by Albert Highe
I participated in the Peninsula Astronomical Society's star party at Yosemite this weekend. This was a first-time event for me. I had heard about negative experiences some groups have had in the past. Despite what I've heard, I was pleasantly surprised. I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. William Phelps did an outstanding job organizing the event, setting expectations of astronomers and the public, and accommodating my special requests. He also makes some great pancakes ... more on that later.
I'll start with the best part. Although my primary interest is getting away to dark, transparent skies, the observing experience at Yosemite was more than I expected. The conditions on Saturday night were reminiscent of the best we saw at Lassen this year. Skies were clear, dark, and transparent, the seeing was steady, and the temperature was relatively warm with no hint of wind. The perfect night. However, the Yosemite observing experience begins while setting up at Glacier Point, at an altitude of 7200 feet. As I began to assemble my telescope, I was distracted by the views. The granite mass called Half Dome looms close at a distance of only three miles away and situated comfortably at eye level. Between us and the Dome lies Yosemite Valley, 3200 feet down - a short distance away over a precipitous cliff mere yards from our location. I suspect the pace of setup of all the telescopes (37 on Saturday) slowed while we watched the gray granite face of Half Dome turn golden yellow from the rays of the setting Sun behind us. The pace of setup quickened as the golden glow was erased by the dark gray shadow that crept up from the valley floor, eventually enveloping the Dome.
Both Friday and Saturday nights began with a slide show at dusk by members of PAS. The slide show displayed photographic examples of what the attendees were likely to observe and a brief introduction to the types of telescopes they would be looking through. As the sky continued to darken, a Ranger talked about the constellations. Thereafter, we entertained the public with views of double stars, nebulae, clusters, and galaxies until Midnight. After Midnight, participants could stay as long as they liked.
Friday afternoon and evening looked a lot like the weather during the second Lassen trip. We had partial cloudy skies - some high, thin haze and quite a lot of heavy thick clouds that threatened rain. Like at Lassen, the high, thin haze dissipated at sunset. The heavy clouds, weary of staying aloft all day, seemed to settle for the night on the tops of the mountain range along the horizon. We had relatively clear skies until about Midnight. Then the clouds moved in and covered nearly half the sky, but then quickly moved out within about half an hour, but continued to reappear off and on. Most people left by Midnight and I think everyone was gone by 2 AM. Nevertheless, there were always clear patches of sky to observe. While drifting off to sleep, the scene replaying in my mind was of the Pleiades rising over Half Dome, shortly followed by the appearance of Saturn and then Jupiter. Although low on the horizon, Saturn was an enjoyable and welcome site. (Seeing broke down at about 400X.) I was awakened during the night by the light patter of drops on my tent. The brief shower lasted perhaps 10 minutes.
Saturday, however, was a different story. There were few clouds during the day, and none at sunset. Anticipation ran high. We were not disappointed, as described above. Few people left after the public observing session ended at Midnight. Most stayed until 3 - 3:30 AM and a few watched the sunrise. I personally enjoyed the company of quite a few club members as we hunted down familiar and not-so-familiar objects. I was also pleasantly surprised by some of the viewing public. Yes, there were the few bright white lights that appear at these events. However, I have rarely seen the enthusiasm that I saw in a couple of small groups who stayed with me for an hour or so, challenging me to find more and more objects for them to observe. I took them through a tour of the nebulae and clusters of Sagittarius. They identified the colors and orientations of the double stars in Albireo, the double-double, and eta Cassiopeia. I shared in their excitement when the involuntary "wows" coincided with their first views of the dense concentration of stars in M13. Few wanted to give up the eyepiece. They saw examples of open clusters (the Double Cluster), planetary nebulae (M57 and M27), and galaxies (M51 and M31). These people learned quickly. I demonstrated how easy it is to handle a dob. Each quickly learned how to slowly scan the sky while looking for, and finding, M32 and M110, the small companion galaxies to M31. Each walked away with a sense of personal accomplishment, having "found" two galaxies. I secretly hoped that I had planted a seed of "I can do this" in at least some of them.
After Midnight, I chased down a few faint galaxies in Ursa Major and Draco, and some faint nebula in Cepheus. But my desire this night was no longer the pursuit of lengthening my list of faint fuzzies - often, for me, a solitary and methodical activity. I was infected by the magic of Yosemite and the enthusiasm of my visitors. Viewing the best our night sky has to offer amidst the beauty of the terrestrial surroundings is an experience to be shared. I found myself returning to bright favorites that I had not seen in a while and sharing the views with club members around me. I was more apt to leave my scope to look through other members' scopes when I heard excitement in their voices. Looking with fresh eyes, it was an evening that reminded me why I enjoy this hobby so much.
Capping off the trip was a group breakfast at Bridalveil Creek Campgrounds on Sunday morning. About half the group stayed together at this campground, which is only eight miles away from Glacier Point. The rest found warmer and more comfortable (and more expensive) cabins somewhat farther away. The breakfast is pot-luck. The highlight is William Phelps' pancakes whose recipe has been honed over the course of many Yosemite trips. In addition to the good food, it was a good opportunity to re-live the highlights of the previous night, to reacquaint faces with voices, and to begin planning the next trip.