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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Chicago Astronomer Star Party

09 July 2011

Will we do three solid star parties in a row...?

Yes!

I will set up the C11 on the Adler area by 7:30 pm this Saturday - 09 July 2011...

We had such great amount of visitors for the past two consecutive evenings, and the skies will be clear - that I have decided to conduct another one before the weather turns sour tomorrow.

Saturn, the Waxing Moon, the Double cluster, The E.T star cluster and some binaries will be highlighted this session. There will also be a bright (-8), iridium flare at 8:36pm and 9:30 pm fireworks to entertain us.

Not certain where I will set up between the two sites, but look for me...can't miss the telescope.

If free or in the area, stop by and share the skies.

[atomant]

Hey Joe
I will join you tonite for your three-peat.
Hope I don't jinx the skies.

Hope to see straight wall.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Bill,

Excellent.

Then....

With Bill present, I will set up up on the Northside of the Adler, with the great skyline as our backdrop and good foot traffic.

The Moon has been crisp in the C11 of recent and I saw a great Rupus recta ridge...

I will meet you on-site by 7:30 pm...this way I can dump all the equipment with you and park the van.

Don't forget your I.D...!

[Paulie pchris00]

I'll be out too. Not sure how long I will be staying. I don't have to work tonight, but I can if I want to. I'll see how the night plays out. See everybody later.

[patrickm]

Still outta town, but have really enjoyed reading and checking out the pics. Cloudy and smoke-filled skies here have me jealous of Chicago. Who'da thunk?

Have fun, and let's be careful out there.

[Paulie pchris00]

It's unfortunate that there aren't any passes of ISS or Atlantis. Interest in the STS-135 mission is very high, and I had quite a few questions about whether we could see the space shuttle last night. I had to answer that is was possible to see the shuttles naked eye, but that at least for the first week of the mission, we won;t be seeing Atlantis or Station.

[atomant]

Three-peat was sweet!
T
he C11 had best showing of Saturn yet tonite.
The piece of cheese wasn't shabby too.
Cheers for rupes recta and the snowman.

[-=CROMAN=-]

Had a great time tonight. nice crowd... wish I could have brought my scope with. Next time.... Going out to view now for a couple hours

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

A great cap to a three consecutive Chicago Astronomer Star Party Marathon Session in July

This last minute decision to conduct the final Chicago Astronomer event for this string of star party sessions went on beautifully. You know that you have a good time, when before you know it - the police are sweeping everybody out of the park, and it's your first look at your watch during the entire evening.

The area was indeed crowded with lakefront visitors this evening, for the firework show primarily, but Chicago Astronomers have ways... and secured easy parking. We arrived at about 7:30 pm-ish and set up on the North side of the Adler.

Our crack crew for this session will be Chicago Astronomers Paulie & Hillary, Bill and myself.

Our fans started showing up early, some notified via Twitter & Facebook, others by the Chicago Astronomer website and the rest from the last-minute email notifications I sent out early in the afternoon....

The near-quarter Moon was our early target, but...even before I was finishing setting up the C11 beast - I had visitors anxious to take a look. I had to tell some persistent individuals several times...I mean several times...to return in fifteen minutes. And what's with the prying on how much my C11 costs? I need a neat catch-phrase zinger for this. I rarely get annoyed, but....

The C11 performed nicely this session. The day was hot and humid, so I popped on the Extended Dew Shield early - with changeable Blue pleather Slip-cover. (Paulie needed to touch it). Kept the Corrector Plate dry and clear...

I added an extra 5lb weight for this session, along with the primary 22 lb and 10 lb disks for a total of 37 lbs counterweight balance. It worked very well, making slewing easier and less torque on the clutches...

I had long extended discussions with several visitors this evening on astronomy, cosmology, physics and the question of origins, theories and 2012. Time just slipped by fast, while I handled the scope, took limited pics and attended to the fans. I didn't even have the chance to visit with the on-site crew much and take their pics. Realizing this, I requested if Hillary would take some pics with the auxiliary camera - and are included in this narrative. Thanks Hillary..I hope you continue in future sessions! (The date stamp needed to be adjusted, so just ignore it.)

If it were not for my fellow Astronomers, I would have been swamped, as I was the past two evenings, but with four extra scopes to serve, (3 of them Paulie's), it made for a smoother flow of visitors.

Always a moment to take a pic with our fans and friends, but a constant eye on equipment....

Chicago Astronomer Rich (Croman), stopped by with his family...

And......

..after non-stop observational astronomy, a little sugar recharges the soul... ;D

Some of us took a short break to enjoy the fireworks show...

...Chicago Astronomers are fortified with laser power. Deal with it.

Saturn was again the hit of the evening, showing great banding and sharp ring structure. Our visitors couldn't believe that this was actually Saturn, and "did we paint something in front of the scope?". Two Saturnian satellites were easily visible and we spent the evening slewing back and forth to the Moon and Saturn...

And again, the $35.00 90mm Ebay Refractor scope works beautifully, allowing two to view at the same time. With the 35mm reticle Rini eyepiece, it displays nice sharp views. High magnification is great , but there is a solemn moment when the entire lunar sphere is captured within the FOV. A good reference bouncing in between the two scopes. I also had intended to use an easel to display a Lunar map, but the breeze early on was rather brisk and elected that for another session.

At about 10:30 pm, clouds started to move in from the SW and blotted out Saturn. We all then slewed to the Moon for last views before the session concluded....

There were many comments on how, if you let your imagination go, feel the roughness of the lunar surface. Riles, craters, maria, mountain peaks...all were there for the taking. Copernicus, being right on the terminator, made for a great teaching tool on the make-up and behavior of craters.

I met Scott who came upon our observation site. He is a graphic artist and part of the new Deep Space Adventure Skyshow at the Adler. He created the beginning and ending animation of the presentation...

Fellow Adler crew members Carmen and Fred stopped by as well...

Long time Chicago Astronomer supporter Ed and his Son Eddie joined us early on and assisted in carrying my equipment to the site...

Chicago Astronomer fan Jerry and his friend joined us...

Coming from a distance away, I always appreciate his smiling face and friendship.

This was a great three night extended Chicago Astronomer series of star parties. I have not done an extended session before...and glad we did. Attending to hundreds of visitors during this stretch, it only shows that the desire for urban astronomy is alive and well...and served by the Chicago Astronomer Crew.

Our Chicago Astronomer crew for the evening:
Myself, TomLee, Paulie, Hillary and Bill.

Great to have them part of the action...

[patrickm]

[tomlee]

I was not aware of the firework show for the evening and had to spend more than twenty minutes looking for parking space. Don't know why someone decided to leave just before the show begin and I was able to park and get to the sight and still catch a little bit of the firework show. I added a little different flavor in approaching this evening's shoot. Focus is still bad earlier on but good things it got better. I like it with more CA's around and the better scenic background of the sight. Astronomer life is more glamorous here.

[hillimolly]

I did a good job taking pictures