A Mini Star Party at Kye's Star Farm
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Saturday afternoon was consumed preparing for a full night of astro-imaging,
and as usual, I was the last one to arrive on the scene. The viewing field
was already full of cars, trailers, and scopes, so I had to set up on the
far outskirts near the big trees. This was probably all for the best,
because the mass of indicator LEDs from the array of cameras, autoguiders,
dew heaters, and computers lights up my LX200 like a Christmas Tree. Even
with a dark red filter on my laptop screen, I still have to wear sunglasses
to preserve my night vision.
In stark contrast to my solitary imaging sessions in the Everglades, Kye's Star Farm was tonight living up to it name. In addition to Kye and her 20" Obsession, the event was attended by Paul Crate with his TV85 refractor, Frank (whose last name I can't remember) with his Meade 10" Starfinder, Jim Mayes with his 6" dob, George DeBarros with his new Meade 8" LX200GPS, John Clifton with his nearly new Meade 12" LX200GPS, and Jim Kimball with his 14.5" Starmaster. All scopes other than my own 12" LX200 were set up for visual work. The skies were clear, the humidity was low, the winds were light and steady, and there were very few mosquitoes. I started imaging as soon as it was dark enough to do so, and I proceeded to capture perfect image after perfect image. In fact, if it weren't for the other scopes on the field through which I occasionally mooched a view, the evening would have been downright uneventful. We all had a splendid time and everyone stayed at it till the wee hours of the morning. Things finally started to wind down around 3 AM, and by 5:30 everyone was fast asleep. All in all, a very pleasant evening. Fred Lehman, May 31, 2003.
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