Photo credit: David J. Eicher
As I mentioned earlier today, I just returned from the 2012 Cherry Springs Star Party near Coudersport, Pennsylvania. I was privileged to speak there and spend some time observing with a variety of friends, including the Jennings family of Townsend, Delaware — Chuck, Karen, Gabe, and Nate. They are an amazing astronomy outreach family: Chuck is an accomplished observer and telescope builder, Karen is the vice president of the Astronomy Foundation, and the boys were full of fun.
I’m going to write more about Cherry Springs tomorrow. For now, I’ll turn it over to Chuck, who was kind enough to write the following guest blog:
The 2012 Cherry Springs Star Party was exceptional this year. Approximately 500 amateur astronomers were treated with three clear nights of observing from one of the darkest sites east of the Mississippi River. Daytime temperatures were in the mid 70s and mostly clear, with refreshing nighttime temps around 50°. The evenings of Thursday, June 14, and Friday, June 15, were clear and transparent with average seeing. Saturday night started with less than desirable transparency, but improved as the evening progressed. There were also reports of aurorae around 4 a.m. Sunday morning.
I was privileged to have had an opportunity to spend Friday night observing with David Eicher alongside a diverse group of people both in age and experience. We used both my 12.5-inch f/7.5 and 16-inch f/4.5 reflectors and compared views through Tele Vue’s Nagler, Delos, and Ethos line eyepieces. All of the views were fantastic and supported by the response from folks at the eyepiece. What made the night even more special were David’s comments about each of the objects observed. As I star-hopped to the targets, David provided scientific facts, some history, and observing tips for each of the objects, which was well-received by our observing party.
Our target list was fairly diverse, and on Friday evening we mainly observed Messier objects, as there were a number of first-time observers who had joined us. Prior to the end of astronomical twilight, we started with Saturn, which displayed quite a bit of detail. Five moons were clearly visible, as were the cloud bands on the face of the planet. With the tilt of the rings opening, the Cassini Division also showed up nicely. We then moved over to Izar, easily splitting the double and revealing the contrasting colors of the pair. With the sky becoming progressively darker, we observed globular clusters such as M3, M5, and M13. All were spectacular, with stars resolved to the core and various star colors visible. The skies were darkening, and the chain stars in the outer halo contrasted well with the core. M5 never fails to impress with its bright, compact core.
As astronomical twilight ended and with the sky at its darkest, we moved on to galaxies. Notable galaxies included the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51), M101, and M81 and M82. M51 was spectacular with its spiral arms, and the bridge to NGC 5195 was clearly defined. M101 was stunning through a 17mm Ethos, which showed its spiral structure and knots of HII regions. The group detected spiral arms in M81, and the intricate detail in M82 was a crowd favorite.
As the night progressed, we could see that the summer Milky Way had risen and was visible from Cassiopeia through Cygnus, Scorpius, and on into Sagittarius. Our first Milky Way observations were of the Wild Duck Cluster (M11), Swan Nebula (M17), and the Eagle Nebula (M16). The Eagle showed moderately bright nebulosity, and experienced observers were able to make out shadings of the so-called Pillars of Creation. The Swan showed its distinct omega shape with quite a bit of feathering and surrounding nebulosity. As Sagittarius rose higher in elevation, we targeted the Lagoon Nebula (M8). The rift appeared inky black against the glowing clouds of gas and dust. The evening ended with views of the great globular cluster M22. This was an unforgettable evening for all involved.
Thanks, Chuck! It was a blast!
Back with more tomorrow!