Eldorado Star Party - Video

Another Video from Rick. This time from the Eldorado Star Party!

Thanks Rick, I'll be looking forward to more videos from your iphone.

Eldorado Star Memories

I spent Wednesday-Saturday last week at the 2009 Eldorado Star Party. This was event fun. I have blogged about it for already so I will not go into too many details. I slept in my Honda Element each night and observed with my 16" Lightbridge. On Saturday morning I packed up and met up with my San Antonio group at Garner State Park for an outreach star party. I spent 4 nights observing 3 at ESP with Rick A. and other members of ESP and one night with my San Antonio Astronomical Association friends and camped one night at Garner State park.

Here are some photos from ESP 2009:

Texas Hash

Latest Report from Eldorado Star Party 2009
So far there have been two great nights. Last night's viewing ended around midnight because of dew :(. Rick and I worked on the ESP observing list (a.k.a. Texas Hash) and snagged 16 out of the 26 items on the list. Some of the favorites of last night were the Blinking Nebula, Saturn Nebula, and some 10-11th magnitude edge on Galaxies. It wasn't easy but not that hard either. ESP allows Go-To and Setting Circles but Rick and I don't any of that on our dob so we do good old fashion star hopping ;)

ESP Report- Oct. 14/15

Eldorado Star Party Report:

Rick and I arrived a few minutes apart late yesterday afternoon. We are both set
up our 16" Lightbridge telescopes next to each other. Last night the sky was
beautiful. Rick did some Hershel stuff for the Astronomy League and I worked on
getting some Messier Objects done for my Astronomy League award. I bagged about
25 Messier Objects last night detailing what I was seeing using a voice
recorder.

There are around 100+ telescopes here. We talked to people from all over Texas.
Rick and I are set up next to a guy from San Angelo and a woman from Houston.
Meade Telescopes is here with a tractor trailer full of stuff, ETX-LS, 16"
Lightbridge, PSTs and LX200 16". One of the Meade guys said he was from New Orleans.
I have chatted with many of the people here online and it is nice to now put a
face on a name.

Some other SAAA members are set up across the field in what I have dubbed "Camp
San Antonio". Mike F., Anne, and Yogie. Were there when I went by before sunset.

The first night was good and hopefully the rest will be the same!

-Matthew

Eldorado Star Party- Here I come

Today after work I'm heading to the Eldorado Star Party near Eldorado, Texas which is south of my hometown. I'll be there until Sunday morning. I'm hoping that the sky is nice. While I'm there I might drive up to Ft. McKavett to meet with some old astronomy friends doing a star party at the historical site there.

Here is a video I found from the 2008 ESP: