Four HAL members attended the impromptu star party of April 19th at Alpha Ridge Park.  The weather forecast was pretty accurate, as skies were clear until midnight and the temperature was 39 degrees by that point.  Transparency was very good (19.29 on the SQM-L, the best reading since 19.40 on August 30th of last year). José was imaging galaxies M81 and M82 in Ursa Major with his Apertura Carbon Star 200 Newtonian. Bianca was imaging the Leo Triplet, also with a Carbon Star 200.  Unfortunately, the mount started making a disturbing amount of noise after a meridian flip, and she stopped imaging in order to begin the troubleshooting process. Shrikant was also imaging the Leo Triplet with his AstroTech 72mm and Canon DSLR camera.  The live-stacked image on his laptop looked really sharp and clear and I was impressed with the visibility of the dark lane in NGC 3628. I observed some very southerly double stars (UZ Pyxidis and zeta1 Antliae), the globular cluster M3 in Canes Venatici and the Ghost of Jupiter planetary nebula (NGC 3242, Caldwell 59) in Hydra with my 8″ Celestron Starsense Explorer Dob while imaging M101, the Pinwheel Galaxy, in Ursa Major with my Vespera II EAA scope. I locked up HALO at midnight, just as clouds were rolling in.  I closed and locked the gate with help from Shrikant, who graciously stayed a few minutes later to assist, at 12:05 AM. Ernie Morse

Twenty members joined us Saturday evening for an outstanding impromptu star party.  I counted sixteen telescopes around Alpha Ridge with one member actually pointing three scopes skyward.

Although seeing was lackluster, transparency remained above average throughout the night.  In working through my imagery, I was able to tease out a magnitude 18.9 galaxy with a five-inch lens.

Working out kinks in equipment and trying new things seemed to be the theme of the evening with our members learning the isochronies of their equipment, using new equipment and even pointing toward unfamiliar objects. I love it when deep-sky observers discover the planets.

Meanwhile, several others worked on April’s Object of The Month, Messier 81.

Although a few members left earlier, most started packing up around 11:30pm with Phil Whitebloom and I locking the gate at 12:30am.

Thank you everyone for a wonderful night.

Respectfully Submitted,

Ken Everhart

Seven HAL members enjoyed a crisp, clear evening of observing and imaging at Alpha Ridge Park last night.  It was chilly and a little breezy at times, but the transparency was better than average (SQM-L reading 19.18 mpas) and seeing also seemed  to be pretty good.

James was working through some issues with his recently-acquired 12″ Newtonian reflector.  He was having some issues with guiding.  He was simultaneously imaging the Orion Nebula with a 120mm refractor.

Jeff was making visual observations with an 8″ Celestron SCT.  He visited Rigel, Betelgeuse, open cluster M67 in Cancer and the Double Cluster in Perseus.

Mike intended to image the Flame Nebula in Orion with an 80mm Orion refractor, but he experienced issues with his control software demanding a firmware update for the mount before it would consent to moving the telescope in small increments for guiding.  He was forced to pack up early, but plans to resolve that issue ASAP.

Mike & Dan were imaging with a pair of Svbony refractors of 122mm and 80mm, respectively.  Mike was imaging M51 in blue, green and luminance, adding to red exposures that he obtained on a prior night.  Dan imaged the Sliced Onion Galaxy in Leo Minor and the Beehive Cluster (M44) in Cancer.

Wayne was imaging spiral galaxy M81 (the Discord group’s object of the month) in Ursa Major with his 8″ RC reflector.

I spent a lot of time setting up for an attempt to sketch the double star eta Persei with my Celestron 8″ Starsense Explorer Dob, followed by about 15 minutes on the actual sketch.  I used a new Orion illuminated reticle eyepiece and an angular measurement card that I made to fit around the focuser barrel to help with estimating the angle of west in the eyepiece and the double’s position angle.  The sketch was a decent effort, but I’m still learning.  I also used the new eyepiece for alignment of the Starsense Explorer app and briefly observed open clusters M35, M37 and M67.  I continued imaging NGC 2264 (Christmas Tree Cluster and Cone Nebula) with my Vespera II EAA scope.

