June 29, 2012 Chicago White Sox Campout

I love astronomy and I love White Sox baseball. When the two can come together, well, it's the most awesome feeling in the universe.





For the full story and hundreds of pictures, read the full thread at Chicago Astronomer.

Chicago Astronomers Wrap Up Season with Chicago Park District

As always with a Chicago Astronomer session, do yourself a favor, and read the full account here.

When we do astronomy sessions for the Chicago Park District, I try to arrive early when traveling to a park I’ve never been to, in case I get lost. With the last Chicago Park District-Chicago Astronomer session of the year at Palmisano Park at 29^th & Halstead, near the White Sox ballpark, there was little chance of me getting lost. I arrived early anyway, because I like to set up in daylight, and scout the surroundings.








Our set up site at 29th & Halsted.

I wandered around, and climbed the hill. The top of the hill would have put us above the pesky streetlights that hinder sidewalk observing, but it was agreed that it was too far to haul heavy equipment, and would cut down on foot traffic. And, it was kind of muddy. The top of the hill, though, provides a nice view of the city skyline, and the power plant smoke stack that we see so often in Joe’s alley observation pictures. I even caught a sundog just before sunset.

The downtown sky line from the top of the hill.

Not the best sundog, but still cool.


After the Sun set, I caught faint rays of sunlight glowing above the horizon. They're still hard to see in these pictures, but I've manipulated the color and contrast to try to show the rays better.

I started getting ready just before Rich arrived, with Joe following shortly after. Joe brought out the “sewer pipe” Dob for me to use. I had seen it in pictures, but never in action. I wasn’t sure what to expect from it. I’ll come back to it’s performance later. Even before full darkness fell, and before telescopes were ready for viewing, we started drawing a crowd. For the first time at a Park District observation, there were even visitors seeking us out.




The "sewer pipe" Dob makes a rare appearance.




Joe prepping the C11 mount.




Rich's 10" Dob is almost ready to go.

The sewer pipe Dob was heavy, and a bit awkward to carry, so it took both Joe and I to carry and set up. There was no sort of finder scope for the Dob, so Rich lent his Telrad to make finding things a little easier for me. Under so many streetlights, it’s difficult enough to find celestial delights; with no way to scout the sky, it’s almost impossible. We wrapped the Telrad with duct tape to attach it to the OTA, which worked for awhile. At some point though, it was bumped into, and never held just right after that, even when wrapping it with more tape. At that point, I gave up on the scope until Jupiter was up, which wasn't long after. The sewer pipe gave nice Jovian views, at both low and high magnifications. At the end of the night I recommended to Joe that the scope was worth trying to modify for more regular service. 

I showed Albireo with the sewer pipe Dob until the problem with the Telrad. At that point, I capped it, and set up my own Dob. Within a few minutes, however, Jupiter had risen above the neighboring buildings, and I kept both scopes targeting the Jovian system the rest of the night. It was quite a bit of work to keep up with both scopes, but it cut down the waiting time. Also, being nearest the intersection, I think it fell to me to make first contact with many of our visitors, keeping me even busier. I felt up to the task.

The C11 always draws a crowd.




Bill made a brief visit, checking out Jupiter.








Think we had enough scopes showing Jupiter?






Patrick was able to snag some tougher targets with his go-to scope.




It's always good to make friends with Chicago Police.






Rich handled the last of the crowd while the rest of us packed our gear.

When Jupiter first rose, only three satellites were visible. When a fourth Moon emerged, it was correctly assumed to be Io. However, shortly after, I noticed a shadow on one of the cloud bands, and assumed that Io must have transited, and now it’s shadow was crossing the planet. After checking Redshift, I now know that Io was occulted behind Jupiter, and the shadow most likely belonged to Europa, or possibly Ganymede. It could not have been Io’s though. It was still fun to show the solar system in motion.

Patrick was the last of our astronomers to show up, and I didn’t have a chance to talk to him before we set up. Despite an almost non-stop stream of visitors, I snuck off at one point to check out what he was viewing. From a distance I figured it was either Andromeda Galaxy or the Double Cluster. I was treated to a quick peek at our neighbor galaxy. Ah, the benefit of a go-to scope under bright streetlights.

It was a cold session, but with the constant action, I hardly felt it. I did notice dew nearly everywhere, though. The time zipped by, and before I knew, Heather from the park district advised that we should call it a night and pack up. We were still drawing a crowd though, and Rich handled the late comers while the rest of us got ready to leave. We took a parting group picture, but for Patrick, his friend Jason, and me, our night of observing was about to begin in earnest. They followed me to back to Indiana for more viewing at Conway Observatory until the wee hours. The session at Palmisano Park, wrapping up the observing season for the Chicago Park District, felt like an overwhelming success, and I’m already looking forward to helping out again next year, if they wish to continue the program.

Columbia College, Chicago, 4 OCT 2011

Do yourself a favor: read the full story and see all the pictures at Chicago Astronomer.

You're still here? Thanks, but you're missing out.


Sometime this past summer, the Museum of Contemporary Photography of Chicago's Columbia College contacted Chicago Astronomer Joe Guzman about a joint observation. Joe then asked me to participate, and I was honored to be asked. Originally scheduled for September 8 to coincide with the opening of the exhibit "Our Origins," it was pushed back to October 4 due to weather. The October session was tied into a talk by Kathryn Schaffer, PhD, entitled, "Beyond Visibility: Photography and our Connection to the Cosmos." After the lecture, guests would be invited to cross Michigan Avenue to Grant Park, where Joe and I would be showcasing the 8 day old Moon, and later Jupiter.

