DSSP2017
STELLARVUE DARK SKY STAR PARTY - 2017
The Stellarvue Dark Sky Star Party (DSSP) for 2017 was amazing. We had stars every night with skies rated at from 21.7 to 22 on the Bortle Scale. While the days were hot (up to 95 degree F, nights were warm to cool. The Milky Way cast a shadow, many Messier objects were seen with the naked eye and the Milky Way extended down to the horizon. In other words, another fantastic four nights under stunningly beautiful dark skies.
Many people wondered why Vic was setting up a reflector on the field. He was star testing a Lockwood 16" f-4 mirror. Everyone got a chance to look through this telescope which had a perfect star test. Mike Lockwood is known for producing very smooth mirrors. This one was no exception. With the mirror approved Vic and his friends will now completely redesign the entire tube assembly. More on this project to follow....
Dave Weixelman took some great astro images at DSSP this year using his SV70T!
M39 open cluster in Cygnus. 1.8 hours, LRGB image.
Sea Horse Nebula, Barnard 150 in Cepheus. Dark Nebula. 4.3 hours, LRGB image.
Elephant Trunk emission nebula, IC1396 in Cepheus. 4.3 hours, HaRGB image.
When we returned and looked over all the shots we took we realized Bigfoot was there all along. Maybe next time we will be more observant.