I locked the gate and left around 12:15 while Wayne stayed to continue his imaging.  He finished up at 3:30, locked up HALO and the park gates and departed at 4:40 AM.

Ernie

Last night I opened Alpha Ridge for an impromptu star party. I arrived around 7:45 pm and had 5 guests in total. Unfortunately, the sky did not stay as clear as we were hoping. I was still able to image M42 and NGC 869/864 between breaks in the clouds.

We packed things up and locked the gate by 11:30 pm.

I hope to see everyone at the public star party scheduled for March 28th!

-Krystal Rolon

The night was pretty nice with wonderful weather and nice temperatures. We had a few clouds rolling for like 20 minutes at some point but after that it was all clear and nice.

We had a total of 8 members coming, mostly imaging or troubleshooting their gear, but we also had Ernie observing and sketching a double star for the first time!
Bianca spent some time observing Jupiter, Orion and the Pleiades through the 10” dob. Federico used his Seestar S30 in EQ mode of the first time.
Danielle was imaging the Rosette nebula, and I believe the rest of the people were imaging galaxies.

Danielle and I were the last ones at the park and we closed it at 11:45.

Jose Urias

We had a really nice impromptu last night!  It was not cold and the sky was entirely clear and nicely transparent.  We had about 20 HAL members show up even though it was the Monday night after the time change. Victor and Jose gave our observatory a check-out run after the winter hiatus and everything is now ready to go for our first public star party of 2026, which will be on Saturday March 28.

There were five(!) Seestar S50 smart scopes running (as I could see on my wifi menu as I connected to mine).  I took a picture of the Crab Nebula from 8:25 PM to 10:25 PM which netted me 80 minutes of usable data.  Jose was kind enough to volunteer to stay late and lock up so I left about 10:30 PM

David Stein

Sunday night’s impromptu was attended by just one HAL member (me).  The moon was very bright, but skies were clear until after 10:00 and there was no wind.  Temperature was down to 33 degrees at 10:30.

I observed 11 double stars across Pisces, Andromeda, Aries, Triangulum, Perseus and Orion with my 8″ Celestron Starsense Explorer Dob:  56 And, 65 Psc, gamma Ari, lambda Ari, 1 Ari, STF 183, iota Tri, 15 Tri, eta Per, iota Ori, lambda Ori.  I hadn’t observed 15 Tri before and was pleasantly surprised by the vivid orange-blue color contrast.  It’s a wide (142 arcsecond) optical double with magnitudes 5.6 and 6.8.  The only one of my double star sources that recommended it was “Observer’s Sky Atlas” 4th edition by Erich Karkoschka, which is an excellent all-around observing guide.  I like that it lists the B-V color indices for double stars to give an idea of which ones will have good color contrast.

My main goal for the night was to test out the new firmware update for my Vespera II EAA scope.  I took short (20 – 60 minutes) exposures of open clusters NGC 752 (Caldwell 28), NGC 2362 (Caldwell 64) and the Pleiades (M45) and galaxies M81 & M82.  I also used a ring with a crossbar (purchased from Etsy) in front of the lens for the cluster exposures in order to get diffraction spikes on the stars because I like the look of spiky stars.

Clouds were moving in from the north by around 10:15 and the sky was also crisscrossed with lingering airplane contrails, so I started packing up.  I locked HALO and the park gates and departed at 10:40.

Ernie Morse

Friday’s impromptu star party was announced on a cloudy afternoon following a rainy morning, but the forecast for clear evening skies was accurate.  Seven HAL members attended on a night that presented some challenges from fog and wind.  Conditions were much better once the 3-day-old moon set just after 9:30, with the fog having cleared out and the winds abating.  Transparency and seeing were both about average, with a sky quality reading of 19.16 mag/as^2 at 10:30 PM.  It was about 50 degrees at sunset and in the low 40s at the end of the night.

