Did I mention I joined MAS to have access to dark skies within 2 hours of my home? Well, I did and finally on the weekend of September 27, 2024, I got to spend the weekend out at Long Lake Conservation Center.
I had ordered my 135mm Rokinon lens in what was supposed to be a timely manner yet it didn’t arrive when it was supposed to on Friday. That changed everything but my decision to go. On Friday night I tried taking deep space object photos using my wide angle Rokinon 14mm attached to my Sky-Watcher Star Adventurer GTi.
I arrived after dark but was able to set up my stuff. I also brought along a gravity lounge chair. Those things are perfect for laying back and watching the night sky. It was chilly so I also had a blanket. I wrapped myself up once I got everything set up and laid back and watched the stars. I saw numerous shooting stars and we even got to see the ISS! I watched it meander across the sky. So fascinating, thinking about the people that are up there in space.
Unfortunately I didn’t get the hang of aligning the stars properly. Using a wide-angled lens I actually was able to get a few images of the Andromeda galaxy. That was my goal this weekend.
On Saturday, I drove up to see the Mississippi Headwaters. I had been wanting to see it for a long time. By staying at LLCC I could make the trip up and back during the afternoon and get back in the evening to take a nap. I had only stayed up till 2am the night before so I figured it’d be fine. I didn’t take into account how hot it was that day. I do not do well in heat and my day was uncomfortable and exhausting. Not only that, but the rooms at LLCC do not have air conditioning and my room was extremely warm. I never got my nap and the sun soon went down.
Fortunately the nights were still cool and before long it was almost cold but still humid (weird humid summer this year). I got my kit 35-300 mm lens attached to my camera and tried once again to align. Naturally I didn’t find out until later that it was a fail. We won’t mention how long I tried. LOL. I took a few naps, now that the room had cooled off. At first I tried in my gravity chair but I couldn’t sleep, although I was comfortable. I finally headed back to my room about 11pm. I woke up at 2am and reset my camera and switched out the battery (totally forgot to bring the plug-in battery…) and tried for the American Nebula, hoping it was bigger that I could catch something and went back to bed.
Woke up again about 4am and this time tried for the Orion Nebula. Again I went back to bed. I woke up just before dawn and decided that I better tear down my camera and GTi before the heat of the sun made it so uncomfortable that I’d be sick. Got everything “expensive” packed up and loaded into my car to take back to my room (I’d been walking until that point).
Drove back and went back to sleep until the sun came up. (Hey, no reason to drive in the dark when the deer are active!) Woke up again, fortunately it was still cool and my stuff was still mostly in the shade on the observing field, packed up the rest of my gear which still hadn’t dried and headed home.
One a plus side, in addition to my attempts at making my GTi align and find the Andromeda galaxy, I got to see Saturn, Jupiter and Mars in the big telescope.
Since my imaging was mostly a fail, except for the one above, I shall share some rare daytime photos of my adventures at and traveling to the Mississippi Headwaters and the summary note of the wonderful clear sky weekend out at LLCC.
Stealing the report from LLCC Pres:
I predicted an “epic” weekend, and it truly was. We had better weather for astronomy than any other star party weekend so far this year.
We didn’t see a single cloud all weekend– 100% clear skies. Transparency was very good to excellent. Seeing conditions were average to very good. Temps were in the low-80’s in the afternoon, cooling down to 40s Saturday morning and 50s Sunday
morning. Gorgeous. No wind. Dry field conditions. Leaves starting to change. LLCC campus looks beautiful with early fall color.
A group of quilters from Duluth stayed on campus this weekend and set up shop in the Dining Hall. They’re delightful people and we enjoyed interacting with them. A group of them ventured out to the observing field both nights with red flashlights in hand. They climbed up and down the orchard ladders many times to see highlights of the late summer skies. They were blown away by Saturn.
Friday Sept 27
David S, Suresh S, Myron C, Kris B, Phil R, and Will VC attended. Excellent seeing but average transparency, although conditions improved by morning. Observed Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus, and Neptune through the MAS Obsessions, finding many small moons.
Saturday Sept 28
Friday attendees were joined by John B, Dick J, and Tim J. Average seeing but outstanding transparency. Views of summer nebulae and fall galaxies were as intricate and detailed as I’ve ever seen them. Incredible views throughout the night, of everything from the Lagoon and Trifid Nebula early on to the Orion and Horsehead by morning. We had 8 hours 45 minutes of astronomical night each evening.
One way I can tell it’s a really good night is by noting the general conversation level on the observing field. When it’s an outstanding night the observing field gets really quiet. This weekend some of the quilting ladies came up the field to take a peek through the telescopes. “Are we talking too loud, are we supposed to be quiet?” they asked. I tried to explain that it’s a star “party” and we’re allowed to have fun, but that everyone was super focused on what they were doing. That’s what an “epic” astronomy night sounds like.
-DS
