NSP

Registration

Lodging

Activities

Site Info

NSP Online

NSP5

NSP4

Prairie
Astronomy
Club

Contact Us

by David Knisely

This year's Nebraska Star Party was a mixed bag of good fun, good friends, and variable observing conditions. Held at Merritt Reservoir, high in the Nebraska Sandhills near Valentine, the event is a combination of a family vacation and a week-long dark sky observing session. The weather this year seemed to be the biggest problem, as it started out very hot (like much of the rest of the midwest), and ended up rainy. Friday July 17th, before the official start of the star party, nearly 100 early birds were already gathering on the observing fields near the Snake Campground to star their week of viewing. As it turned out, they got the best viewing that night, with many people seeing stars as faint as 7.5, and a few hitting the 8.0 level. Unfortunatly, the unusually hot wet weather the sandhills had been experiencing over the past month had spawned a bumber crop of mosquitoes, making observing a bit more of a challenge than usual. Still, several large truss-tube Dobsonians made their appearance on "Dob Row", and the views were spectacular. The brilliant Milky Way once again held center stage, with most people hitting the old favorites along its star-studded length. M8 and M20 looked almost photographic in these giants, and the brighter globulars were stunning. In Tom Miller's 30 inch Obsession, M13's many stars even showed some color in them. The tiny galaxy IC-4617 near M13 made its appearance in Tom's 30", and nearby NGC 6207 showed some interesting detail. The real winner of the night was the bright planetary nebula NGC 6543 in Draco, known as "The Cat's Eye Nebula". All scopes on the field showed its beautiful bluish-green color, and the 30 inch revealed the weak inner arcs, the fan-like cusps on the ends, and the faint irregular outer shell. The central star was easily visible even in a ten inch. NGC 7662 also showed interesting interior detail, with its odd off-center inner shell.

Saturday afternoon brought the start of registration, along with hot temperatures which made many people seek the cooler waters of the lake. The heat spawed early evening thunderstorms and gusty winds, but the sky cleared after midnight, letting night owls get several hours of observing in.

Sunday was also quite warm, which convinced more attendees that the water was the place to be. A clear sunset heralded the star of the public star party for the people in the Valentine area, which was held just north of the Merritt Resort. Lori May gave her usual fine constellation talk, while scopes from four to 18 inches in aperture let visitors get a look at the wonders of the dark sandhills skies. Later, those helping with the public party went back to the main observing fields to continue taking advantage of the dark skies. A group set up with just binoculars and lounge chairs seemed to have the most fun. Barnard's galaxy was logged with a pair of 10x70 binoculars, and several people managed to see M27 with the unaided eye. Although not quite as transparent as Friday evening, Sunday's skies did let attendees see much of the interesting dark nebulae in Sagittarius and Ophiuchus.

Monday was again hot, but this didn't stop the NSP Beginner's Field School from giving some new people a chance to get into amateur astronomy from the ground floor. Brenda Culbertson from Topeka Kansas taught nearly 100 attendees with her own comprehensive manual, provided free of charge. Sessions were held Monday through Thursday, and gave many people the help the needed. The evening ice cream social went off without a hitch. The star party was covered on Nebraska Public Radio, as several attendees were interviewed on the fields. Darin Stephens of Bushnell Sports Optics gave a talk on future manned missions to Mars to attendees on the observing field. However, the evening skies began to cloud over, putting an early end to observing, but not the socializing. Vendors also began setting up on the observing fields, allowing many people to shop for much needed accessories. The first of the many door prizes were also given out.

Tuesday brought a break in the heat with mostly cloudy skies and much cooler temperatures. The field school continued, and a number of people spent time fishing or doing some extensive kite flying over the dunes on the observing fields. The evening brought the hamburger BBQ, more door prizes, and more socializing, but little observing could be done due to cloud cover. Once again, the NSP "Mystery" Kite made its ghostly ascension over the observing fields. Two green glow bars and a red flasher made it quite a sight, and a real mystery for a church group who weren't in on the secret.

Wednesday was warmer with partly cloudy skies. The Great NSP Beach Party began in earnest in the afternoon, with many attendees taking time swimming or boating, while others just basked in the warm sun. Tom Miller once again had a new device for giving people the "wilies" in the water. It was a huge inflatable cylinder which was towed behind his boat, giving the few who dared to try it a wild spinning ride around the lake. A mean session of sand volleyball got started, with others trying their luck at horseshoes or the sand wedge pitching contest. Finally, this year's water balloon slingshot event managed to hit clear skies coordinator Dave Scherping from long range with more than a few water-filled bombs. More kites filled the air, and groups of kids and adults participated in the 3-legged races on the beach. The big gas grill was fired up at 4:30 p.m., and the cooking began, with people fixing everything from simple hamburgers to steaks, fish, and other dishes. After the BBQ, most attendees congregated on the observing fields for more talk, and the skies opened up with a huge clear observing "window" which lasted about 2 hours before clouding over.

Thursday dawned stormy, with heavy thunderstorms and rain, forcing many to cancel their trips down the Niobrara river, although about 60 brave souls did tough it out. Thursday evening brought the catered steak dinner, along with the judging of the telescope making contest, but the skies were variably cloudy with an occasional misty rain.

Friday's activities centered around the Valentine High School Auditorium and the scheduled talks. Dave Knisely of the Prairie Astronomy Club, Lincoln Nebr. started things off with a presentation on observing Planetary Nebulae, followed by Louis Dorland of the Omaha Astronomical Society with his talk on time. The vendors once again set up in the high school lobby, along with the winners of the telescope making contest. A unique 16 inch truss-tube altazimuth Newtonian won both the Technical Innovation and the Best Design awards. This design featured a unique method of attaching the truss tubes in coupled pairs, along with a versatile mirror cell which allowed easy mirror alignment as well as mirror cleaning without removal from the instrument. The Best Workmanship award went to a ten inch equatorial Newtonian with a PVC tube and aluminum reinforcing to prevent tube flexure. The Astronomical Accessories Award went to a beautiful observing trailer which contained sleeping quarters, storage space for a large dobsonian, and a computer.

After lunch, Steve Edmondson, a biochemist at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine did an interesting talk on Astro-biology and "extremophiles". Gary Fugman followed with a presentation on observing variable stars. Carolyn Peterson of Sky Publishing gave an inspirational presentation on the Future of Amateur Astronomy, while Tippy D'Auria, founder of the Winter Star Party, gave talks on the Milky Way, and Collimating the Newtonian Telescope. A large number of doorprizes were given out, including several eyepieces, a 4.5" Bushnell Newtonian, and a Meade ETX Maksutov. The evening sky remained mostly cloudy. Saturday found most attendees preparing to head home with hopes of attending the next Nebraska Star Party, NSP-6 August 7-14, 1999. For more information, check out our website at: http://www.4w.com/nsp

David Knisely