March 4, 2010: Nowhereland

Rogelio Bernal Andreo

Last evening, not sure where to go for good S-W skies, and the prospects of a late arrival at the only known locations that would deliver good S-W skies on an already short night (with the exception of Dino Pt, that since it hadn't been reserved it wasn't an option anyway), I drove into adventure and ended up at a BLM "site" somewhere mid-way between Dino Point and DARC... Small (not more than 2 cars would fit) and only about 400 feet from the highway but shielded by a hill from the lights. Sky darkness is similar to what you'd find at Dino Pt. Nevermind the place...

Sorry to those who showed interest in going out. Since I didn't have a fixed destination, and I knew I wasn't going to go to any of the known sites, it was pointless to let you know about my last-minute plans (which was basically "I have no plan"). Anyway...

The night was short but good. It looked pretty bad when I got there at 7:30pm but it cleared completely before 8pm, with unusually good transparency (unusual considering what we've been having), probably the best I've seen this year so far. Gives me hope about the next clear nights we get, whenever that happens!

Mild to zero wind, temps settled around 40F. Some dew around 10pm but very light stuff.

Transparency degraded a tiny bit by 10pm and by 10:30pm it took a dip in less than 5 minutes that left a sky that reminded me of our last night at Dino but still a bit better, without the high "stuff" - which was still usable but I wouldn't call "good" anymore, rather "average" (Milky Way still an easy catch). At 11:15pm a nice orange moon showed up in the horizon, and by 11:30pm while I was taking flats, the sky was eaten by the moon. Left at 12:05am. Home before 1:30am. Worth getting out.

On my way back through Hwy 152 I pulled over at the place where the road to Dino Pt is, to check for wind (the end of season for Dino is near). Just a light breeze. Hopefully Dino will still get a few usable weeks this year...

Objects I observed: Naked eye Milky Way and Rising Orange Moon :-)

Objects I imaged: Star stuff.. Need at least 3 more nights like this one to finish this one.

Cheers,
Rogelio