Evelyn was trying out the mono camera, filters and filter wheel that she won in the HAL auction.  I assume she was using them with her Sky-Watcher 80mm refractor, but I forgot to ask.  She was imaging the Orion Nebula with a sequence of filters and everything was working well.

Jose intended to image the Thor’s Helmet Nebula in Canis Major, but the fog made it impossible, so he switched to the Orion Nebula.

Shrikant imaged the Horsehead Nebula with his 72mm AstroTech refractor and Canon D77 camera.

Brandon and his son Jamison were making some visual observations with a new Svbony 80mm refractor.  Jamison was happy to have identified the moons of Jupiter and to have discovered a little triangular asterism.

Mike attempted to image the galaxy M81 in Ursa Major with his Svbony 122mm refractor, but that attempt was negated by the fog.  He switched over to the Horsehead Nebula, but the high winds ruined his guiding.

Two park rangers, Deana and Esteban, stopped by to check on how we were doing.  I showed them the Orion Nebula, Jupiter and the moon and Jose chatted with them about his imaging.

I observed some Messier open clusters with my 8″ Dob (M38, M41, M46 and M47) and used an OII filter to get a better look at the planetary nebula in the foreground of M46.  After the fog lifted, I set up my Vespera II EAA scope and imaged the Pleiades for an hour.

I locked up HALO and the park and departed at 11:15 PM.

Ernie

There was a good turnout of 14 HAL members for the impromptu star party at Alpha Ridge Park on February 13th.  Skies were clear except for a wide band of clouds that moved through around 8:00 PM.  The temperature started in the low 30s, decreasing to around 25 at 11:00 PM, and winds were calm.  Transparency seemed bad through the eyepiece and my SQM registered only 18.75 at 10:45.  Seeing was about average.  Although some misfortunes were encountered on this Friday the 13th event, it was overall an enjoyable night of observing.

Ashley and Jason were conducting visual observations with a Celestron Starsense Explorer Newtonian.  I didn’t get the specs, but I’d guess that it was a 130 mm.  They observed stars and clusters, including M44 (the Beehive).

New members Patricia, Jesse and Jay didn’t have any equipment to use, but they were able to share some views through Ashley and Jason’s telescope and my Dob.  I showed them M42 (Orion Nebula).

Jamie observed several objects with a white phosphor light amplification monocular, including the Andromeda Galaxy, Flaming Star Nebula and California Nebula.

Jose had planned on imaging the Thor’s Helmet Nebula, but didn’t get good results and switched to the Orion Nebula.  I think he was using his 150mm CarbonStar RC.

Ian was imaging the Jellyfish Nebula with his Seestar S50.

Shrikant imaged the Rosette Nebula with his AstroTech 72mm refractor and DSLR camera.

Mike P. was planning to image the Christmas Tree Cluster and Cone Nebula with his Celestron EdgeHD 8″ SCT, but wasn’t able to get good results.

Todd was working out the kinks with a new Celestron EdgeHD 9.25″ SCT.  He initially experienced star images that looked like donuts, but that cleared up after a while.  He was thinking that maybe the scope just needed more time to cool down.  I forgot to ask about his imaging target.

Mike D. and new member Dan were imaging with Mike’s usual 122mm Svbony refractor and a secondary scope, which appeared to be a smaller refractor.  I also didn’t get a chance to ask what they were imaging before they left.

I had planned on observing open clusters in Cassiopeia with my 8″ Celestron Starsense Explorer Dob, but found them visually unimpressive under the conditions.  I eventually abandoned the plan and just viewed some of my favorite objects, including the Double Cluster, M41 and the Tau Canis Majoris Cluster (Caldwell 64).  I also enjoyed some multiple stars:  iota Cas, beta Mon (both close triples) and HJ 3945 (winter Albireo).  I was able to split gamma Ceti with 170X after a couple of unsuccessful attempts last year.  Its separation is currently 1.8 arcseconds and it’ll be decreasing for the rest of my lifetime (down to less than an arcsecond twenty years from now), so I was glad to be able to split it now.  I tried out a new Optolong L-Synergy SII/OIII filter with my Vespera EAA scope.  I imaged the Pac-Man Nebula (NGC 281), which I had read was a significant source of SII (ionized sulfur) emissions, but it didn’t seem like much in the JPG produced by the telescope after 87 minutes of exposure time(attached image, red is SII and blue-green is doubly-ionized oxygen (OIII)).  Unfortunately, I fumbled the filter trying to insert it into the filter cell in my dew shield and got fingerprints all over it as I managed to catch it before it hit the ground.  I also tried out a new heated vest, and it helped to keep me comfortably warm all night.  The 15 oz. of coffee that I brought in my insulated Yeti mug also helped in that regard.

