Impromptu Star Party Report for Monday, June 15, 2026
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Wayne Baggett
Jun 17, 2026, 2:47:05 PM (13 days ago) Jun 17
to howardastro
Hi,
It was a nearly-perfect night of observing at Alpha Ridge Park Monday
night. The clouds dissipated completely before sunset and the sky
remained clear all night. The temperature was actually a little cool,
dipping into the upper 50s by 1:00am, with no dew and some occasional
light wind. Transparency was good and seeing was about average for
around here. My Sky Quality meter recorded a zenith sky brightness of
19.93 magnitudes/square arcsecond at about midnight, consistent with
good transparency.
Four HAL members and one potential new member came out to enjoy the
evening. Jacquie and Brian, brand new members, stopped by for their
first impromptu. They have a young grandchild who loves astronomy and
they wanted some assistance with the small refractor they purchased for
him. I gave what assistance I could, and then Ernie showed Jacquie
Venus in his 8-inch Newtonian; she was thrilled. I expect we will be
meeting the grandchild soon.
A non-member drove in as darkness approached and we discussed the club
for a few minutes; I gave him a business card and we discussed "local"
dark sky sites. He stayed around for about 15 minutes then left.
Hopefully he will turn into another new member soon.
Ernie used his 8-inch Newtonian to observe 5 objects in his double star
effort, and grabbed a look at M5 while he was in the area. He left at
about 1:00am, leaving me alone in the park.
I spent the night imaging Abell 2151, the Hercules Cluster of Galaxies,
with my 8-inch F/8 RC. I eventually collected almost 5 hours of data,
finishing just before 4:00am, when I collected my flats and shut down
for what little remained of the night. I have processed the data and
included the image here; it is still a work in progress so be kind. The
Hercules Cluster is located about 500 million light years from the Sun
and contains about 300 galaxies. Its brightest member is NGC 6041, the
large elliptical galaxy on the right, and there are several examples of
interacting galaxies in the image.
It was nice to see some HAL members at a Monday night star party, and I
hope to see you all again very soon.
I locked the park gate at 5:15am; I did make it home before having to
use my sunglasses.
Wayne
It was a nearly-perfect night of observing at Alpha Ridge Park Monday
night. The clouds dissipated completely before sunset and the sky
remained clear all night. The temperature was actually a little cool,
dipping into the upper 50s by 1:00am, with no dew and some occasional
light wind. Transparency was good and seeing was about average for
around here. My Sky Quality meter recorded a zenith sky brightness of
19.93 magnitudes/square arcsecond at about midnight, consistent with
good transparency.
Four HAL members and one potential new member came out to enjoy the
evening. Jacquie and Brian, brand new members, stopped by for their
first impromptu. They have a young grandchild who loves astronomy and
they wanted some assistance with the small refractor they purchased for
him. I gave what assistance I could, and then Ernie showed Jacquie
Venus in his 8-inch Newtonian; she was thrilled. I expect we will be
meeting the grandchild soon.
A non-member drove in as darkness approached and we discussed the club
for a few minutes; I gave him a business card and we discussed "local"
dark sky sites. He stayed around for about 15 minutes then left.
Hopefully he will turn into another new member soon.
Ernie used his 8-inch Newtonian to observe 5 objects in his double star
effort, and grabbed a look at M5 while he was in the area. He left at
about 1:00am, leaving me alone in the park.
I spent the night imaging Abell 2151, the Hercules Cluster of Galaxies,
with my 8-inch F/8 RC. I eventually collected almost 5 hours of data,
finishing just before 4:00am, when I collected my flats and shut down
for what little remained of the night. I have processed the data and
included the image here; it is still a work in progress so be kind. The
Hercules Cluster is located about 500 million light years from the Sun
and contains about 300 galaxies. Its brightest member is NGC 6041, the
large elliptical galaxy on the right, and there are several examples of
interacting galaxies in the image.
It was nice to see some HAL members at a Monday night star party, and I
hope to see you all again very soon.
I locked the park gate at 5:15am; I did make it home before having to
use my sunglasses.
Wayne
Kurt Bauch
Jun 17, 2026, 4:43:45 PM (13 days ago) Jun 17
to Wayne Baggett, howardastro
Wow, very impressed Wayne!
Kurt Bauch
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