The 4th annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY
A Vacation in the Sandhills

By David Knisely

Once again this summer, amateur astronomers and their families gathered in the Nebraska Sandhills on the shores of Merritt Reservoir for NSP-4, a relaxing vacation under the stars. This year's event drew over 323 people from all over the continental U.S., along with some from as far away as Belgium, Brazil, and Johnston Atol (800 miles southwest of Hawaii) to take in the pleasant country and dark skies of northwestern Nebraska.

Merritt Reservoir is an 11-mile long lake with miles of white sand beaches about 26 miles southwest of Valentine, Nebr. (Pop. 2890). Other than Valentine, there are no towns or cities of significant size within 75 miles of the observing site. That, coupled with the high rolling terrain (altitude 3100 ft.), make for skies which are very dark and ideal for Deep-Sky viewing. The observing area was just south of the Snake Campground about 7.5 road miles from Merritt Resort along the south side of the lake. Accomodations included 16 cabins and several RV hookups at Merritt Resort, motels in Valentine, and multiple camping facilities at Merritt Reservoir State Park.

Since its inception, NSP organizers have strived to create an event which has something for everyone in the entire family. In addition to nighttime observing, a number of daytime events were organized, including a canoe/tubing trip, two catered meals, an ice cream social, and a beach party, along with the usual boating, swimming, fishing, golf and sightseeing activities in the area.

Friday August 1st brought clear skies for the early birds, allowing naked eye observers to see to magnitude 7.5. Tom Miller of Lincoln, Nebr. had his 30" Obsession cruising the Milky Way, stopping at various interesting places along the way. M22 showed color in its many stars, while the pinkish glow in M8 startled many observers. The 30" also made the nuclear region of M31 seem a faint orange in color. The Veil showed its usual fantastic filamentary structure, and the dark pillars of M16 were also sighted with ease. The humidity was high due to recent rains, but the seeing was unusually stable, allowing most scopes to go to their diffraction limits. Jupiter showed incredible detail in the 30", with numerous white ovals being seen near the rather pale Great Red Spot. During a transit of Io, the shadow and disk of that moon were easily visible, with the disk showing mottled reddish detail.

Saturday was partly cloudy and warm, with most activities centered around Merritt Reservoir. The 2-day STAR PARTY REGATTA for sailboats began that afternoon, sponsored by Yucca Dune of Valentine. Sailboat owners gave rides to NSP attendees, and then participated in a series of organized sailboat races. The early evening brought thunderstorms, but the skies cleared around midnight, allowing observers several hours of dark sky viewing.

Sunday marked the start of official registration and the second day of the Star Party Regatta. The Snake Campground began to fill up as attendees arrived, while those already present spent time on the lake skiing or just relaxing. Sunday night, a public star party was held in front of the Merritt Resort, covered live on radio station KVSH in Valentine. Lorri May of South Dakota gave a star talk for the radio audience, while about 15 telescopes set up by NSP attendees let 50 local residents see some of the wonders of the nighttime sky. Heavy Cirris clouds hampered southern sky observing, but once again, the seeing was quite stable.

Monday, registration continued, along with more water fun. Some attendees visited the nearby Fort Niobrara and Valentine Wildlife Refuges, while others fished in Merritt Reservoir. The star party made the news when NSP officials were interviewed on Nebraska Public Radio's "Nebraska-Nightly" program. That evening, the NSP-sponsored Ice Cream Social was held on the lower observing field just above the campground, with over 200 people being treated to free ice cream, pop, and tea, along with a lot of ice-breaking conversation. The first of the many NSP door prizes were also drawn for. The sky was mostly cloudy, but after the Ice Cream Social, most attendees congregated in a large number of groups to talk and tell some interesting stories. As darkness fell, a kite with a green glowbar ascended from the campground, prompting the start of the NSP photon war. Dave Scherping of Lincoln "shot" down the kite several times with a light salvo from his 20" flashgun-equipped Dobsonian, resulting in roars of applause from the attendees on the hill. A large ring of lawn chairs known as the "Ring-chair Nebula" marked the largest social group, which remained active until well after midnight.

