OR First CalStar

[David Kirjassoff]

Had such an amazing time at my first ever CalStar and also first multi-day observing session!

We arrived Wednesday afternoon and set up by the baseball backstop. Have to say Wednesday and Thursday were a bust weather wise for observing but things improved dramatically on Friday and Saturday, so stayed for another bonus night on Sunday.

It was the first real test for the Starsense Autoguider on my Stellarvue 127D and it worked flawlessly to align the scope and center and track targets. Highlight for me was spending hours on the Saturn transit which was quite clear with my SV 4mm UWA eyepiece.

I have no southern sky visibility at home so loved spending hours roaming around the teapot, nebulosity was easily visible around the Trifid and the Lagoon nebulae. I also swear I could see the propellor in M13 with my SV 8mm UWA eyepiece. (Stellarvue brands the KUO 82 degree eyepiece line). Double cluster, Pleiades, and the Sagittarius Star Cloud looked magnificent in the 30mm 70 degree SV EFF eyepiece.

The people there were so friendly and welcoming and had the opportunity to look through some massive dobs set up on dob row nearby.

The unexpected catering was great, pizzas, burgers and the morning brekkies at Chez Dan were fun opportunities to not only eat but socialize.

My little Seestar S50 was cranking away on plans while I did visual observing and caught some nice images too.

[Richard Navarrete]

Thanks for the OR. Wonderful images!

Richard

Sent from the all new AOL app for iOS

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[Jamie Dillon, DDK]

Was a lot of fun nattering with you and with your charming partner Andrea, whose name I really did learn.

That little Seestar sure did get going. Have to ask, David, who's the face-on spiral in your image #7? Looks like the Whirlpool without its neighbor.

[David Kirjassoff]

I think that was the Triangulum galaxy

[Jaimie Henderson]

If I had to guess, I'd say image #4 was M33 (Triangulum galaxy).

(a different) Jaimie

[Arvind K]

Img 7 should be m101. pinwheel:-)

And nice meeting you there at CalStar David!

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[Akarsh Simha]

That is correct, it is M 101 indeed

I couldn't recognize the globular

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[Jamie Dillon, DDK]

Pretty sure that globular is M22.

[Dan Smiley]

M11

[David Kirjassoff]

Went back to my original files.  The globular is M11, photo 7 is M101, photo 4 is M33.

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On Sep 30, 2025, at 11:51 AM, Jamie Dillon, DDK <ngc1...@gmail.com> wrote:

Pretty sure that globular is M22.

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[Akarsh Simha]

M 11 is probably one of the few open clusters that can masquerade for a globular. I failed the test,

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[Yuen So]

I enjoy reading the CalStar ORs. CalStar was my first as well, actually the first star party in several years. We used to be a regular at the Yosemite/Glacier Point SP with PAS. Calstar was a blast. I observed with a 14” dob and looked through some of your scopes. Chez Dan breakfast and the hamburger dinner were wonderful surprises. Sadly, we could stay only Saturday night and did not meet as many of you as I’d have liked.

David, great to meet you, your wife, and your canine friends. Thanks for posting the SeeStar images. Amazing for a 50mm aperture!  

Muriel, funny you mentioned the western toad. Just 3 nights ago, while sitting by my scope outside at home around 9pm, I heard weird footsteps behind my back. I turned and saw a creature on the ground. My phone also ID’ed it as a western toad. Could toads be star gazers like all of us?

Mark W., sorry I didn’t get to meet you at CalStar. We met once in a star party years ago. I was interested in getting your CPT for a 12.5” Royce conical mirror. The project never got off the ground. The mirror is still sitting in my closet.

Since this is also my first post on TAC, I better introduce myself. I have been lurking here for years and have immensely enjoyed the knowledge, enthusiasm and camaraderie evident in all the TAC posts. My interest in astronomy started in my teens with homemade Newtonians. Astronomy took a hiatus until we moved to the South Bay about 25 years ago. Now as I look into retirement, it is time to spend a lot more time on my favorite hobby. 

Look forward to reading future TAC posts. Hope to meet more of you soon.

Regards,

Yuen

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