It was a very nice night, clear dark skies and bright stars.
Andrew and Maureen observing at Kaʻohe
A usual the club’s dark sky star party was held this month at Kaʻohe. After two months of poor weather I was ready for a good night out with a telescope. A few others were too, and joined the club out in the dark.
Arriving at the site there was a thin cloud deck overhead. With years of experience here I looked up and told Maureen that the clouds would be gone in an hour. It did not even take that long, the clouds dissolved right after sunset, leaving a clear skies before we were finished setting up.
It has been too long since I really got out with a telescope. The ‘scopes have been out, but usually doing public work like last weekend’s Winter Star Party at CFHT in Waimea. Time to get a good night for myself.
Andrew Unger beside the 20″ Obsession while waiting for properly dark skies at Kaʻohe
As president of our little club I make the schedule and choose the night. Last month was a bust, bad weather rolling in both weekends either side of new Moon. Thus I was pleasantly surprised when this particular Saturday I had chosen looked perfect, not a cloud in the sky over Mauna Kea.
It was the wind that was likely to spoil the night. In Waimea and Waikoloa strong trade winds roared and rushed. A pall of dust could be seen over the whole area from Waimea to the sea. The Kaʻohe site has a particular blessing, it is directly in the lee of the mountain when the trades come out of the nor’east.
Today I learned of the passing of Steven Coe, an amateur observer well known and admired in the Arizona community and elsewhere. He had been having health issues on and off for the past few years, but would usually bounce right back and you could again find him out in the dark with a telescope somewhere.
Steven Coe set up at the 2004 All Arizona Star PartyI spent many nights observing with Steve and the rest of the usual gang at star parties in Southern Arizona. Nights at Sentinel or Farnsworth Ranch, he was nearly always there, one of the most dedicated visual observers in the community.
Go to the new moon events in southern AZ, wherever they were that month, and you would find Steve, AJ Crayon, Tom Polakis, and the rest. If everyone was there, it was going to be a good night. They were very memorable nights indeed.
If you saw Steve setting up at a star party you always wanted to setup nearby, you would learn so much just listening through the night. You were always welcome at his eyepiece, and what I saw there was so often something I had never seen before. A distant quasar, or some obscure gem of a nebula not found in the usual guides. Steve knew so much about the sky, and would cheerfully share that knowledge.
There were six folks at Ka’ohe last night to greet the dark skies. Clouds loomed dark overhead when we arrived, but that is no reason to give up here. As normal for this site the skies cleared shortly after sunset and we had great skies much of the night.
My observing site for the night, as shot from the Mavic DroneIn anticipation of planet viewing I brought the NexStar 11″ GPS with its three meter focal length. Some care was taken to collimate properly it at the start of the evening.
Views of the planets were nice, the seeing was OK, but not great. Venus nearly at perfect half phase and will waning to a crescent over the coming month. A moon shadow crossing the disk of Jupiter was clearly visible. Saturn was quite nice, the rings are beautifully tilted open for the next few years.
Mars is still badly obscured by the dust, only the polar cap being clearly seen with vague light and dark areas beyond that. I even took a peek at Neptune.
I have had to cancel the last three monthly club star parties, three in a row. The February, March and April new Moon star parties did not happen. Yes, the weather this spring has been that bad, just horrible for stargazing. This has affected the large observatories atop the summit, with over 70% of the time lost for March and April.
The 8″ Cave Astrola setup at KaʻoheAs the date for this star party approached I checked the forecast and satellite images with apprehension. This actually looks like we might get a clear night.
Which telescope? That decision was already made, I have been looking forward to a dark night with the classic 8″ Cave Astrola since finishing the restoration months ago. Previous attempts another victim of the bad weather. With my vehicle in the shop it took a little disassembly to fit this telescope in my wife’s Honda, but it fit.
Driving up the mountain a cloudless Mauna Kea greeted me, the scene a complete opposite to what I feared. This might actually happen.
Time to remind everyone of the common rules for star party etiquette. As few simple considerations for your fellow star party participants help make the event more enjoyable for everyone.
The 20″ Obsession telescope awaiting full dark at Kaʻohe, on the side of Mauna Kea
Not to say these are hard rules, they will get broken. Try not do break these rules… It is simply a matter of courtesy to other star party participants. Be polite and you will be far more welcomed to share the experience under a dark sky.
The points of etiquette below apply to any star party you might attend, with a few added bits particular to our West Hawaii Astronomy Club events.
A few months back I was reminded that I was remiss in scheduling proper club star parties. Thus I set about fixing that!
A telescope and observing table in the dark at KaʻoheWhat about a site? The MKVIS at Hale Pōhaku is a total zoo lately, too many tourists, folks from the club are hesitant to go there for a good dark experience. it can also be cold and windy up there. Since Vaughn left the island a few months back, no one is using the old upper road site at Puʻu Kuainiho.
Thus I compromised at using my favorite site at Kaʻohe. At 5,800ft the site is lower, warmer, and less windy than the VIS. It also represents about half the drive time it takes to get to the VIS, without the tourist crowd. The site is higher and offers more reliable skies than the Puʻu Kuainiho site
