What I did last weekend

[cjsmith]

I went to a star party, enjoyed a view of Half Dome, helped some kids (and adults) look through a telescope, made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, watched the Perseids, and chased off a bear.

Next time: even MORE warm clothes.
Next time: some electric way to heat water (camp stoves emit visible light) or several Thermoses.

Comments

[ladyqkat.livejournal.com]

I am in complete and utter envy. I haven't been to a star party since my teens. But we were able to do it around Crystal Springs as there was not as much light pollution then.

I spent about an hour out on my deck Sunday evening and was able to catch about three really good bright ones and think I caught a few fainter ones. I also watched one satellite go from the northwest to the southeast until it went into earth shadow.

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

This was the first one we'd ever attended. Except for the instant jet lag, I'd happily do it over and over.

Sunday evening we saw the Hubble space telescope go from the south across to the west, so that one's not the same one you saw. Cool!

star-struck...

[justetthon.livejournal.com]

I think your adventure sounds awesome. The closest thing I've ever gotten to this kind of thing (being an Easterner city-slicker, basically) was when I drove from the Grand Canyon back to LA with LK and her mother in the car. I drove happily along, and saw moonshadows for the first time (are you humming Cat Stevens' "Moonshadows" about now?). LK was hoping that the stars would be out that night, since I've never really experienced a dark, clean sky to see the stars as they should be seen, but with the moon out in full glory, the shadows were awesome as well. I was amazed and entertained myself the whole way across, on Rt 66 or some such highway, by watching the shadows change. We also saw the thunderstorms forming WAAAYYYY in the distance, visibility was that good and unobstructed. Definitely not something I'm used to, being from the suburbs of Washington DC all my life and basically still live within about 20 miles of where I grew up.

I wouldn't mind doing the star-gazing thing at Yosemite and I know LK would do it, too. Are these organized "events" or do you just go on some night of your choosing? If it is organized, how does one find out about it?

Re: star-struck...

[cjsmith.livejournal.com]

We had a new moon, so we could just baaaarely make out shadows from the Milky Way. I was amazed at how well we could walk around the area (rough ground, stuff strewn everywhere) by the light of the stars alone.

They're organized events, and I'm not at all sure how one finds out about it unless one is already in the park looking around. Yosemite invites various astronomical groups up there quite frequently. We went as members of the Peninsula Astronomical Society, which was the group going up that particular weekend. I did find this schedule on line; I don't know if it's complete.