by Rod Norden
On May 15 and 16, 2001, I was fortunate get to observe on the 2.1 meter (82") Otto Struve Telescope at McDonald Observatory near Fort Davis. There were 4 mostly clear nights during the 2001 Texas Star Party at the Prude Ranch. It became extremely transparent after midnight on May 17th, and Saturday night May 19th as well as the 15th and 16th of May on which I observed. In most years, it seems 75 to 90% of nights are clear, so this year was a bit unusual on the low side.
The TSP as a Whole:
The Texas Star Party was as huge and impressive as I expected. There were over 700 people registered and most checked in. The largest telescope was a 36", but there were a couple of 25" scopes and more 20" and 18" scopes. The largest refractor was a 6" Meade whose dust cover was not affixed whenever I passed it, so I assume the owner was going to use it as an ashtray after dark, since there is dust on the fields where the scopes are set up. Most folks wrapped their equipment for cooling and protection against the elements. It rained a couple of times during the event, but was mostly sunny in the mid 80’s during the day cooling to the 60’s during the nights.
The Prude Ranch offers horseback riding, swimming (a large covered pool), and even a small shooting range which was used fairly often (after all, this is TX not CA!). Mostly what is offered is a lot of good conversation about astronomy to folks from all over North America – I met several Canadians who came down to enjoy the southern skies with Omega Centauri well above the horizon. The dark skies are another attraction, although I couldn’t tell that they were much better than Lassen NP. There was a high particulate count with lots of dust high in the atmosphere, and folks said it was not the best. It was very dark. On the best nights, I would be overjoyed to observe at either location. Come to the TSP and decide for yourself!
They have speakers in the evenings during the last half of the TSP and guest amateur speakers in the afternoons. One can also qualify for various pins awarded for observing lists of objects with titles like "Glorious Globulars". There are award pin programs for everything from binoculars objects to difficult deep-sky objects.
Observing at the 82" Reflector:
The program was conducted to make the astronomers present as satisfied as possible. They had a program of 25 objects pre-selected, but they took requested from the 15-17 folks present each night. On Tuesday we had more serious observers than on Wednesday with less use of bright red lights and more suggestions from the crowd. The astronomers were laughing at me and a couple of other observers by saying they would provide bags for our heads next year to keep us from wearing out shirts over our heads to maintain our dark adapted eyes. I have never had so much fun observing with a large telescope, not even when I worked at KPNO on the 90". Back then we looked at whatever few objects we could around the research we were conducting.
Here at McDonald, the purpose was to spend from dark until 3:30 am or so looking a tough objects in color. Wow! All that was required was a $75 donation to McDonald Observatory. One can’t even get a good star chart for that amount of money! You decide if you think it was too much after reading the following (mostly complete) list of objects we observed. We had two eyepieces available – a 50mm at 570x and a 32mm wide angle at 891x at the 28530mm focal length Cassegrain focus on an old 8x10 camera focusing plate. The FOV was enough to reach from center of M51 to center of its companion galaxy using the 32mm.
On Tuesday night, the temperature varied from 73 to 74 degrees during the night with a 12% relative humidity. The particle count (related to the dust blowing in the wind) never exceeded 20K, which was better than Wednesday. On Wednesday the temperature remained a quite constant 69 degrees in the Observatory, at 14% relative humidity with a steady 15 mph breeze on the catwalk. At 11:20pm the dust particle count was 26K, at midnight it was 30K, at 2:40am particle count at 56K warning was given and mandatory flashlight check was made on the catwalk. Critical level is 60K (mandatory shut down).
Waiting for Dark:
Finally It Became Dark:
Summary:
The Texas Star Party as a whole was a great experience which all amateurs should try to visit at least once. Just remember to prepare for some dark skies and a little dust and life will be great. If the ranching experience is not your thing, then you can stay at Indian Lodge just over a mile away and walk into the ranch every evening to observe.
The McDonald program is the best I have ever seen at a large observatory. The astronomers conducting it really care that the visitors see as much as possible on the nights allowed. They have a program and are willing to modify it according to requests within reason. They were great and I will return to McDonald as often as I can. Check the web site below to find the schedule of public sessions on the 82" telescope. They are 200 miles away from the El Paso airport for those of you coming from the west, and 180 miles from the Midland-Odessa airport if flying in from the east.
It was really refreshing after attending some observing sessions where it is clear the person conducting the program would rather be elsewhere and where the astronomer actually told visitors that amateur astronomers use red lights while professional astronomers like her used white lights. I won’t mention the observatory where these events have occurred, but those of you with me remember them well.
A group photo was taken each night and will be sent to everyone in attendance as well as being posted on the visitor’s center website. Shannon Rudine conducted the program on Tuesday, and Bill Wren presided Wednesday night. They both are excellent and I would love to observe with either again very soon.
General Information:McDonald Observatory Home Page: http://www.as.utexas.edu/mcdonald/
Current TSP Home Page: http://www.metronet.com/~tsp/