Mini OR from Monitor Pass

by Joe Huber

We made it out to Monitor Pass while we were on vacation in Lake Tahoe(6/20). There was some wind and light cirrus when we arrived at about 6pm. We attempted to get to the fire lookout, but the gate was locked and the wind was blowing pretty good. So we decided to find a spot in the Meadow below. Markings on the dirt roads indicate this is a US Forest Off Road area. We drove around a bit looking for a spot to setup. There is low brush to the edges of the road in most places. The dirt in the area is loose and powdery(lots of dust and will require a car wash the next day). We found a good spot with nice horizons. We setup and waited for dark to arrive.

I haven't been to a dark sky site for may years and never with a telescope. The sky was awesome. We wouldn't have needed a telescope to enjoy ourselves. We observed mostly from Steve Gottlieb's SSP list (since we missed SSP) Lots of faint fuzzies. I finished up with some eye candy. It was a great night, but a bit short since we had about a hour drive to our hotel. I wish we could have done it again while we were in the area.

One of the most memorable views was just a big fuzz ball. It was the first time I have ever seen Omega Centauri. It was really low in the sky and early in the evening when I observed it. I couldn't resolve any stars, but it shear size naked eye was really impressive. At one point, I just picked up the bino's and just started looking at the milky way. I spotted a nice OC with a smaller OC in the FOV. I took a look at the planisphere and confirmed it was M7 and M6.

Here's a link to a photo I took looking South from our observing location at the Pass. Highway 89 is about 1/4 mile straight ahead. The Monitor Pass marker is down hill to the left in a grove of trees.

http://www.nightskyz.com/gallery/Buddies/IMG_4317

Posted on sf-bay-tac Jul 05, 2004 08:24:52 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.2 Jan 03, 2005 19:02:33 PT