Saturday, April 22, 2017, Star Party

The USDA Forest Service was hosting a "Star Party" at the Red Rock Welcome Center/Ranger Station with Solar Gazing from 2-4pm, an Astronomy Presentation at 7pm and Telescope Viewing from 7:45-9pm.  The Village of Oak Creek near Sedona, AZ, is now an “International Dark Sky Community.” I wanted to take part in the solar observing as well as the star party, so we made a day of it - Joani is very accommodating for me!

I met volunteers, DJ and Karen, who both really love astronomy. They support a lot of public outreach programs all across the state. They had a refractor with a solar filter (sometimes referred to as a white light filter) and a Lunt solar telescope with a narrow band hydrogen alpha filter.  The Lunt allowed viewing of solar prominences and detail across the solar disc.  Unfortunately, the sun was very quiet which meant there were very few sunspots or prominences.

To fill in the time between sun and stars we went to Famous Pizza for a couple of slices and then explored the Village of Oak Creek for a while. 

The view that some of these people have from their homes is absolutely breathtaking.  Do you suppose after a while they become complacent and forget to appreciate their view?

The house below takes the award for most unobtrusive RV port home. Built on a slope, it was hardly even noticeable how tall the RV garage compared to the overall roof line.

When we returned to the Red Rock Visitor Center there were a few more telescopes set up for viewing.  I met another of the club members who had the exact same scope I have.  I asked him about an issue I have encountered.  I think he was able to point me in the right direction to fix my problem.

Below, I was talking with JD about his Celestron 11 GPS (it is the big brother to my 8 inch GPS). I found he also has a second Celestron 11, a Celestron 14 and a Ritchey-Chrétien among others. He certainly has embraced his hobby with a well-rounded array of equipment.

During the viewing I answered enough questions by this beautiful 6-inch refractor that most people assumed it was mine - I wish!

Explore-Scientific 6" Refractor

While I was talking astronomy with the club members, Joani found the Hummingbirds to be equally fascinating.  Some of them cooperated for a quick photo, but the neon blue-throated one that was her favorite was not very cooperative.

The throat on this guy looked as if it was lit from inside, it just glowed.

As the sun sank in the west, everyone headed indoors for an interesting and informative talk about the wide world of astronomy.

Courthouse Butte (5,451 ft.) took on a glow in the late afternoon.

By the time JD was finished with his talk, it was dark outside. After a few minutes for our eyes to adapt, the crowd of an estimated 150 were treated to views of dozens of night sky treats.