The Leonids
For the Leonid meteor shower, a huge group (approximately 30 people!) drove up to Port Matilda to hang out with the CPO. The shower was spectacular! Here's the breakdown of how many meteors we counted (thanks to Shinji):
11:30-12:30 85 meteors
12:30-01:30 130 meteors
01:30-02:30 240 meteors
02:30-03:35 545 meteors
03:35-04:35 1000 meteors
04:35-05:20 1900++ meteors
(lost count at this point but well over 2000 meteors for the hour)
Grand Total 4000++ meteors
There were a bunch of fireballs
that exploded up and since Scott had his telescope there, we got to see the dust
and vapor trails of those that destructed when they hit the atmosphere. It was
the best that the Leonids will be for the next 100 years and we were definitely
not disappointed!
Black Forest Star Party
Our first outing was the Black Forest Star Party at Cherry Springs State Park in Potter County, PA (a few hour drive from State College). The four officers and Shinji left in the late afternoon to arrive at the starparty just as dusk was falling. There were no fees for entry as long as we did not have camping or stargazing equipment. Shinji brought along a camera and did a bit of astrophotography while we wandered amongst the hundreds of scopes, asking people if we could see what they were looking at. Though it was rather chilly in early September, the view was the most spectacular any of us could remember seeing! The largest telescope there was 20 inches! We ended up sleeping in the cars and driving back in the morning. It was a great trip!