OI: Dinosaur Point, Tuesday, March 22, 2022

[Peter Natscher]

We have access to Dinosaur Point at the CA Pacheco State Park on Tuesday night, March 22, 2022.  You can arrive at any time earlier during the day to enjoy the park's trails and scenery but no later than sunset, this Tuesday (at 7:20 pm) to get into the park. The main park gate on Dinosaur Point Road at the top of the hill near Route 152 closes for entry by sunset. I recommend arriving at the top gate near the Pacheco State Park parking area earlier, by 7pm, since the attending ranger sometimes leaves and locks the gate 5-10 minutes early. After passing through the gate, continue to drive down the hill for 3 miles to the bottom and pay your day-use fee of $10 fee for the evening at the iron kiosk located at the bottom of the hill in a small dirt parking area 1,000 ft. before reaching the boat launch parking lot. We set up for the evening in the boat launch parking lot. We'll pack up around the Moon rise time of12:40 am -- that leaves almost four hours of dark sky.

All visitors, please read the park's Use Policy that apply to you before your arrival.

***************************

CA Pacheco State Park -- Dinosaur Point -- Use Policy

Dinosaur Point is behind a locked gate for night use. Access to remain in the park and do any astronomy activities after sunset is only on announced nights. A gatekeeper must make reservations, be present at all times, and escort observers through the gate as we exit the park later in the night.

General rules for using Dinosaur Point
  1. Pay the $10 day-use fee at the kiosk located in a small dirt parking area on the right side of the road 1,000 ft. before entering the parking area.
     Please write "Stargazing" in big letters on the envelope we put in the iron ranger kiosk, to make sure the money goes to the right place.
  2. Access to Dinosaur Point after dark is by reservation only. Only gatekeepers can call the rangers and make reservations.
        a. Send observing requests and questions to dino-gatekeepers oot googlegroups dort com.
        b. Do not post OI's for Dinosaur Point until a gatekeeper has announced it is available, and their arrival and departure times.

  3. At least one gatekeeper must always be present.
  4. Everyone must be escorted out by a gatekeeper.
  5. Observers are not allowed to stay overnight.
  6. Observers must arrive before sunset.
  7. Locate the gatekeeper(s) and introduce yourself when you arrive. We'll discuss our departure time.
  8. Leave the park as you found it. Make sure your area is clean.
  9. Absolutely no boats allowed in the parking lot after dark.
  10. No overnight camping.
  11. Do not call the emergency number posted on the gate unless you are reporting an emergency. The ranger you get out of bed won't arrive for over an hour. AT&T wireless connects from the parking area.
  12. If you bring guests, you must ensure that they follow all these rules and procedures

[Nikhil Sethi (निखिल सेठी)]

I am planning to join you, though I can only leave at 5:15 from South Bay, so if there is extra bad a traffic snarl or something in the evening I might have to bail at last minute.

Nikhil

--
TAC Astro-Classifieds: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/sf-bay-tac/extFBoHlCe4
 
Observing Sites, Observing Reports, About TAC linked at top of:
 
https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/sf-bay-tac
 
Subscribers post to the mailing list at:
 
sf-ba...@googlegroups.com,
---
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Astronomy Connection (TAC)" group.
To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to sf-bay-tac+...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/sf-bay-tac/b6e913c0-3461-4887-9f72-eb26194a739an%40googlegroups.com.

[Peter Natscher]

Last night provided four hours of great observing from Dinosaur Point for three of us. Dave Cooper and Gopal K were also there. We observed until 12:30am, Moon rise. The temperature remained at 61°F, no wind, RH: 61%, sub arc-sec seeing, very good transparency, SQM to 21.35 by 10pm.  It was one of the better nights this season out there. I was observing and sketching a list of neighborhood galaxies (Messiers and NGCs) with magnitudes between 9.5-12.6 in Ursa Major with my AP 155 EDF refractor.  This was the fourth visit to Dinosaur Point since January 1st, a very successful year so far for this site.  The current weather pattern has kept the wind reduced into March.  As springtime is here and summertime approaches, the large San Joachin Valley to the east heats up daily, drawing high wind through the Pacheco Pass and this makes Dino a seasonal site for us to go to. Last night was probably the last visit to Dino I plan to schedule until accommodating weather returns to the pass in October.