of the fairways of Marriott's golf course. We had relatively wide open views of all horizons. The hotel went to lengths to reduce to the lighting in the area by turning off all the parking lights in the immediate area and replacing the light bulbs in nearby structures with red bulbs. The only problem area was at the south end of the site where the Chicago Astronomers were located. The golf course's repair shop was directly across the fairway from us on the other side of the cart path. It had a very bright exterior light that had been neglected to be changed out for a red bulb for the star party. It was shining directly into the viewing paths of mine and John's telescopes. It was annoying, and I hope it will be corrected for any future events.

All in all, we had a good time. There was a very good turn out, and we had lots of guests taking peeks at the night sky and asking lots of questions. I have to thank Jon, Joe, and Bill for helping me fill in the blanks on a couple of guests' questions for which I was not completely knowledgeable. Also thanks to Jon and Bill for helping with my frequent requests to verify targets within my EP.

I look forward to future events at this site. It would be really cool if we could organize an annual star party at this site for all the amateur astronomers in the area. Get our own mini Stellafane going!

I hope Audrey can provide us with more information on exactly how the Marriott's star park will work in the future outside of this special event. Is the star park open for anyone to use? Can we use it any night the weather is clear? Do we need to make special arrangements with Marriott? Are the lights that were changed out with red bulbs and the parking lights that were switched off going to be a permanent feature of the star park or will Marriott have to go and make those adjustments every time someone wants to use the star park?

I read through the One Sky brochure that Audrey gave me that thoroughly describes what a star park should be. My only problem with the Marriott site is that I don't know how well it will be able to conform to the organization's definition of a star park. It just seems to me that a commercial entity like Marriott will probably place too many restrictions on the use of its site for it to be considered a true star park. But... I guess I'll have to wait and see before I make my final judgment. I really hope they are dedicated to maintaining their star park and keeping it open and available to the general public.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

What Robb said.

[patrickm]

Thanks Robb! Exactly what I was hoping to read about and more. Thanks for taking the time. Am very curious to check it out when and if we get another crack at it.

[RobbW]

Joe, now that I think about it again, I have a better idea what may have been lighting up the northern horizon. Friday Night Lights! It was Friday night. And it is high school foot ball season. Every school district in the Chicagoland area with a football team probably had their field lights on for their Friday varsity games. That's my best guess anyway.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Robb,

You are most likely correct and something to take into consideration when the Marriott does this event again.

Then, we can try to coax out the deep sky fuzzies.

[Paulie pchris00]

Congratulations everybody! I wish I could have been there, but on short notice, it was just to far for me to drive on a work night. I'd love to come out there if they want to try it again.

[atomant]

Here are a few pics from Hongxia:


Joe caught smiling.


Shoptalk on the new CAT in town.


Hello from Steve.


The moon waiting to be showcased.

Hongxia and I enjoyed showing the night sky to folks.

May we enjoy more observing sessions at the Star Park with old and new friends.

I was able to sneak a few pics of the Big Gas Ball and La Luna.

[patrickm]

Sept 20, 2010 17:46:01 GMT -6 atomant said:

I was able to sneak a few pics of the Big Gas Ball

Hey! I was a thousand miles away! Jeez!

Great pics Hongxia!

Is Jupiter just straight through the eyepiece? If so, very nice! If CCD, well...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

My Astro Cart and Astro table in the shot.

Sweet!

But it looks like Robb and I are trading insults about aperture.

Best two out of three take downs... #beatdeadhorse#

(John N and I were talking yesterday about the event and the horrendous amount of dew near the end of the session. My homemade E.D.S. (Extended dew shield), worked beautifully and without any auxiliary heating elements. It was only yesterday, (two days later), that I felt comfortable closing all the cases and capping the OTA - from airing out in the garage.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Here is more post communication on the Marriott event:

Hi,

Marriott Lincolnshire event was definitely a team effort of multiple amateur astronomer organizations + corporate Marriott. Our team of volunteers is fantastic; heart is in the right place and willingness to share knowledge and addictive enthusiasm with the public is outstanding!

Regarding Marriott Lincolnshire, hope we can continue building our relationship with Lincolnshire Marriott and take it to the next level to possibly even multiple Marriott StarParks and perhaps even approaching community of Lincolnshire to see if they may be interested in becoming a dark-sky community. Any thoughts on this? The GM of Marriott Lincolnshire also serves on the board of a key Lincolnshire community organization.

Here is an update on our volunteer participation:
Satellite" Steve Szyman and "Jedi" Gomer from Chicago Astronomical Society, Cami and George Fischer from Mid-Hudson Astronomy Assoc-NY, and Evan Ammeson and his mother Marilyn came from Northwest Suburban Astronomers were all in attendance in addition to Darryl's list of 9/18.

Since Bill, Dave, George and Tami (Tammy) were listed twice... the numbers were actually 46 volunteers with 37 able to commit. . . which is absolutely outstanding considering everyone's busy schedules/multiple commitments. We appreciate all you guys; those who couldn't make this event... hope to see you the next one if you can swing it!

Here are a couple cool local updates regarding light pollution:

• North Park Village invited me to give a brief presentation to their board of advisors and guests on 9/15 re: light pollution. It was scheduled for only 10-15 minutes. However, there was so much interest, questions, and exchange of ideas that we continued for 45 minutes ending up with a spontaneous motion from the floor for a resolution that when it comes time to install new lighting/replace existing fixtures, that it be done with dark-sky friendly lighting. It passed unanimously!

• Porter County Commissioners Board welcomed a light pollution resolution that was submitted in writing in the past couple weeks. Their lawyer is looking through it. It is up for a vote on Oct 5th.

• Adler Planetarium has committed space for the first "permanent" exhibit on light pollution in Chicago. (twice the size that was originally talked about Peggy Notebart Nature Museum was actually the first to have a wonderful light pollution exhibit in Chicago-- but it was a traveling exhibit.

Please, let's keep in touch about LP issues in our area & share ideas.
Thanks so much for adding to the team!
P.S. Remember to register your associations' observation sites as StarParks at onestar-awb.org

: >) cheers!
Audrey
onestar-awb.org

[RobbW]

Sept 20, 2010 22:35:18 GMT -6 Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe said:

But it looks like Robb and I are trading insults about aperture.

Okay, Joe. Let's settle this once and for all. Technically, your girth is bigger than mine. I'll give you that. However, my tube has GoTo. And actually finding the target is a higher priority than making it look bigger. At least, that's what she said!!!

[-=CROMAN=-]

Wow... I work about 2 blocks away from that place. Are they ever going to do it again?

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Rich,

I don't know, but it is a Star Park....meaning that the intent is there to continue with subdued lighting for astronomical purposes. It could be just a matter of us requesting a night and....voila!

When I know, then I will share the info.

[Paulie pchris00]

I will most likely see Audrey tomorrow. I will try to ask her if she knows anything.

[patrickm]

Just go set up and start observing!

[atomant]

Hey Paulie,

Any news, updates from Audrey on the observing park for the Northsiders?
What is the proper procedure in using the park?

[-=CROMAN=-]

May 20, 2011 17:03:34 GMT -6 atomant said:

Hey Paulie,

Any news, updates from Audrey on the observing park for the Northsiders?
What is the proper procedure in using the park?

Bump....

[atomant]

Double bump