Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 2/21/2025
James and Mae joined me for an impromptu star party last night at Alpha Ridge. Skies were clear all night. Winds were gusty for a while, but settled down to mostly calm by 9:00. Temperature was down to 25 degrees by 11:00 with 40% relative humidity. James and Mae imaged the Tadpole Nebula (IC 410) […]
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 2/07/2025
(The One with the Solo Keyholder) I was the only attendee for the impromptu star party that I hosted last night. Skies were clear the entire time that I was there. The metadata of the exposures from my imaging shows 47 degrees and 45% humidity at 7:00 PM, falling to 41 degrees by 9:00 PM, […]
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 2/01/2025
(The One with Clear, Cold Skies and a Mystery Car) Four HAL members showed up to enjoy the clear skies at Alpha Ridge last night. Three were successful, but one suffered the heartbreak of technical difficulties. Happily, there were no incidents of equipment being blown away by high winds. Mike imaged the Fish Head Nebula […]
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 1/29/2025
(The One with High Winds and a New Impromptu Keyholder) The high winds made for a frustrating star party experience last night. Mike had planned to image the Heart Nebula (IC 1805) in Cassiopeia with his 8″ SCT and Shrikant was going to observe the Orion Nebula with his 72mm refractor. Unfortunately, the gusty winds […]
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 1/27/2025
(The One with Over a Dozen Members) We had a successful impromptu star party Monday night, January 27, in the cold but calm conditions. More than a dozen HAL members attended, and there was a mix of visual observing, imaging, and engineering activities among the attendees. Transparency was pretty good, but seeing was below average […]
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 1/01/2025
(The One that Kicked Off the New Year) We had our first impromptu Star party of the year on the first night of 2025. I got at alpha ridge park at 4:30 pm and closed it around 7:30 pm. Unfortunately the weather didn’t cooperate as clouds came in and out repeatedly due to the fast […]
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 7/02/2024
(The One with More Eagle Nebula Photos) We had a surprisingly nice and clear sky until midnight. 7 members attended this party, and I apologize in advance but I am terrible at remembering everyone’s names, but there were 2 members that I met for the first time who brought a 14” and a 16” dobsonian […]
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 7/01/2024
(The One with a Clear Skies Cool Weather) Last night four of us (Mike, Richard, Ken S. and me) enjoyed the beautiful clear skies and cool weather. It felt more like mid-September to me than early July. Ken and I had a couple of Seestar S50s running, Mike had an 80mm refractor with a new […]
Impromptu Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 6/21/2024
(The One with a Strawberry Moon and Suboptimal Conditions) It was a hot day and evening, and seven HAL members and guests enjoyed the night of the Strawberry Moon for an impromptu star party at Alpha Ridge Park. The skies were mostly clear but very hazy, resulting in poor transparency; this is typical for a […]
Public Star Party (Alpha Ridge) 6/15/2024
There were 27 telescopes setup. They ranged from the most basic starter scopes to very sophisticated setups. There were well over 250 people in attendance