Weekend #1 (January 12)

The odds were NOT in our favor on this night!  Weather forecasters consistently showed two fronts, one coming and one going, with a suspect window of opportunity in between.  Since that window coincided with the first hours of nightfall, I decided to give it a shot.  My goal was to test a shiny new Nagler 3-6mm zoom eyepiece on Jupiter & Saturn.  Besides, Arunah Hill is always an interesting place to visit (see ‘Winter Scenes’).

The road had already been plowed when I arrived late in the afternoon.  As many know, a cleared road does not guarantee a leisurely winter drive to the summit of Arunah Hill.  I’m proud to say that I made it, in my two-wheel drive pickup, on the first run!  Shortly thereafter, Bob Osgood had the Club House stove going, and the Gaertner ready.  As things turned out, Bob, John Davis, myself, and a couple other fellows (whose names I’ve forgotten), comprised the entire star party.

At the Arunah Hill Winter Star Party, you want to be ready to go at sunset.  Fortunately, Jupiter and Saturn were well clear of the Holyoke/Springfield light dome.  Bob worked the Gaertner while I maintained a lonely vigil at the summit.

I stand corrected!  I originally thought we observed a a double transit of Jupiter’s satelites Io and Europa.  That belief lasted until I read the April issue of Sky & Telescope.  In the Observer’s Notebook (“Jupiter: The Story So Far”, pg. 105), Gary Seronik describes a number of recent developments including: “...two intense barges through the longitudinal span of the North Equatorial Belt (NEB)."

The sky fell in around 9:00 pm.  For once, I was home early with no frozen digits.  All things considered, I have no regrets about making the trek to AH, and I look forward to Weekend #2 on February 9th!

                                                                             - Dan Carnevale, 03/04/2002

The second Arunah Hill (AH) Winter Star Party of the season looked like it was turning into another non-event, as some wispy clouds started to sift in during the afternoon. But by late afternoon, the sky started opening up and cars and trucks began climbing the hill to the upper parking lot with little trouble. The Star Party was on! Earlier in the day, some of our more dedicated members (Steve Pielock, Peter Sherff, Bill Fuller, John Davis and Ray Burk) had sanded the road all the way to the top, so that 4-wheel drive was not a requirement. It always amazes me when we can drive to the top of AH in mid-February!

Dan Carnevale had his scope set up in the early afternoon, while myself and John Davis waited until later on to plant our scopes. The clubhouse stove was stoked up and members and several guests from the Connecticut area warmed themselves in between preparations for the evening festivities. Around sunset, the hill was abuzz with Joe Zuraw and other members opening up the Gaertner, directing people from the bottom of the hill, setting up other scopes and sanding any slippery spots on the ground near the telescopes. Craig Cordis and several other Aldrich Club members arrived; followed by first time Arunah Hill visitors Tom and Gerry. They had ordered a telescope, but hoped that the star party would give them some ideas as to what to look at. They were not disappointed!

Jupiter and Saturn provided some good views, with highlights including a transit of a Jupiter moon, a fine division in one of Jupiter's bands and some quite clear images of Saturn. I observed much of this in Dan's refractor, in between quick trips back to my Dob to compare images. I also spent some time observing some sorely missed old favorites like the Eskimo Nebula and galaxies M81,82 and M31,33. Ray Burk and Bill Fuller demonstrated the use of the Gaertner refractor while observing several planets, star clusters and nebulae. John Davis showed some of our visitors many of his favorite asterisms of the winter sky, as well as star clusters and nebulae, but the highlight of the evening was some fantastic views of the Great Orion Nebula. It seems that many of us had not seen this beautiful sight lately, and most telescopes seemed to visit the nebula at least once that evening. New visitors were delighted with the detail resolved from Arunah Hill.

Several more people showed up as the evening wore on, including new friends of Arunah Hill David Cohn, his wife Camella and their two daughters. They observed some different views of Jupiter through Dan's Refractor and my Dob, and then caught some great images of Saturn and the double cluster through one of the Aldrich Club's refractors. Approximately 35 people enjoyed a great winter evening at the top of a hill, and once again I was reminded of how lucky we are to be a part of the Arunah Hill Natural Science Center. What more could we ask for than to be observing our universe together on a clear evening with dark skies and sharing that joy with others? Around 10:30 or 11:00, wispy clouds began to appear here and there, my son Jon was napping in my truck, and my feet began to get cold. As I drove down the hill and towards home, I couldn't help but think about the upcoming Messier Marathon and hoped that our good fortune would continue.

                                                                               - Jim Downing, 03/04/2002