Earth Sky Stars

The 2007 Edition of the Table Mountain Star Party was definitely a
roller-coaster ride. The dips included inconsistent weather (windy and
cloudy) and a Kendrick Astronomy tent that failed within 24 hours of its
first use (fortunately Kendrick has arranged for a replacement tent
pole). The highs included meeting old friends, some excellent
astrophotography, a great speaker list, and finally figuring out the
complexities of astrophotography software.

The speaker list included three “stand-out” speakers. The first was
Gary Seronik, associate editor of Sky and Telescope, who gave an
excellent talk on binocular astronomy. If you haven’t tried using
binoculars for astronomy you’re missing a real treat. Almost everyone
owns at least one pair of binoculars making it one of the most
accessible ways to start into astronomy. And some objects (M44, M31, and
the Pleiades) just look better in the wide field that a binocular
provides. Gary elaborated on these points and more. He also provided a
nice obscure target list for the evening’s viewing.

The next speaker of note was John Dobson. John is the inventor of the
Dobsonian mount. John is now 93 years old, but he is as opinionated and sharp-minded as ever!

The third speaker was Dr. Bonnie Dunbar, former Space Shuttle astronaut and current Director of the Seattle Museum of Flight. She gave wonderful insights into the Space Shuttle program and the future of U.S. manned space flight.

Link to Table Mountain Star Party Site

As promised, the Greenwater, WA area is the next in my list of dark sky sites. Greenwater is a small town on highway 410 on the way to Crystal Mountain Ski Resort and Mount Rainier National Park. It is only 45 minutes from my house in Auburn, WA, but, due to the mountainous terrain, has some great dark skies. Hopefully you noticed that I said “area.” Greenwater is the gateway to a vast complex of forest roads. Intermingled in the forest are old clear-cuts giving great access to the sky in all directions.

The real fun begins when you travel about 2 miles to the east of Greenwater. On your right will be forest road 70. FR70 takes you into the heart of the Mount Baker - Snoqualmie National forest around the Greenwater river valley. Like I mentioned there are any number of clear cuts that could be used for astronomy — the trick is finding them. Google Earth is an excellent way to find sites before you travel to the forest. But for starters try following FR70 until you reach FR7030. It’ll be on your right and it crosses the Greenwater river. Follow FR7030 until you reach FR7036. FR7036 follows a ridge line that is approx. 5,000 to 6,000 feet in altitude with a large number of clearings. The location you use for observing is up to you

Here’s a Google map link to the area: Link to Greenwater area

M31 from a Greenwater mountaintop:
One thing to note. This is a remote area with mountain weather. Prepare yourself accordingly!

Life at 6,350 feet can be very good, especially when a big high pressure system settles over the Ellensburg, WA area. It was time for the 2006 edition of the annual Table Mountain Star Party and my family and I were determined to get a good spot by arriving Monday afternoon (the event starts officially on Thursday). The spot we chose overlooked Ellensburg, WA, but was clear in all directions. The first night the temperature plummeted to 36 degrees with a stiff wind. Not ideal astrophotography conditions! Still I managed some wide-field sky shots and decided it was a good night to catch some Zs.

Tuesday dawned with crystal clear blue skies — an excellent day for a hike to Lion’s rock. The hike to Lion’s rock allowed ample opportunity for wild flower photography and conversation with other astronomers. Tuesday night was the first of 5 excellent nights for astronomy. With the wind gone it was non-stop astrophotography!

By Wednesday the Table Mountain site was rapidly filling up. The big dobsonian reflectors had begun to dot the main scope field. These beasts of the amateur astronomy world can have mirrors as large as 40 inches! By Thursday the speakers tent went into action. One of the strengths of TMSP is its ready access to the University of Washington. This year Dr. Brownlee of the NASA Stardust project was the UW highlight. Dr. Brownlee was like a proud father discussing his successful Stardust comet return mission. But the star speaker didn’t come until Saturday night, David Levy. David Levy, of comet Shoemaker-Levy fame, gave a great talk on the passion of his life, astronomy.

One of the great things about star parties is meeting new friends. Jim, Ed, Kerri and Mark, where just a few of those new friends. I hope to see them next year at TMSP!

One of the problems plaguing today’s amateur astronomer is light pollution. Sometimes a little travel is in order to solve this problem. In this post and in future ones I’ll try to identify dark sky sites in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. If you know of such a site feel free to leave a comment or send me an email.

Scooteney Reservoir is a nicely maintained BLM campground 17 miles southeast of Othello, WA on state route 17. The skies are very dark and the campground has minimal lighting. Better yet the horizons are very open (high desert has its advantages!) and camping is only $15 a night. The campsites are flat and grassy with little dust.

During the day there are ample opportunities for hiking, watersports, and fishing. Here’s a Google Maps link:

Google Maps Link to Scooteney