Trip to the Peak Saturday night

by Jamie Dillon

It was in fact last Saturday night, the date being 25 March, no time warp. Forecast had called for clouds to start lifting before 10 pm, and I was determined to get out. All of the other observers who had made plans for the Peak bailed, so it was Fortress of Solitude time in the SW lot.

Pulled in just after sundown, locked the car and headed over to the Observatory to see what was happening. Ran into Ranger John on the way. Good guy, we swapped tips on favorite backpacking places. Of course he had to tell me how stunning the sky was the night before. At the Observatory were the comedy team of Brown, Dammann and Donnelly. There were folks camped all over the park, including two Scout troops. After 8 pm John went around and drummed up a crowd for the public night show, and before long the back room of the Observatory was SRO. Doug Brown had a new presentation on the Lives of Stars.

It was around 8:45 when I headed back to the SW lot. Leaving the Observatory, you could see the lights on the Peak but no mountain. By the time I got to the road in front of Coulter, within 5 minutes, it had dropped. Stayed clear all night. Wet, mind you, but clear. 5.5 limiting magnitude thru the rest of the time I stayed.

Wet enough that the hood and shoulders of my coat were wet, that kind of dew. Sat on the picnic bench under the old live oak at the edge of the SW lot and had hot chowder, watched the stars wheel above that ancient tree and saw millennia pass by. Figured on sticking around till the head of Draco was up, to see Eltanin, a favorite star.

By 11 I had broken out the 10x50's and had fun taking a binoc tour. M103 and 663 in Cassiopeia, the Double Cluster and the alpha Persei association. Then the row of big Messier OC's, M38-36-37-35. Big and impressive in the binocs. Turns out they formed at fairly similar times in the same part of the galaxy. M42, the Belt Stars, the Beehive, Berenice's Hair. M51 to get a galaxy, then M3 in CVn, and sure enough M13. Then a relative surprise that Serpens was well up, and there was that third monster globular M5. Rashad's favorite.

Could see one moon off Jupiter as well. It was lovely and peaceful and fun to watch the stars wheel by. Very glad I went.

Posted on sf-bay-tac Mar 30, 2006 17:15:05 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.4 Mar 30, 2006 18:12:08 PT

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