[Chaos-l] Heart of Virginia Star Party

[matted]

Hi All -

I spent the weekend outside of Richmond at the HOV star party.  From
my home in Creedmoor it was 165 miles and took 2.5 hours driving
straight through.  I have to say it was a great time.  Not the best
attendance, about 30 scopes over both nights - but really friendly
people.  Attendance was probably down because it was so cold one night
and a cloudy forecast the second.  The event was held at a scout camp
and the camp ranger was the host and organizer for the event - you
couldn't ask for a better host or facilities.

The overhead skies were dark with the milky way easily visible, There
was a significant light dome from Richmond (rising 30-40 degrees above
the horizon) in the East.  There was a small light dome in the west.
Friday night was cold with the temp down to about 25F - but very clear
other than a few wisps of clouds.  Saturday night was patchy clouds
early followed by overcast for about an hour.  About 10:30 or so the
skies cleared and we got a couple hours in.  There were some cub
scouts and families coming through and everyone was glad to talk to
them.  During the day we did a lot of talking shop, took a robin egg
blue bus into town for food, processed data from the previous night,
and looked up items for that evening.

This was a great setting, in my opinion.  The dining hall was kept
completely dark - no light, even in the bathrooms... But it was WARM.
So when my feet got chilly I could just pop in there for coffee and a
donut and warm up.  After observing, my bunk room was toasty warm and
the showers were warm too.  It was all right there, close by, but no
interfering light.  I'd go back there in a heartbeat any time of year.

I also laid the groundwork for Staunton River.  As soon as a date is
set, I'd like to pass that long to my contacts.  Folks from Richmond
Astro Society and Northern Virginia were interested to attend the
event and sound willing to publicize it to their members.

I have a few more details on my blog
http://www.astronomypowers.com/index.php/2011/11/20/heart-of-virginia-star-party/
and happy to talk about it a bit more if anyone is interested!

-Matt