Yes it is true! I can confirm that despite reports, the Sky has not fallen, It is still brilliantly full of stars! (and galaxies, and clusters, and Nebulae...)
I only had to drive 300 Miles to confirm this! I was not even going to write a post but judging on what I'm seeing on the TAC list today, very few Bayites (As opposed to Bay Areaans which does not sound politically correct) saw anything resembling galactic satisfaction.
I was obligated to visit dear old dad in Plumas County (Graeagle) for the Fathers Day weekend. My family and I arrived late Friday Night (due to a horrible head-on accident on HWY 89 - everyone going to Lassen don't be in a hurry to Pass!) Imagine my delight when I saw not a cloud in the sky at 4500 plus feet altitude! I rushed the family to bed and off to Plumas Eureka state park I sprinted (about four miles West of Graeagle and another 800 feet in altitude). On the drive up I was trying to think of a fast way to cool down my 10" LX200 which had been in a hot car most of the day. I arrived at 22:00, the site is a paved parking lot, triangular in shape, perhaps big enough for 100 cars, horizons to south showing all of Scorpio and Sagittarius, to the North Cassiopeia slightly obscured by trees. To the West the horizon is somewhat obscured by the hills however I was still able to sneak a peak at the Sombrero Galaxy at 23:15. The east has a flat horizon however the glow from Reno is strong and getting worse each year.
The only good way I could figure out to cool the scope was to wait and just take in all those magnificent points of light that, prior to this night, had been lost to El' Nino for so long. Fortunately I had my binoculars so I was able to take in the Milky Way in all of its glory as well as watch a few satellites and meteors.
When the scope did cool down I concentrated on my top" M" Objects (51, 57, 13, 104, M51, M57, M4, ) as well as the Veil and Dumbbell Nebulae. Lastly I took a peek at Uranus and regretfully packed up since I had an early tee time. Overall viewing was just below "crisp", there was good resolution in the zenith objects (M57 and 13), both the veil and the Dumbbell were better then my recollection at the peak. Deep space galaxies were a disappointment considering the altitude and what I have seen at this site before. In M51 both the Main and Companion structures were visible but it was very difficult to make out the Whirlpool structure. I was not able to use my Meade UW 8.8mm eyepiece for any viewing and the Pentax 14mm was acceptable but not crisp . The Majority of the night was spent with the Meade 26mm. Uranus was disappointing, understandably being so low in the east. The Reno sky glow has destroyed this area of the sky.
I suspect the parking lot, while convenient, does hurt viewing since it is heated to 90 or more degrees in the day-time. Also I suspect that I set up to late for the scope to adequately cool down. For those of you interested in the LX200 performance, I forgot to bring the site Lat. and long. so I just did a two star (Vega and Arcturas), leveled unknown site and the scope centered every object for the entire session. Being alone it was nice to not worry about noise bothering any other observers. It was also nice to have the CD playing without disturbing others (Michael Bolton since I forgot Enya).
I learned Astronomy at this site as a teenager. The Astronomical Society of Reno used to hold an annual Star BBQ and Party at this site in the early 80's. This was the first time I had returned to the site since then. I was disappointed that the nights of total darkness are gone, in fact Freemont peak is darker. Altitude is what makes this site acceptable but I question how long that advantage will remain with Reno and the surrounding area growth. It was somewhat sad to reflect on the great nights I had at this site learning astronomy, talking with close friends until sunup, learning to drink coffee. I still have a laminated Messier card that I first used at that site, I used it Friday and I still got the rush of looking far beyond what I can comprehend, I can't predict how many more years this site will still provide that opportunity.
For those of you wanting to know more about Plumas Eureka go to: http://www.thegrid.net/burney/pesb.html
Thank you Dr. Barnstein for teaching me Astronomy, you were in my thoughts Friday night - I hope there is no light pollution in heaven.