Impromptu Star Party Report for January 7, 2026

[Ernie Morse]

Hi all,

Six HAL members attended the first impromptu star party of 2026 on the balmy (for January) evening of January 7th.  The temperature was in the low 50s at sunset and down to 40 by 9:30 PM.  Winds were calm and the sky was clear except for a large band of clouds that moved through quickly around 8:00.  Seeing and transparency were both about average.  Zenith sky quality measurement with my Unihedron SQM-L was 19.18 mag/as^2 at 9:30.

Welcome to Sam, who attended his first impromptu star party!  He was trying out a new Apertura 8" Dob reflector with a custom-built tracking platform and an electronic focuser.  He got in some visual observations of Saturn and Jupiter.

Evelyn was also trying out new equipment, a Skywatcher Esprit 80mm refractor and mount.  She was taking some test images of the Pleiades, and the setup was working really well.

Todd was using a Williams Optics refractor to image the Orion Nebula.  He initially had some problems with auto focusing, but he was able to diagnose and correct the issue and ended up getting impressive results.

Paul was struggling with a stubborn Celestron 6" catadioptric and I don't know if he was ever able to get it working.  He didn't leave early, so I hope he was able to overcome the issues and get in some observing.

Bill was running not one, but two EAA scopes!  He had a Seestar imaging the Crab Nebula (M1) and a Celestron Origin imaging the Flaming Star Nebula (IC 405, Caldwell 31) in Auriga.

I did visual observing with my 8" Celestron Starsense Explorer Dob.  I started with the double star 3 Pegasi, which makes a nice double-double with STT 443 in the field (7' north preceding) and I also observed the showpiece double Acamar in Eridanus when it transited at 8:00 at an altitude of just 10 degrees.  The Starsense Explorer app was able to find it in the extreme southern sky glow, although the 3^rd and 4^th magnitude white stars (separated by 8.6") looked about 2 magnitudes fainter and it was difficult to keep them in focus.  I also observed Jupiter as the great red spot transited the meridian and the outstanding open cluster M37 in Auriga, which Stephen O'Meara describes as "a 9th-magnitude topaz jewel surrounded by a pear-shaped cluster of scintillating diamonds."  I also continued a mosaic of the Flaming Star Nebula and the Tadpole Nebula (IC 410) with my Vaonis Vespera II EAA telescope, capturing 577 ten-second exposures before having to stop at 8:30 when Auriga got too high in the sky.

My only new equipment was a red 20-oz. Yeti insulated travel mug that my parents got me for Christmas.  I filled it with 12 oz. of hot chocolate from Starbucks on the way to Alpha Ridge, and it did a fine job of keeping it hot as I sipped it between observations.  However, it wasn't a great test night, as it was so balmy.  Looking forward to trying it when it's down in the 20s!

I locked up HALO and the park gates just after 10:00 PM and had a very pretty view of the rising moon as I drove east on I-70.

Ernie

Appendix A:  my recent sky quality measurements:

11/13 Sky Meadows State Park in Virginia:  20.41

11/23 Alpha Ridge:  19.20

12/12  Alpha Ridge:  19.06

12/23 parents' backyard in Michigan:  20.26 (bad night, I usually get around 20.7 here)

1/7  Alpha Ridge: 19.18