Astronomy

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DARKEST SKY

STAR PARTY

provides round-the-clock support

and security. Staff can handle

mechanical problems (such as

repairs to telescope mounts), com-

puter maintenance, and IT support

of the fiber-optic internet. And if

you see a dark sky in your future,

DSNM has additional observatories

available for immediate occupancy.

On our way

On Friday, April 28, Dave and I f lew

from Milwaukee to Denver and then

on to Tucson, Arizona. After

securing our rental car, we headed

eastward from Tucson to Lordsburg

along Interstate 10.

During the two-hour drive, condi-

tions for observing could not have

been worse: Thick clouds covered the

sky from horizon to horizon, wind

advisory signs appeared all along our

route, sporadic rain pelted our vehi-

cle, and a colossal wall of dust seemed

to threaten all of existence south of

the highway. More than once, we

commented on how awful it would be

if the weather didn’t change.

Star party day

As Saturday dawned, I looked out

my hotel room to see abundant

sunshine and a partly cloudy sky.

The clouds, however, were fair-

weather cumulus, a type that

generally appears during the day-

time but dissipates as evening

(with its cooler temperatures)

begins. “It’s gonna be clear!” I

thought. But a quick look at the

few trees planted around the park-

ing lot brought another fear: The

wind was still strong.

12

3

1. Astronomy Editor
   David J. Eicher lies
   down to shoot
   straight skyward
   from the observatory
   as several amateur
   astronomers capture
   an image, creating
   this dramatic
   perspective with stars
   in the background.


2. Amateur
   astronomer
   Al Acker controls
   his telescopes from
   a computer screen
   as they image distant
   galaxies during the
   star party.


3. Orion sets in
   twilight with a bright
   Moon lingering above
   it (out of view) in
   the star party’s first
   couple of hours.