Observing Notesfrom the Tuckahoe IrregularsI had the opportunity to spend three evenings surrounding the August new moon at Cherry Springs State Park near Coudersport Pa. Cherry Springs is designated by the State of Pa as an official Dark Sky Park. Even the Pit toilet restrooms have red lights in them. It is approximately 5 and 1/2 hours (273 miles) from my home in Wilmington, with the last two hours on a scenic drive in the Alleghenies. Camping is permitted at your observing site and there were 30-50 people on each of the three nights I was there. There is ample fresh spring water available at the sites (hence the name Cherry Springs). AStronomy clubs were there from Buffalo, Erie Pa and Bucks County. There was also a considerable amount of imaging activity along with observation. I had the opportunity to take a number of 50 mm and 130 mm slides of the veil nebulae, North American nebulae and the Andromeda Galaxy which I will try to scan in and post to the photos section of our Yahoo site. I'm still a rank amateur in astrophotography but was pleased with the quality of some of the slides and would welcome the opportunity of sharing (assuming my scanner will do them justice). Tom Bemus and other members of one of Buffalo, N.Y. astronomy societies host a show for the public at the small airfield across the road each Saturday of the the new moon weekend. My estimate was that and additional 30-40 people attended that session as well. The veteran regulars told me that Friday Evening was the best of the three nights I was there and they rated that 7 on a scale of 10. My best estimate was that the seeing that night was better than 6 magnitude, not quite as good as the July Thursday at Spruce Knob but close. All three nights were at least 5.5. As Cherry Springs is at about 2400 feet, the temperature did drop to the high 40's low 50's in the evening but wind was not a factor. The observation site permits an unobstructed view of all horizons. My observations were from about 10:00 to 2:30 and included too long a list to enumerate here, but higlights were the helix nebulaeand a number of new observations for me in the Camelopardalis including NGC objects 2403,1502, 3077,2976. as the big dipper was descending in the Western sky. The Southern Horizon was spectacular (although I don't know that anything can compete with the deep view valley Vista of Spruce Knob). I also enjoyed viewing solar flares and sun spots through some of the Buffalo Society member scopes who had hydrogen alpha filters. In short, Cherry Springs is a great spot for a 3 day weekend given the drive time. Its ideal in the summer with the cool evenings, but the sun is intense during the day. The surrounding trees offer shade, but it is best to bring some covering for your camp site as well. There are a number of places to go including the Grand Canyon of Pa, but I did not make it there on this trip. The following is the website link for additional information on Cherry Springs. http://members.aol.com/CherrySpSP/ See you at Tuckahoe, Clear Skies Ralph Dominica |