AstroSmurf
07-March-2005, 09:41 AM
This weekend I got to visit my second-ever star party (the first was this autumn). The place was Lysvik, a rural place in Värmland - slightly too close to the lights of the village, but far enough that they didn't really bother us. We had uncommon luck with the weather - the first evening was clear by urban standards, though somewhat hazy, but the second was smashing. Starting with observations of Mercury, most people continued with observations of the Orion nebula and various Messier objects, when the strange haze in the north revealed itself to be a fantastic aurora that lasted for *hours*. Fortunately, it didn't obscure much in the way of interesting objects, so we truly had the best of both worlds. It was very cold, however, so I turned in for bed at about 11pm both nights.
An interesting part of Saturday's programme was a lecture on modern physics by a professor from nearby Karlstad University. Most of the things he spoke about were old hat to anyone who's debated Sam5, but it was interesting to see that even this was new to many in the audience, who seemed a little reluctant to accept some of the examples in relativity. All the same, it was interesting to see what direction research is taking these days.
I managed to completely botch an attempt to collimate my reflector by getting the secondary holder rotated, so my observations the first night (before the attempt) were actually better than the second. Best just chalk it up as a learning experience. :-? Still, I had a great time, and I'm probably going to return next year as well.
An interesting part of Saturday's programme was a lecture on modern physics by a professor from nearby Karlstad University. Most of the things he spoke about were old hat to anyone who's debated Sam5, but it was interesting to see that even this was new to many in the audience, who seemed a little reluctant to accept some of the examples in relativity. All the same, it was interesting to see what direction research is taking these days.
I managed to completely botch an attempt to collimate my reflector by getting the secondary holder rotated, so my observations the first night (before the attempt) were actually better than the second. Best just chalk it up as a learning experience. :-? Still, I had a great time, and I'm probably going to return next year as well.