Shrikant and I were the last ones left at the end of the night.  I locked up HALO and the two of us locked the park gates and left at 11:25 PM.

Ernie

 

In what was possibly the coldest star party ever run by HAL — the
temperature started the night at about 23 degrees Fahrenheit (-5C) and
ended at about 5 degrees (-15C); see the attached plot of temperature
(red line) from a data logging device I use — seven intrepid HAL
members came to Alpha Ridge Park for last night’s impromptu star party.
There were some clouds early on, after a beautifully clear day.  I
suspect that the clouds were mostly airplane contrails blown in by the
jet stream, but I cannot be certain of that.  They cleared out by about
8:30pm, though, and the rest of the night was clear.  Transparency was
about average after the clouds left, and the seeing was not very good.

Everyone was imaging tonight; there were no visual observers except a
family of apparently former HAL members who dropped by for a few minutes
to see the nonexistent auroras.  They unsuccessfully tried to capture
the auroras with a cell phone and were thus imaging, too.  Bill used his
ZWO Seestar S50 to image the Orion Nebula (M42) and the Pleiades (M45),
but the clouds thwarted his efforts to a large degree.  Ruth and her
husband, Eric, used a ZWO Seestar S30 to image the Pleiades, also.  Todd
imaged the Orion Nebula with his William Optics 91mm refractor, and Jose
imaged Bode’s Galaxy (M81) and the Cigar Galaxy (M82) with an Apertura
8-inch Carbonstar RC telescope.  I spent the entire night imaging the
Crab Nebula (M1) with my 8-inch RC scope; I have attached the Pixinsight
Livestack image of the R-filter after cropping and applying a separate
stretch to the data.  Gary left as I was talking to everyone and I
didn’t find out what he was doing, but it was good to see him.

I finished my imaging at about 2:00am, then collected by flats and
packed up.  I locked the park gate at 3:35am.

It was nice to see all the members who came out for the night; hopefully
we can get together again soon, hopefully under warmer conditions.

Wayne B.

One night leads to the next day.

The night was nice and a little cold but the moon set early and 5 members attended the party. 4 of us were imaging and Earnie was doing some visual astronomy and also imaging with his Vespera.

For what I could see, one person was doing the helix nebula, another one the flaming star nebula, and I was doing the Pleiades.

I closed the park at around 11:45 pm as it got really cold and we did not prepare for it.

No incidents to report, however, I tested the red bollards as someone asked me last time and they all look fantastic with the new filters.

I also noticed the gate to the park is vent like of it was hit by a car or a truck. It made it quite difficult to close.

 

Jose Urias

Part 2

Just to report the second half of this impromptu star party. The first half of the party was hosted by Jose on November 23.

I arrived at Alpha Ridge Park at 3:35 am yesterday and unlocked the gate (the gate was very well locked so good job Jose!). I closed the gate with the bungee rubber band and left it unlocked.

I was the only member who showed up.

The weather was calm and the sky was clear. The temperature was in the mid 30’s.
I was able to capture some images for I3/ATLAS, though the guiding was barely tolerable. I haven’t got time to process the photos yet.

By the time I left Alpha Ridge around 6:15 am, apparently someone had widely opened the gate and parked a school bus at the entrance (inside the park). I left the gate as was.

The take home message is that I feel the eastern horizon of Alpha Ridge Park at the playground is as clear as the Carrs Mill park (though it is not available any more). For the clearest western horizon, no place is better than the Howard County Conservancy.

Richard Ren