The Heat Of The Night

THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT a review of the 2003 Winter Star Party - by Glenn Muller .

.. Not yet dimmed by morning light, bits of constellations curiously skewed by latitude glimmered through Live Oak limbs draped with Spanish Moss, and distracted.
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. With the tent packed, pegs bagged and poles counted, we left the State park to join the line forming on the shoulder of US 1. There were over six hundred entries registered for the Nineteenth Annual Winter Star Party and we were twenty-seventh from the gate. It wouldn’t open for five hours but, with a beautiful sunrise and people wanting to chat, the time soon passed. At the front of the queue was another Canuck, “John” from Toronto. He’d driven two, fourteen hour, shifts and spent a couple of nights in his Jetta to claim the pole position. Now with only hours to go his car battery was dead. Hardly worth mentioning since there were probably more power packs on this stretch of road than the rest of the Florida Keys combined.
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. Just before Noon the RV’s and large trailers were admitted and parked where they would block some noise and stray light from the highway. Many of the remaining open areas were quickly staked by tripods but fellow HAA club members, Lou and Ollie Darcie, made room beside their camper and we couldn’t have wished for more congenial neighbours.
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. At three p.m., founder Tippy D’Auria made his welcome speech. He started with an emotional remembrance of astronomical friends recently passed and the astronauts of the shuttle Columbia, “who are now among the stars”, and finished with a review of the usual star party rules which included no alcohol since we were on Girl Scout property. Security was provided by the Munroe County Police Department who had an officer at the gate for the duration of the event. This provided peace of mind though, zealous in their protection of the diminutive “Key Deer”, blue lights and sirens were common as boat sounds and gull cries.
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.. With a slight onshore breeze rippling the Palms we basked under mainly clear skies. Shade was where you made it and, while the Sun didn’t so much set as was forced down by the settling moisture, the air was still and the seeing steady. Most nights, equipment began dewing up at dusk and heaters worked hard to keep pace. Lacking such devices I found that a couple of disposable chemical hand warmers, suspended behind the primary of our 6” f8 Newtonian, extended our viewing time. They also de-fogged eyepieces quite nicely.
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When the seeing was good, it was great. In our modest scope Cassini’s Division was razor sharp and Jupiter’s Great Red Spot wasn’t just visible, it jumped out at you. Seeing them through bino-viewers in a 20” Skymaster was absolutely mind-blowing, but for me the best image through this set-up was of the Lunar surface. I've seen some incredible photos of the Moon but nothing compares to an up close view processed by your own eyes. As if hang-gliding over the craters I even began to pick out spots to land. Gail and I also wandered over to The Yard Scope, a behemoth of a dob with a 36” mirror. We only got to see the Orion Nebula through this giant but what a sight. The 2” 35mm Panoptic couldn’t contain the interstellar cloud, and the Trapezium became the four brightest stars of a small open cluster.
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My sky charting program told me the best time to catch Omega Centauri was at three a.m. Like many, we crashed at Midnight for a few hours sleep then forced ourselves up. This got easier each night and I kept at it, hoping for better transparency, but humidity practically obscured Crux, the Southern Cross, and though the Eta Carinae nebula was apparently visible for a short time we managed to miss it. You can’t miss Omega Centauri. It squats in the center of your FOV like a fat bullfrog on a lily pad. While I couldn’t get the same resolution through the murk that I’ve enjoyed with M13 at zenith there is no doubt that this is the granddaddy of globulars. I happily logged it along with the eleven Messier objects and eighteen other DSO’s that we had not previously seen.
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. The daytime sights were just as good. Once we’d had our fill of astronomical equipment, and visited the vendors (I bought a Desert Storm scope cover), we ventured further afield. The ramshackle charm of Hemmingway’s days can still be found yet I fear much of it has been blown into the Gulf by hurricanes. This only means you have to look a little harder for it.
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. Though Key West can’t help being a tourist trap, handsome B&B’s, open air bars, and the tall ships at Schooner Wharf help to retain its Old World Caribbean appeal. And there is so much to do. Kayakers can venture miles out into the calm waters and fishermen, closely watched by pelicans, hang over every bridge. Snorkeling charters seem to outnumber gas stations and, on the day we went to the Dolphin Research Centre, Lou and Ollie went deep sea fishing and brought back a feast of fresh filets for our group.
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. Back at the camp there were also plenty of daytime activities. The Southern Cross Astronomical Society had arranged a variety of programs for kids and, for the adults, there was a range of seminars including a three day, image-processing, course. Most popular among the Northerners, however, was the week long tan- processing course! There’s something to be said for sandals in February after four months of The Great Indoors.
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. Friday afternoon was the door prize giveaway. Software, eyepieces, whole libraries of books, and two ETX 90 scopes were among the sponsor donations. Sometimes our ticket numbers were close. The Grand Prize; a Meade LX 200 8” SCT went to a chap who had turned fifty- six that day and, as he made his way to the podium, the crowd began singing “Happy Birthday”.
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. Saturday was the last viewing night and turned out to be the best of the week. The Moon went down about one a.m. and a gentle wind kept the dew at bay. Giving up on horizon hugging targets, I concentrated on an upside down Ursa Major and Virgo’s galaxy cluster. Camp Wesumkee was now half-empty; many astronomers having Monday work commitments. We’d leave too, in just a few hours, but for now quiet voices surrounded and the light of my computer attracted friends to share one last look, in the heat of the night.
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L-R: standing: Floridians Sue and Charlotte - sitting: Canucks Lou, Ollie, Gail, Glenn . MORE PHOTOS:
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Computer-controlled, this portable dome housed an astrophotographer's ultimate set- up.
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