by Marek Cichanski
In case any SSPers are checking the TAC list, this is in response to James' email from late morning on Friday:
Sounds like Wednesday night was pretty amazing at SSP. There was a Wed. night MB session, although it was fairly small. Just me, Leonard Tramiel, Kevin Zahnle, and a fellow with a private permit. Leonard was giving his nephew a nice mini-course in astronomy with the help of his 12" Highe-built dob and the green laser. Kevin was using some neat gyro-stabilized 50mm binos to scan the summer milky way. The other fellow had brought some friends and was showing them images coming off of his Faststar on a C8. I was enjoying the fruits of a cheaper-than-expected car repair: my first Nagler! (I won't be borrowing other peoples' 12mm type 4 anymore!)
Conditions were OK, but only OK. Some high cirrus, but not a ton. Transparency was OK, but not wonderful. Very warm. Shirt sleeves until I left at 2am. Was warmer atop Montebello ridge than in Palo Alto. Light dome stayed pretty big all night.
After everyone else left around 1am, I learned my way around the starclouds, dark nebulae, and naked-eye DSOs of Sagittarius. It was a lot of fun.
(P.S. Scope City has plenty of copies of NSOG in stock, both volumes.)
If the SSP folks are reading this, then they're also checking the weather on the internet, so I don't suppose I need to give them an update, but here goes anyway...
The java satellite loop from around dawn showed that a big ol' high pressure system was sitting over the NV-UT-ID border region, with classic clockwise circulation all around it. Sadly, this means flow from the SE over California. Thus the moisture brought up from Mexico, bringing us all these clouds.
This morning's NWS north state forecasts said tonight would be partly or mostly cloudy, so I decided to come up for Sat and Sun nights. But now they're saying "clear" for tonight, so maybe I'll rush up. Hard to say.
Hope that y'all get some clear skies, I will probably see you tonight or tomorrow.