by Bruce Jensen
John R Pierce wrote:
and, um, here on the coast, we got wiped out last two nights by both thick coastal crud AND a ton of higher altitude goop.
For the most part, the Bay Area was trashed, but things weren't bad everywhere. Up at San Antonio Valley Saturday night, we had pretty fair conditions - in fact, for visual observing it turned out pretty darn good most of the time. We had patches of high level junk flashing by, but for the most part, the sky was dark and clear - very transparent, in fact. Even the moon, as it was, was not a problem, and the seeing was better than average. At no time was the entire sky covered, and there was always a huge patch of clarity available for use, even to the horizon.
I took my wife and her pal out for the evening - we had sandwiches and cheese and yummy drink and other goodies at a table set up amidst the broad, beautiful, prairielike expanse of SAV, two scopes and binocs, and reasonably warm weather. Galaxies, globulars, nebulae and double stars all were breathtaking, and the planets weren't too shabby either. Both ladies agreed that San Antonio Valley is a lovely location, astronomy notwithstanding, and the sounds of the coyotes and bugling elk in the dark made the whole experience thoroughly irresistible, like a night on the Wyoming prairies in the north of Yellowstone.
I've found that paying some close attention to the weather pages and what the weather outside is actually doing can pay off once in awhile; and in the worst of years (like El Nino and La Nina) a little attention to detail can take one a long way.
SAV, BTW, is about 15 miles east of Lick Observatory ATCF. I encourage anyone who appreciates the whole astronomy/outdoor experience to contact me if they'd like to give it a whirl some evening. The Horsehead just looks better when seen across a vast green meadow fringed with the gentle frost of winter. I now have a large vehicle suitable for carrying extra persons, so if anyone is concerned about driving, they can have a ride and bring their scope too :-)