Thanks for a great star party! It was our first. I'm a novice to this amazing science called amateur astronomy. So new that, I don't have a telescope yet, but hoping to have one soon. My hope for coming to the NSP4 this year was to look and listen and experience amateur astronomy first hand and "learn by looking around". I was not disappointed. I felt a little overwhelmed at first, most stargazers were well equipped for the week long astronomy camping pow-wow with impressive telescopes. We came to Merritt equipped with binoculars, lawn chairs and a star wheel, oh, and plenty of bug spray. The drive from Omaha to Merritt Reservoir was an anxious 6 hour drive. As we drove through the desolate, but pretty sand hills of Cherry County I thought to myself only crazy people drive all the way out here to sit in the dark! How could this be exciting? Why would people give up a week of vacation, go without sleep just to sit-up and watch stars twinkle all night? I was about to understand why.

As evening approached several astronomers were busy setting up their big aperture scopes. They're incredible! I've got to get me one of those monster scopes. I had to go see these huge Dobsonians. My curiosity over powered my reservation. I watched and conversed with one gentleman from Baltimore, MD as he made adjustments. Other fellow astronomers gravitated around to admire the scope as well. I immediately noticed that the main 24" mirror box bore a handwritten signature. It read "John Dobson". Wow! I admired it. Even I know that John Dobson is recognized as the father of amateur astronomy. He pioneered astronomy for the masses. I'm sure the owner was equally proud of its unique status. We had friendly chat and I pushed on. I was amazed at how portable and mobile these huge scopes were. It was hot on Sunday, really hot, but I didn't mind. I felt like a little kid again on Christmas morning. As the sun settled in the west the observing site came alive as astronomers readied for the night watch. I watched impressive scopes come alive. How do these people afford these machines I thought? Money must be no object for them. It must be so exciting to explore the galaxy, especially if you know what you're looking at.

Cindy and I set up our site in the upper observing area on Sunday evening through Monday morning, as evening set-in we applied lethal doses of DEET to battle the mosquitoes and waited for the stars to come out. Although the skies were partially obscured Monday morning. We were treated to a spectacular view of the Milky Way overhead. I recognized many constellations I had read about. They were there just as my star wheel predicted. I tried to stay up all night but old man sleep over powered me at 2 AM. I've got so much more to learn about this amazing science, and no time waste.

This won't be our last star party, sign me up for NSP5 now. I learned a lot from our brief but exciting night out. Next year I'm coming equipped with a telescope ready to surf the sky. Many thanks to all those who volunteered their time to make it a complete success. I have one small suggestion for future star parties. New inexperienced novices like me are overwhelmed by the science. We need an introduction. How do we start? What equipment do I need? What can I see with an average telescope? Where are the interesting celestial places to go? What are the basic fundamentals of the science? How do I read a star wheel? These were questions I hoped to answer. If local astronomy clubs do not do this, then, I think it would be beneficial to host several seminars throughout the week (perhaps early and late in the week) dedicated to teach the novice about questions like these. I felt the programs on Friday were dedicated for more senior stargazers. If this seems like a good idea I would be happy to help.

Robert Altman