by Matt Tarlach
Wow...a great night! It was my first time at Del Valle. We set up in the official campground, which is down in the valley with somewhat obstructed horizons, but still ok for me. There is a large grassy meadow and several open campsites with acceptable views. Sky darkness was better than I expected, approaching if not reaching LM 6.5 from the zenith over the the East and Southeast. North and West were quite blown out by the lights of Livermore and the Bay Area, but the sky was not bright enough to harm dark adaptation, as it is from some suburban sites.
The biggest downside were the lights from the public toilets, which are bright, really overlit, and of the cheap "pack-light" variety that wastes a lot of light upwards. Being very inexperienced campers, we set up right across from one of the toilets, realizing our mistake after nightfall. Luckily, there was no one else camping in that area so I took it upon myself to cover the lights with duct tape. This darkened the area considerably, while still allowing plenty of light to shine through, making it safe to use the john...this should be some indicator of how bright the lamps are! I plan to write a note to the parks department, suggesting more efficient fixtures.
The other downside was the dozen or so raccoons that roamed our campsite throughout the night, becoming quite aggresive at times. One actually came sniffing around right at my feet while I sat in my lawn chair, watching the Pleiades rise above the ridge. Anyone who is really bothered by such intrusions should be warned. Also, astrophotographers (like my observing partner Ken) might be frustrated by the airliner approach path that apparently passes directly over the campground, making long exposure wide field photography next to impossible. But for visual observing by people who don't mind "close encounters" with wildlife, the site offers good viewing combined with other recreational opportunities.
More of a site report than an observing report, because I didn't do much "observing." I just played with a new scope my friend had brought, the Orion 100mm f6 refractor(very nice!), and did some casual binocular observing.
Our most remarkable observation came around 4:45 PM, when we spotted what must have been Vega by naked eye, in broad daylight. We were fishing on the lake as sunset approached, and Ken looked up to the zenith while following a raptor's across the sky, when he spotted it. At first I needed to don my polarized yellow sunglasses to spot it, but once located I too could see it truly naked-eyed. It was really surprisingly bright, held easily with direct vision. As easy as, say, a mag 6.0 star at a really dark site. We were down in the canyon with shadows all around, but bright orange sunlight still played on the hills above. At the time it appeared so bright I thought we might be witnessing a supernova, but as night fell it became clear it was Vega.
The fishing in the lake was spotty, but it was a beautiful couple of days in a very pleasant place, practically deserted in early November.