[Lvas] Cathedral Gorge

[roger ivester]

All,

 

We have had rain all week. I was not planning a 161 mile drive, however I was going to load my telescope and drive 20 minutes N to my new dark site in the South Mountains. 

 

It rained off and on all day Saturday. My cycling group and I barely missed the rain on Saturday morning. 

 

As I write this e-mail, (6:20 AM eastern time Monday) it is raining as of this moment. 

 

The forecast is thundershowers all week here in western North Carolina. I was planning another sketch of the Leo galaxy group...individually and a group sketch. Our  "observer's challenge" report is due by next week.  

 

I have another month or so for galaxy observing.  From July till late September we have "incredibly" high humidity and it can be difficult at times to see 3rd or 4th magnitude stars from my backyard. 

 

My only choice for summer observing is to drove to the top of Mount Mitchell, but the weather...as I have mentioned before, can be very unpredictable. It is an approximate 80 or more miles.  

 

There are exceptions. I do have two or three nights a month during this period that allow observing locally. I do not attempt very faint galaxies...beyond 10th magnitude. 

 

I mostly work on double stars during the summer months. The atmosphere is "normally" more stable than those cold winter nights, and the haze and humidity is not a problem. 

 

For the "observers challenge" objects for August and September I will do all, in very late night observing sessions, hopefully this month and next. 

 

We need to select the August and September objects very soon. I will make some proposals, please do likewise if there are a couple of objects that you would like to recommend.  

 

One more thing.  I was able to observe Centaurus A for the first time, last week using my observing friends (Steve Davis) 12-inch Lightbridge. 

 

If we do our math, 10 squared is 100 and for the 12-inch, it is 144. I like the 1.5 times extra light gathering capacity of the 12-inch, versus my 10-inch.    

 

Description of Centaurus A: Due to light glow at 7° from the horizon, we were only able to see a very faint, mostly featureless haze. A brighter star or nucleus in the central region. Averted vision was required. The shape was very irregular. Not much to see from 20 minutes N of Boiling Springs, but I can now say...I have seen it.

 

Roger 

 

      


  

 


From: rayworth1969 at hotmail.com
To: lvas at lvlug.org
Date: Sun, 24 May 2009 20:58:19 -0500
Subject: [Lvas] Cathedral Gorge



All,
 
Well, I finally showed up to an out of town star party and I was almost the only one there, and certainly the only one with a scope!
 
Though I was a bit disappointed to see no other brave souls willing to drive 161 miles or so, we had a good weekend and got to test our new folding travel trailer. When we got there late Friday, we got rained on. We made a round of the park and there were no empty spaces. However, we forgot to fill the water tank and had to go back down to the water station and fill up. By the time we got back, there were two emtpy spaces and we pulled in. Then I discovered another water faucet right across from our space!
 
Friday night, never saw a star. I heard it cleared up a bit after midnight, but I was asleep by then and disgusted.
 
Saturday was stormy all day. Walked around the park and saw the sights. We went into Panaca just to say we did. We got back and in the late afternoon, the storms hit and it rained pretty hard for a couple of hours. Plugged in my generator to recharge the battery and something shorted out because of the water, and the battery only charged intermittently. Finally gave that up and waited for the rain to stop. Started a campfire and sat by it until about 10. As we were dousing it, I looked up and saw the big dipper. By then, I was in no mood to set the scope up in sandy mud, so we just went to bed. Woke up this morning and the sky was clear as a bell.
 
So, that's my first official club out-of-town star party.
 
Fred
 



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