Sunday, Mar 10, 2013, Kissimmee Prairie Preserve, FL


We moved to Kissimmee Prairie Preserve State Park, FL (~110 miles, 1343.0). Trees made it the tightest site I have ever backed into. Felt a little like Austin Powers. The sites provided a lot of privacy and the park's remote location meant it was not that full.


The park has an "Astronomy Pad" where people can set up for observing the stars away from other campers. I met David and Jon - the only two currently camping on the pad (there were apparently around 10 observers earlier in the week). They were members of the Treasure Coast Astronomy Club. Jon has a 4 inch APO on an AstroPhysics Mach 1 mount. Some computer problems kept him from imaging. David has a Celestron 14 on an AstroPhysics 1200. WOW! He has done a lot of imaging (w/ an SBIG8300) which I got to see on the computer when the clouds messed with us some.

When the clouds cleared there were very dark skies. Galaxies in a 14-inch scope really pop. Stayed out until 1:30. Got to see Omega Centauri (one of the most awe-inspiring globular clusters in the night sky) which cannot be seen at higher latitudes (like in Georgia).

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