The plan was for me to meet Joe at his house, load my equipment into his van, and carpool to the downtown college. I arrived in the city way too early, so I drove downtown to try to get a glimpse of the observation site. When I finally turned onto Michigan Ave., it was from Harrison St. I didn't know it, but we later set up right across the street. As I was sitting at the light waiting to turn, I saw Chicago Astronomer Steve come around the corner. I honked and waved, but he didn't see me. What are the odds?

I showed up at Joe's house just in time to transfer my equipment and get to the college. Chicago Astronomer Support Crew Barbara and our Columbia College liaison Corrine were waiting for us on the southeast corner of Michigan & Harrison. Joe double parked on the street long enough for us to unload the gear, then left to park his van at the school parking lot. When he returned, he hurried to set up his scope, as my Dobsonian was ready to go in just the few minutes Joe was gone.




What a backdrop! Michigan Ave, the Magnificent Mile! Grant Park!




Two Chicago Astronomers, ready to show other worlds to the city. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.


Right away there was a small crowd eager to see the Moon. We always get good crowds when we set up near Adler Planetarium, but this was different. The college students were full of energy, and were especially eager to soak up any insight we could provide, and gather plenty of lunar photons to their eyes. The enthusiasm was contagious, as passersby on Michigan Ave. stopped to get in on the action. Even they were more attentive than the more relaxed and casual visitors we encounter near Adler.




Right away I had an audience ready to see the Moon. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.







Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.


Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.




Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.

Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.






Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.

Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.

Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.

The night before, I noticed that libration had rotated the visual western limb towards us, allowing a small peek onto the "far side" of the Moon. I pointed this out at every chance, and used my 3' laminated lunar map to show what to look for.




A favorable libration let us see the "far" side of the Moon.


Since early in the observing season, Barbara has been at many Chicago Astronomer sessions, making first contact with many visitors, allowing those of us with telecopes to attend directly to those looking through our scopes at the moment. I know she's done a great job facilitating viewing, but I finally had a chance to really notice it. Despite the almost non-stop viewing at my telescope, I was able to see Barbara pulling in the crowd, engaging them, and directing people to our telescopes. She allowed Joe and I to stay focused on the  individual observing experience, instead of being pulled in many different directions at one time. Big thanks to Barbara for her effort.




Having Barbara on site to assist is a tremendous help.


Chicago Astronomer Tom dropped by for awhile, and helped document the event.




Tom got his camera ready while I changed eyepieces. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Tom Lee.



Photo credit: Tom Lee.



Photo credit: Tom Lee.



Photo credit: Tom Lee.



Photo credit: Tom Lee.



Photo credit: Tom Lee.



Photo credit: Tom Lee.



Photo credit: Tom Lee.



Photo credit: Tom Lee.


And of course, Chicago Police always come see what's going on. We're glad they do.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.


Since most of our early visitors were aware that Jupiter would rise to visibility around 8:15, many waited around to see it. When it finally cleared a distant tree, I re-positioned my Dob a few feet south to get a clear view. We lost the Moon to the skyscrapers across the street soon after Jupiter rose, but for a few minutes I was able to go back and forth between them with ease. Joe wasn't so lucky. He had an obstructed view to the east, and we had to drag the C11 Beast a few feet so that he could capture the Jovian system.

Jupiter has always been my favorite planet to observe. Saturn and it's glorious rings are the obvious crowd pleasers, but with our especially attentive audience, the Jovian system was a joy to show off. It's low position in the sky didn't allow for good high magnification viewing, but at low power Jupiter was looking darn impressive. And those four little dots accompanying the gas giant got plenty of attention too, especially when I stated that their sizes roughly compare to our own Moon.




Just before we lost the Moon behind the skyscrapers across Michigan Ave. For a few minutes I was able to go back and forth between Jupiter and Luna, but not for long.




After the Moon dropped behind the skyline.










We had to move the C11 a few feet so Joe could show Jupiter through the obstruction.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.

Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.

By 9 PM, Corrine had told us that our obligation to the college was met, and that we could stay as long as we wished, or until the park closed. By that time, foot traffic was thinning out, and we decided to break down the site not long after 9:00. Joe and I parted ways with Barbara when her bus came, then we left too. To celebrate a successful observation with 78 visitors, Joe treated me to my first Maxwell St. hot dog. (If you have a Chicago style hot dog, chances are it's copying the famous Maxwell St. dogs). We sat there discussing how we got involved in public astronomy, and the future of the Chicago Astronomer organization. We both see big things ahead, but it will take a lot of work. The payoff, though, could be well worth it.




Joe with Corrine, the organizer from Columbia College. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.

Photo credit: Tom Lee.

L-R: Joe, me, Barbara. The crew getting ready to wrap up a fun night. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.

Just before I dig in to my first Maxwell St. dog. Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.

As Joe drove back to his house, he took me past a few locations that might be promising observation sites someday. After loading my equipment into my car, we hung around in the alley for a few minutes. Joe showed me the marks on the ground where he set up the C11 (to aid in polar aligning), and the view through the trees and power lines where he saw the M101 supernova last month. I also saw the Chevelle in his garage for the first time since it's involvement in a hit-and-run crash in June 2010. Running on little sleep though, I soon had to head home and get to bed. It was a high energy session, and one of the most fun times I've had sharing the sky with the public.



Photo credit: Chicago Astronomer.




"Success!"