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[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Chicago Astronomer Star Party
Saturday 19 April 2014

If.... the weather holds out and it is clear...the Chicago Astronomer crew will set-up scopes and enjoy a night out under the planets and stars this Saturday evening - the 19th of April.

I will arrive at our prime public observation site, just west of the Adler Planetarium Building, at 7:00 pm and attend to our fans and friends till 10:30 pm. We will enjoy the king of the planets, Jupiter and the Angry Red planet Mars, (don't expect much)....and Saturn is rising earlier by each night - now about 9:30 pm. We will see if we can target the ringed planet for this session, but it may still be too close to the horizon for decent views. Saturn will be with us for the entire summer, so if we don't get it Saturday...we will have months to enjoy the ringed system in future Chicago Astronomer public events...including our joint Chicago Park District activities - next on on the 26th of April.

Come and enjoy the largest mobile public telescope in the city,  share the skies with Astronomers and discuss urban astronomy with the crew.

Stay tuned for updates and confirmations - and don't forget to check the social medis feeds...

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

UPDATE:

Gonna be a chilly one....but the Chicago Astronomer Star Party is a solid GO for tonight.

It's a bit hazy, but there are C.A. fans eager to stop by and say say hi.

[Chicago Astronomer - Astro Joe]

Chilly Saturday of scopes and fans...





The evening was going to be a chilly one, as winter just didn't want to let go, but Chicago Astronomers are a hardy bunch and we set-up at 7pm.....mocking the early spring chill.



Rich and I have the same Celestron 102mm refractors which performs very well....mine as both - a stand alone wide field scope and supporting the C11 riding on top of the OTA.




A close call here, when slipping the C102 onto it's ring bases, I neglected to tighten the lock down knobs and it slipped out and fell....with me catching the tube with my quick Astronomer reflexes.  Disaster averted.



Joining in on this session were:  Jason, Rich, Steve and Adler Telescope facilitator Tom.  

I needed just a bit more counter weight.....

Aligning our scopes, punching in data on our pads and soon enough...we were ready to attend to our fans and visitors wgo were already gathering around our gear, as is usually the case...

Some have mentioned that the new Divi bike rack here, (installed in the late fall), would be an interference to our regular Chicago Astronomer Public Observation sessions, but I felt that this is an opportunity to expose bicyclists to urban astronomy as they come and go.  I have already invited several riders to our sessions and they have become new fans.

It's all good.

Ready to go, we had Jupiter riding high and Mars shining brightly.  We took our choices and presented nice planetary views - with good satellite position around Jupiter and terrestrial markings and polar ice cap on Mars.  Practically all of our visitors never have viewed these planets through telescopes before and were awed...




I think this is a cool shot of Tom.






Sky conditions were not optimal, as high haze rolled in and later heavier clouds.  But we still managed to target both planets to the glee of our visitors.  Rich had Saturn for a few scant minutes in his refractor, but lost it to the clouds....




Each scope had their waiting lines and discussion all things astronomical.  I chatted with some very nice people about black holes, exterrestrial life and orbital mechanics....




New Chicago Astronomer Forum member Liz, tries out my 15x70 Binos for heft as she contemplates getting a pair of binoculars...




We continue to share the skies with fans and discuss our equipment...




Above this Chicago Astronomer fan in a new addition to the arsenal of gear.  I have included a "My Cube" audio box secured in the 50mm ring holder, temporarily until I find a permanent location on the C11.  It provides ambient space sounds and classical tunes while the observer enjoys views through the eyepiece.  Everybody digs it.



Jason is very pleased with his new SCT and it is performing very well.  Excellent!



New to the Tripod mount for this season are the "Chicago Astronomer" lettering on each leg for organizational visibility and identification.  Getting good feedback so far.




I had hoped to locate the asteroids Ceres and Vesta, but sky conditions were not favorable for the hunt this evening.  They are in conjuction now and will will come very close to one another shortly.  A private Chicago Astronomer session will bring these into view for imaging soon.





New Chicago Astronomer fan, Guillermo and family...who came across our observation site while taking a nice walk by the Adler this evening, enjoyed themselves and I understand are still talking about the experience today, easter Sunday.  Hope to have them join us often and become regulars.

This is our second Chicago Astronomer Star Party of the season and had 102 visitors by the time we stopped at 10:30 pm.  It did get a bit chilly during our session, but warmer nights are anticipated and with Saturn rising earlier and earlier each night...we will soon have three planets to share with our fans in the coming months...




This session is laser fortified by the Chicago Astronomer crew.

Thanks to the crew who come out with all their gear and sharing equipment with all sky lovers.  It's always great to have my fellow Chicago Astronomers members share a session with me....

Onward to our next public observation session....stay tuned.

[patrickm]

I can't believe you authorized a bike rack at our observing location!

Looks like fun. Careful with that laser. You'll put your eye out.
p