Rob and I drove to Camp Hancock, near Fossil, Ore., on Friday afternoon. It was somewhat cloudy and we were trying not to get too bummed by the weather. On the plus side, we saw lots off wildlife - a family of 4, deer that is; quail, chuckers, plenty of hawk; even a great heron perched atop a telephone pole. An odd place considering the nearest water was the John Day River over a mile behind us.
That night, clouds prevented any meaningful astronomical observations. Instead, we gathered a group in the library and watched two star-themed movies: Galaxy Quest and The Last Starfighter. After the movies, it was still clouded over. I went to bed around 1:30 am.
I heard the first pit-a-pat of rain as I came up from a sound sleep around 8am. It rained off and on throughout the day. It had rained during the early morning hours also. My scope was protected by shower caps over each end of the tube and a large converted water bladder made of reflective mylar covering the whole tube and base. Originally designed to keep my scope from frying on a hot (dry!) field, it held up very well against the rain.
That night, the clouds seemed thinner but still present. So again, we gathered our group of restricted astronomers; this time to watch Contact. This movie appeared to succeed where the other two did not. We went out to the field around 11pm and were welcomed by mostly clear skies.
Where it was cloudy, the clouds were thin and dispersing. Where it was clear, it was crisp and sharp. The sky had been washed clean by the storm. There would be some good observing tonight!
At first, I focused my time just finding the old favorites - Hercules Glob, Andromeda Galaxy, NGC 457, aka The Owl Cluster or ET Cluster. There were some new astronomers attending their first star party; Greg and Hemani. I showed them my favorites.
As the night wore on, people turned in and soon it was just Dan G. and I on the field. Dan left around 2, I think. I stayed until 3:45 am. Alone. On the field. Just me, my scope and the noisy animals in the distance. Mostly I heard cows. But I was a bit unnerved by the sighting of a bobcat in camp earlier in the evening. I wondered, “If I scream, will anyone hear me?” That was the point I decided it was time to turn in.
My observations for the night: I split double stars in Auriga, Camelopardalis, and Taurus. Bagged a few Herschels. Identified features on Mars. Drank in the glory of the Orion Nebula. I wanted to sketch it, but the dew was too heavy. As it was, my pencil was not getting any tooth on the paper in recording my observations.
Nonetheless, I was happy, satisfied and content with the night.
