Day 3728

My first star party is in the books. I managed to keep my telescope pointed at the right star cluster for the entire evening. Everyone seemed pleased at what they were seeing. I was surprised  that we even had a star party tonight. It was overcast for most of the day, but the sky began to clear toward sunset. The original star cluster I was supposed to show people was covered by clouds, so a different target was selected. I now know a lot more about Messier 41 than I did yesterday.

Almost five hundred people looked through my telescope this evening. I didn't actually count them, but that was supposed to be tonight's attendance. Every night is supposed to be this way. The crowd seemed healthy, but if I don't get the coronavirus after all this, I'm probably immune.

It's a good thing I brought two warm coats. I needed both of them tonight. It gets very cold after sunset on the mountain. I thought I brought my most comfortable shoes, but they still left a lot to be desired. It's hard standing on your feet for that long. My feet hurt, but all in all, I was fairly well prepared. I even brought a little flashlight with a red bulb so I could check the telescope settings without ruining my night vision.

One of the weirdest things about the evening was driving back to the Astronomer's Lodge at the top of the mountain without headlights. You are supposed to keep your lights off so you won't ruin an astronomer's observing session at one of the big telescopes. The staff told me to use my headlights if I didn't feel safe, but there was a full moon and there were no other cars on the road. I just drove with my parking lights and straddled the center line. I could actually see very well, since there was a full moon and my eyes were completely dark adapted by the time the star party was over.

It's been an interesting day. I met some engineers at breakfast who were doing modifications to the huge coudé spectrograph located underneath the 107" telescope. They invited me to tag along with them and I got to see the spectrograph room, as well as the huge vacuum chamber where the main mirror is recoated every few years. The Tull Spectrograph is used to search for exoplanets now and has found quite a few. I always expect rooms where science is being done at these large telescopes to look like something out of Star Trek. Usually they are a messy maze of wires and pipes with plug strips and loose electric cords and cables everywhere. I've learned no to touch anything.

Tomorrow I start doing observatory tours. I have an orientation lesson in the morning and my first work shift starts in the afternoon. I'm going to be kept busy out here. That's a good thing actually. There is nothing else to do on the mountain. The isolation is kind of nice. I'd rather be here than sitting in front of the television in Dallas, listening to alarming news about the coronavirus and stock market crash.

I shouldn't have any problem sleeping tonight. I'm really tired and my room is completely dark when you turn the lights out. Last night I had to keep a flashlight by my bed so I could find the bathroom. Hope it doesn't rain tomorrow. The forecast doesn't look good.

Vai is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 3717

I had an interesting evening under the stars tonight. It was kind of a dress rehearsal for my stay at McDonald Observatory. It's been so long since I've looked through a decent telescope that I don't even have a frame of reference for what I'm supposed to be looking at. If you get used to looking at spectacular photographs taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, it's easy to forget that distant galaxies often just look like dim smudges through a backyard telescope.

The 16" inch telescope I visited tonight might be small by observatory standards, but it was huge for an individual to have in their back yard. My host was a retired engineer and amateur astronomer who built a fabulous personal observatory on his rural property. I took the list of Spring observing targets that McDonald Observatory sent me and asked which ones would be interesting to look at through his 16" telescope. The observatory owner was extremely nice and spent the next four hours giving me  a refresher course in what to look for in the Spring skies.

Star clusters were a lot prettier than I thought they'd be and most galaxies were a lot less dramatic than they looked in photographs. The spiral structures that look so dramatic in photos were often very hard to see. A lot of galaxies just looked like pale smudges. I saw the planet Uranus for the first time. I've looked for this planet over and over again, but it is too dim to easily spot through binoculars. Even though this powerful telescope, Uranus still just looked like a small green disc. The Orion Nebula looked amazing through a good telescope, but the Crab Nebula just looked like a pale smudge.

I feel more confident about my trip to the Davis Mountains now. The night sky seems more familiar and I know where to look for a few things I've only seen in books before. I definitely know how to find the objects I've been assigned to show people at Star Parties. My coat kept me warm, but I may have to rethink the shoes I take with me to the observatory. My feet were very cold tonight.

The astronomer's wife was originally from Wuhan, China and both of them had visited there as recently as a year ago. I thought it would take years for me to run into someone from that part of China, but it didn't take long at all. It's a small world we live in now. Real life is just like the Kevin Bacon game. Everything is connected.

Traffic wasn't as bad as I thought it would be and I arrived at the observatory earlier than I anticipated. To kill time, I had dinner at a barbecue place that advertised itself as one of the 25 best in the world. I had no reason to doubt the claim. The brisket and ribs were delicious. It was almost worth the trip just for the brisket sandwich.

My wide angle lens arrived today. I should have taken it with me tonight. The skies in Dallas will never be as dark as they are out in the country. I'll have plenty of time to practice with the lens on Mount Locke. I'm thinking that I should have bought a good pair of shoes instead though. I was surprised at how cold my feet got tonight.

Dawn is still doing very well. She's turned into a good little watchdog. I heard her barking before I even opened the door when I came home this evening. She didn't know I'd been looking at the stars, but she definitely knew I'd been around the astronomer's two Corgi's.

Princess is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day