[Chaos-l] Observing Session Sat @ Jordan Lake-- the Tempest!!

[Mark South]

Mike, you are better weather-forecaster than me and much wiser!  :)
  Up 'till now, I had a good record in going out only when there's  
good weather, but last night I was SO wrong!  :)  Anyway, it was a  
risk I took--  hoping that the front had already moved out so I could  
glimpse a clear, cool, non-humid sky.   25% chance of thunderstorms  
came true.
Anyway, although we had to tear down when it got dark, we were still  
able demonstrate how dobsonians work with a new friend who stopped by  
to observe.   Most of the fun of astronomy is sharing what  you know  
and learning from others what they know.
Mark

On Jun 9, 2007, at 11:40 PM, Mike Lemon wrote:

>
> I'm a new member and was really looking forward to meeting some  
> folks at
> this one. I'm glad that I
> stayed put, however, as I would have gotten there just in time for the
> deluge. As I told Mark, I'll come
> if it looks good in the west. When I stepped out on my deck, there  
> were
> ominous clouds gathering
> there, though it did look great to the south as Mark had told me.
>
> I was able to use a 4mm in my 10" a few weeks back on the moon and
> Saturn. Really stunning
> in a 10" I must say. Feels like you might fall into one of those  
> craters.
>
> Mike
>
> Jon Stewart-Taylor wrote:
>> Hi all.  After Mark put out the notice on the list server, 5 of us (2
>> members, 3 nonmembers) showed up  and began assembling 4  
>> telescopes as
>> dusk fell.  It started out as an extraordinary night, with stunning
>> views of Saturn.  They were the best i've ever gotten out of the 10"
>> Coulter.  Conditions were steady enough to allow use of a 5mm  
>> eyepiece.
>>
>> Unfortunately, the evening continued to be extraordinary, as  
>> lightning
>> began to flicker in clouds to the north.  After about 15 minutes,  
>> Mark
>> quite sensibly began taking down his 15" truss-tube dob.  The rest of
>> us waited, hoping that the clouds would blow over.
>>
>> When the wind suddenly rose out  of the west at about 10 mph, the  
>> rest
>> of us started packing.  Good thing too.  We were nearly done when the
>> first raindrops began to fall, with lightning now visible to the
>> south-west.  Only non-essential equipment got wet (chairs, tables,
>> clothing) as we finished packing up.
>>
>> Driving home we went through a real "frog-strangler" with rain so  
>> dense
>> it was hard to see the road.  I once wrote a newsletter article about
>> Foul Weather Astronomy, but this was definitely too foul for me.  The
>> trip was worth it to see Saturn though.  The worst night of astronomy
>> really is better than the best day at work.
>>
>> J.
>>
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