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Tuckahoe No-Frills Star Party
Kent Blackwell The annual No-Frills Star Party, held this year on Maryland’s Eastern Shore September 13-16, was a not as well attended as previous years. No doubt the terrible attacks upon New York and Washington DC on September 11 were the contributing factor. I debated whether to attend, but decided there is certainly something peaceful and solemn about being under the beautiful night sky. It was just what was needed to cope with the terror brought upon we American people. Each fall the Delmarva Stargazers host the No-Frills Party. The name itself implies no amenities, but was surely not the case. Plenty of good home cooking was made available, and included in the admission price. Soft drinks, bottled water, coffee and tea were also available 24 hours a day. Upon arrival on Friday, September 14 several people told me how clear the sky had been the evening before. I had some reservations whether it would be clear on Friday night since I had run into quite a bit of rain on the way to the star party. That turned out to be an unfounded concern. By the time darkness fell it had completely cleared, and at this point everyone had his or her telescopes pointed skyward. I strolled around the observing field to catch glimpses of Mars, views of globular star clusters, planetary nebulae, and was glad to see several people viewing double stars. Double star observing seems to have become a lost art, but perhaps will have resurgence with the popularity of exotic refractors. It’s always a delight to see the excitement of amateur astronomers under a dark, clear sky. Many of my friends were there; ready to look at familiar objects. I can’t think of anyone I know who gets more excited when viewing deep-sky objects than Danka Prilepkova-Gale. Danka is from Czechoslovakia, and has only been in America 8 years. It’s amazing how much she has leaned about astronomy since I’ve known her. Many other friends attended, but I was glad to see some new faces as well. Most will agree the ideal opportunity for serious observing is alone. Star parties are often not the best times for such serious observing, but who can resist trying it when under a clear, dark sky? After observing the usual “show” objects I decided to view a few esoteric planetary nebulae in Aquila and Ophiuchus. The beautifully green planetary NGC 6572 in Ophiuchus remains one of my favorite objects, though it is rather small in angular size. The vivid green color more than makes up for its relatively small size. Taking a break I walked up to the food area to have my usual 3 or 4 hotdogs at 2:30 in the morning. The weather on Saturday was simply gorgeous. Fall offers some of the cleanest and clearest skies of the year, a perfect time for star parties. Events during the day included swap tables, chatting with each other and observing the sun. Later in the day a few of us took the opportunity to look at the moon and Venus. It was a good day to do so, since Venus lie so close to the moon. After sighting them with binoculars we were delighted to see each naked eye. Mr. Richard O’Neill showed up with an original Henry Fitz 4.5” refractor, beautifully finished in Mahogany and polished brass. Richard, they just don’t build them like that anymore. I remember seeing a Henry Fitz display at the Smithsonian Museum some years ago. Fitz was a competitor to the better-known firm of Alvin Clark and Sons. The weather forecast Saturday night was for clear skies; in fact this would be the sixth clear night in a row, certainly a record for the East Coast. Some of the highlights of deep-sky objects included NGC 7009, the Saturn Nebula. It shown magnificently at 625x, appearing emerald green. Over to Pegasus, another planetary nebula viewed was NGC 7094. This 14th magnitude object isn’t particularly faint, but has very low surface brightness because of its 94” size. Speaking of faint planetaries, Pease 1 was next on my list. This lies embedded within the glorious globular cluster, M 15. As it rose towards the zenith I aimed the 25”, and was almost knocked off the ladder at the view of M 15. It was resolved so well I was reminded of an open cluster more than a globular. Immediately I reached for a 7mm eyepiece to yield the high magnification needed to see Pease 1, a 15.9 magnitude planetary. Because it is only 1” in size at least 400x and a nebula filter is required to see it. I was also able to see a galaxy less than one degree west of M 15, 16th magnitude 2ZW132. Has anyone ever seen it? One last object I just had to look view was the wonderful galaxy NGC 7331 and its satellite galaxies. Oh, yes, and just one more object nearby, Stephan’s (pronounced STEPH HONZ) Quintet. It was perhaps more vivid than I have ever seen it. After sighting Pease 1 and Stephan’s Quintet I needed a break to walk around the observing field to see what other amateurs were observing. Spectacular object included M 31 in Andromeda, M 33 in Triangulum, the beautiful edge-on galaxy NGC 891 in Andromeda, and finally the planet Saturn. By the time Saturn was high in the sky it was early in the morning. Since I had a 5 hours drive back to home Virginia Beach I had to make the decision to give up observing for the less interesting task of going to bed. Sunday morning was the time to pack up all the telescopes and accessories. Some had left the site before I awakened at 8:00 am, but most were still there. It was sad to have to say goodbye to friends until next time. Because of the attack on America on Tuesday, September 11 we all seemed drawn even closer together at this star party. I commend the organizers for allowing us to do what we do best, observe the serene night sky with our friends. Kent Blackwell kent@exis.net |