MASP Final Thoughts

What an amazing week. We had 6 absolutely clear nights and tons of fun. Roughly 250-300 people had shown up by the end.

I think our club's setup had a big impact on the fun factor. We had a central scope area where we could conveniently talk, compare views, share equipment, etc. while observing. Our tents were setup around the scope area. Having that well-defined perimeter helped us keep an eye on each other's stuff and have a bit of privacy.

The big accomplishment for me this week was learning what my scope can do. This was my first time using it anywhere besides Farrington, and the difference was remarkable. I had an opportunity to compare it to a Starmaster 24 made around the same time and with a mirror from the same maker. The 24's views were a bit brighter, but there was no overwhelming difference. I looked at a handful of objects, and I didn't notice much more detail in the 24. Comparing views alone, I don't think you would ever guess that one had 78% more light gathering ability. Based on what I've been told, I think the limiting factor is the sky conditions in NC. It seems that the 18 really is at the edge where diminishing returns really kick in. In any case, the 18 exceeded my expectations and performed really well all week long.

Speaking of equipment, I learned that I need active dew prevention. I was fairly successful at preventing dew by keeping caps on everything until the moment I looked through, but it still became a problem each night around 1-2am. I will invest in something like a Dew Buster soon to heat the secondary, finder, and eyepiece.

I counted three vendors (including Big Bang and SE Camera), none of which set up shop before Thursday. I managed to leave them with only $40 of my money, which got me a head-mounted red light and the S&T Pocket Sky Atlas. I can't say enough good things about that atlas. I had previously been primarily using the finder charts in the Night Sky Observer's Guide, but those are small and often too cluttered to compare with the naked-eye sky. Now I look things up in the NSOG, but then use the atlas to actually find them. It is very handy to fold the atlas backward and carry it up the stepladder, using it to navigate right at the finder. This is how I hopped around the galaxies in Pegasus quickly and easily. I will try to remember to bring my copy to the CHAOS meeting on 11/11/08.

After seeing the Horsehead, I think Robert and I are both in the market for a Hydrogen-Beta filter. Otherwise, I left quite satisfied with my equipment situation, save the dew prevention. I had an opportunity to compare a couple of other Pentax XW eyepieces, but didn't feel very strongly about them. I think my 10mm might be the best one in the line, and hits that sweet spot of 200X for my scope.

It was a bummer not having on-site food service, but I think we did fine without it. There was a nightly club outing at 5pm to get food at a local establishment (usually Carolina Fried Chicken). I brought a bunch of snacks plus 6 burritos of varying types, and generally downed a burrito as a late meal around 11pm each night. It was nice to take a short break and warm up inside the building while getting some food.

In general, we mostly stayed in our own area at night. Robert and I were both too distracted with our new toys to spend too much time browsing the views in other people's scopes. I think most of us wanted to take advantage of the great conditions to put in some good time on our own equipment. Plus, we had enough heavy artillery in-house to provide variety at very high quality. In particular, Robert's Tak and my Starmaster complement each other very well, each excelling in different areas. Our eyepiece collections are also very complementary.

I was surprised by how much fun we had with two wide-field Orion 4" F/5 refractors. I didn't realize how well they could perform under reasonably dark skies. We got the entire Veil into one field of view, which was breath-taking! The only problem we had was dealing with the weight of a big diagonal and big wide-field eyepiece.

I am so glad that I went to MASP, and I can't wait for the next star party. We have a really great group of folks who are an absolute pleasure to observe with. I learned a lot, saw tons of amazing views, and left completely satisfied.