A total of eleven HAA members travelled to Cherry Springs State Park in Pennsylvania to attend the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg, PA’s annual star party. Because I had to come home early, I promised to post this quick note on the blog. I hope that others will add to it and post some photos.

Both Thursday and Friday nights were clear, but Friday night was spectacular! The best skies I’ve seen at CSSP. The dark lanes and star clouds of the Milky Way were crisp and extended all the way to the horizon. Familiar deep sky objects popped out of the eyepiece of even the smallest telescopes. John and I were amazed at what we could see with our little 80 mm refractors: the North America nebula and the Veil nebula.

I had the best view ever of the Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) through Matthew’s 12″ Skywatcher and his new 13mm Ethos eyepiece. The detail visible in this galaxy was astonishing.

The forecast for this evening at CSSP is not looking too good, but last night’s forecast was for “mainly cloudy” and we had fabulous clear skies, so I hope for a repeat performance tonight for everyone still enjoying the star party.

Cheers,

Ann Tekatch