Tuesday was similar in weather to Monday, with partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid 80's. Several NSP attendees tried their luck on an inflatable raft towed at high speed behind Tom Miller's boat, but most ended up in the water after becoming briefly airborne. A catered hamburger meal was held at the Resort, with most people then taking the short trip to the observing field for more talk. Several vendors were also set up on the observing fields for the attendees convenience. Once again, the skies were variably cloudy, but a group of school students from Valentine were treated to a look at the various telescope designs present on the observing fields. The entire Snake Campground was filled to near capacity by the tents and campers of NSP attendees. The owner of Mag-1 Instruments (maker of the PortaBall scope) set up a nice bonfire on the beach below the Snake Campground, letting the large number of families and children present roast marshmallows or just sit and talk around the fire. At this point, the star party seemed more like a relaxing pleasant family campout than a stressed-out observer's gathering, and no one seemed to be complaining about the skies!

Wednesday began to clear off, and hopes for a good night of observing began to rise. That afternoon, the Great NSP Beach Party began on the lake shore below Merritt Resort, with over 60 people in attendance. The kids were having fun smimming, flying NSP-provided kites over the lake, and pitching horseshoes in the beach sand. A mean session of sand vollyball was started at lakeside, followed by a massive tug-of-war. Then, the Sand Wedge Golf Pitching contest and the 3-legged races were held. A long-range sling-shot water balloon contest began with NSP presentation chairman Dave Scherping as the "Sitting-Duck" target, but one could seem to hit him with the balloons. Frustrated by this, many of the kids in the group grabbed the remaining water balloons and began a close-in attack, drenching Dave thoroughly! Around 4:30 p.m., the big gas grill was fired up, and attendees began cooking food they had brought down to the beach.

Wednesday evening brought clearing skies and nearly 100 telescopes to the observing areas south of the Snake Campground, with many people just setting up next to their tents or campers. "Dob Lane", a section of road between the main observing area and the campground field, had several giant instruments poised for use, including a 30", a 25", two 20" scopes, and a number of smaller ones. The southern high observing ridge was covered with a large number of Dobsonians, equatorial Newtonians, Schmidt Cassegrains, and big binoculars. As darkness fell, the whine of LX-200's could be heard as they slewed to their distant targets. On the west observing field. Mark Dahmke was using his 8" LX-200 and ST-7 CCD system to image things like Pluto, Jupiter, and the globular cluster NGC 6712. The Milky Way was again a bright target, prompting a lot of camera-only astrophotography. Many attendees cut short their observing so they could be rested for the next day's canoe trip.

Thursday morning, the Great NSP Canoe/Tubing trip in the Niobrara Canyon began, with attendees floating gently on the huge innertubes, or paddling the provided canoes down the scenic Niobrara river. Some on the tubes often got involved in some massive water gun battles, especially when several rather nefarious individuals hid on a weedy island and ambushed those floating downstream! Both canoers and tubers stopped at scenic Smith Falls for lunch, before continuing down the river to the finish. Thursday evening, there was a catered steak dinner at the cabins of Merritt Resort, followed by a clear but slightly windy session of viewing at the observing fields. The number of scopes grew even more impressive, with a 36" Tectron Newtonian known as "The Yard Scope" making its appearance.

Friday brought on the formal programs at the Valentine High School. The photos for the astrophotgraphy contest were on display, and voting by attendees continued into the afternoon. The vendors were set up in the lobby of the high school, while presentations were held in the auditorium. Presenters were Vic Winter: "Photos of Comet Hale-Bopp", Tom Gehringer: "Telescopes in Eductation", Brenda Culbertson: "Observing with Binoculars", Dave Scherping: "Name That Object Contest", Bob Linderholm: "Searching for Minor Planets", and Richard Wilds: "Observing Occultations". In addition, Vic Winter's H-alpha observing system was operating, providing attendees a close-up look at the solar chromosphere. Mike Ford also provided a nice demonstration of STAR LAB, the inflatable portable planetarium system. The various awards for the Astrophotography and Telescope Making contests were presented, and the remaining door prizes were given out. The grand prize was a Meade 14mm Ultrawide Eyepiece, with the grand children's prize being a pair of 7x35 binoculars. Observing again began in the evening back at the observing fields under partly cloudy skies. Saturday was mostly cloudy, and many attendees made preparations for their departures.

Overall, the 4th annual NEBRASKA STAR PARTY was a huge success despite the weather. This event has matured into one of the major star parties in the U.S., and from all indications, it will continue to grow in the near future.