Impromptu Star Party Report for February 20, 2026

[Ernie Morse]

Hi all,

Friday's impromptu star party was announced on a cloudy afternoon following a rainy morning, but the forecast for clear evening skies was accurate.  Seven HAL members attended on a night that presented some challenges from fog and wind.  Conditions were much better once the 3-day-old moon set just after 9:30, with the fog having cleared out and the winds abating.  Transparency and seeing were both about average, with a sky quality reading of 19.16 mag/as^2 at 10:30 PM.  It was about 50 degrees at sunset and in the low 40s at the end of the night.

Evelyn was trying out the mono camera, filters and filter wheel that she won in the HAL auction.  I assume she was using them with her Sky-Watcher 80mm refractor, but I forgot to ask.  She was imaging the Orion Nebula with a sequence of filters and everything was working well.

Jose intended to image the Thor's Helmet Nebula in Canis Major, but the fog made it impossible, so he switched to the Orion Nebula.

Shrikant imaged the Horsehead Nebula with his 72mm AstroTech refractor and Canon D77 camera.

Brandon and his son Jamison were making some visual observations with a new Svbony 80mm refractor.  Jamison was happy to have identified the moons of Jupiter and to have discovered a little triangular asterism.

Mike attempted to image the galaxy M81 in Ursa Major with his Svbony 122mm refractor, but that attempt was negated by the fog.  He switched over to the Horsehead Nebula, but the high winds ruined his guiding.

Two park rangers, Deana and Esteban, stopped by to check on how we were doing.  I showed them the Orion Nebula, Jupiter and the moon and Jose chatted with them about his imaging.

I observed some Messier open clusters with my 8" Dob (M38, M41, M46 and M47) and used an OII filter to get a better look at the planetary nebula in the foreground of M46.  After the fog lifted, I set up my Vespera II EAA scope and imaged the Pleiades for an hour.

I locked up HALO and the park and departed at 11:15 PM.

Ernie