by Richard Crisp
On Sat Evening 28 July, Jim Nomura and I joined several other TACos at Fremont Peak for an evening of moon-filled skies, impressive equipment and good company.
When we arrived I was delighted to see 20% of the world's 10" AP Maksutov-Cassegrains in one location. Peter Natscher and Robin Casady were both there with those beauties in the throes of being set-up on their beautiful AP900GTO mounts. Understanding that Jay Freeman has one as well, I found it very interesting to discover that 30% of those photon antennas were here in the SF bay area and 2/3 of them were on-site last night. And Richard N (Mr. APO) brought his AP180/AP900GTO to give the Astro-Physics the clear position of dominance they rightfully have earned.
Being a bit lazy due due primarily to the moon-dominated skies, I didn't bring along my CM1400/TV101/AP1200GTO rig that James Turley recently dubbed "The Observatory" when I took it to Montebello, opting instead to keep it to a simple TV101/Gibraltar, but as the evening unfolded another even more massive Observatory showed up.
That was when Kevin and Lena (didn't catch their last names) arrived towing a U-Haul trailer which, when unpacked, revealed a beautiful 8" D&G f/13 Acromatic refractor riding atop a Byers 812 mounted on a rather tall portable pier. I didn't measure the length of the OTA, but I'd estimate it must be at least 12' long! I remember thinking that they must have stopped by Lick Observatory on their way, and "borrowed" the big rig....... it was that massive and impressive.
Most generally were Lunatics last night enjoying the craters along the terminator, but I remember Mars, the Lagoon, the Trifid and several other DSOs were observed. The weather was very pleasant and warmish, so much so that I was jacketless until well after 11pm. As I understand often happens this time of year, the marine layer had blanketed the valley below improving the darkness to the west, southwest and northwest. The big hill does eliminate the southern horizon, but that didn't really detract from the experience for me.
Seeing improved as the evening progressed but never reached the "great" stage. Except for Kevin and Lena, teardown occurred a bit after midnight. By 12:45 I was on my way back home, arriving in San Jose just before 1am.
This was my first trip to Fremont Peak, and it was both a beautiful ride and a nice site for observing, particularly for objects in the western sky. I like that site and will return again. It is a bit much in terms of time investment for a weeknight, but was a great place to be on a warm Saturday night.
I think I'll go back when the moon isn't quite so prominent in a couple of weeks and try for DSOs with "The Observatory".
Before I forget I must comment on the wonderful views I saw through the Mak-Cass and the 7.1" AP. The Binoviewers really make Lunar observing more interesting and add greatly to the experience, offering a near 3D like effect. Looks I need to add one to my wish-list. Geez these star-parties are making that list grow substantially in both length and in cost! Being a bit of a gear-head, I got a lot of joy out of seeing things that I had only read about until last night.
Thanks to all for sharing their knowledge and permitting me to view through their telescopes. It's always a treat to get to view through such nice equipment and last night was no exception.