Post by bsimon615 on Feb 10, 2022 11:37:20 GMT -6
Ok, time flies. It seems like just yesterday we held the 39th Annual Deep South Star Gaze. While it is still a long 8 months before our 40th Annual Deep South Star Gaze, we can satisfy our astronomy appetites with the end of April/beginning of May Deep South Spring Scrimmage. Specifically the dates are Wednesday April 27th to Sunday May 1st. So for anyone attending for the duration that is potentially 4 nights under the stars.
Originally we were thinking about going a bit earlier (one moon cycle earlier) but for what we believe are good reasons, the late April days it will be. Some of the reasons are:
1) Potential for major pollen drop issues with the earlier dates - I have attended star parties in the past that were scheduled in late February thru March where the nasty green stuff has been a major issue. (Just look up and read articles written by Clay Sherrod about dealing with pollen on optics, and how you should remove it to avoid having the nasty stuff affect your coatings.) So, the late April dates minimizes this concern.
2) We get Omega Centaurus up earlier for observing.
3) For those who want to get up earlier on Saturday morning you will be treated to a very close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus just separated by just 12 arc minutes (0.2 degrees). Neptune, Mars and Saturn will all be nearby. See photos that I will attach here.
4) Historically the weather should be warmer but still spring-like.
There is a downside, unfortunately. For those who like to attend the Jazz Fest you will find that the 1st Weekend of Jazz Fest conflicts with our dates, but you can always attend Jazz Fest the following weekend. I tried to get them to change their dates, but.......err, they said - "Maybe next time."
Our dates also coincide with both the Texas Star Party and the Mid South Star Gaze.....so you have options.
Please remember too, that as the Spring Scrimmage is more low key (than the Deep South in the fall) we have no registration fee. There is of course fees for lodging, rv/camper space and meals. For any that just come for the day who are not staying overnight there is a "Day Use Fee". All of this will be spelled out on the "No Registration Fee - Registration Form." I hope to have the form ready on this message board in about another month if not sooner.
Other News -
Fortunately it seems that the whole COVID Issue is getting better. The Omicron Variant has not been as bad as earlier variants and it has both increased awareness and perhaps with more cases and more antibodies being developed it has helped us get closer to herd immunity. Last fall we had a vaccine mandate in place and our attendees complied. I can think of only two attendees who did not attend because of the mandate but we picked up a few more because we had the mandate. We are now strongly recommending that everyone have the vaccine(s). I do have the records from the fall and we will have a check box on the registration form for verification, but we will not be checking to confirm vaccination status. There will be no mask mandate indoors or out of doors. We will segregate attendees that are signing up for bunk space by vaccination status. (One or more bunk rooms for those vaccinated and one or more bunk rooms for those who are not vaccinated.)
Additionally as many of you know, we have had an ongoing issue with an attendee who feels that it is perfectly ok to wear a gun on his hip, either in plain sight or somewhat concealed. The 2nd Amendment is cited as a rationale for doing this as well as the fact that up until the last incident this had not been addressed on our Liability Waiver or in our page about Observing Field Rules. Wearing clothing is not addressed in our rules either, but both wearing clothes and not carrying weapons is a common sense thing that up until now we did not feel we had to specifically address. This has been addressed now on both the Liability Waiver and on our Observing Field Rules pages. This was not a unilateral decision, it was by consensus and with input from others. According to Mississippi state law a private entity can forbid gun carry within their establishment or property and there are signs that can be posted as reminders. (We will have those signs.) The Deep South and the Spring Scrimmage are private events that one has to register for and if a prospective attendee does not feel inclined to follow reasonable guidelines that everyone else has no problem complying with, well basically then....you are not welcome and your registration will not be accepted. Carol at White Horse told me that while we are the renters of her property that our rules about this are her rules. So we hope this issue is finally put to rest.
Note - if you typically have a gun in your vehicle, in your glove box or under your seat, please leave it there. I don't think you will need it for protection against the wild rabbits or the turkey buzzards.
As always, if anyone has questions, please reply to this thread.
Barry Simon, Director
Deep South Star Gaze/Deep South Spring Scrimmage
Originally we were thinking about going a bit earlier (one moon cycle earlier) but for what we believe are good reasons, the late April days it will be. Some of the reasons are:
1) Potential for major pollen drop issues with the earlier dates - I have attended star parties in the past that were scheduled in late February thru March where the nasty green stuff has been a major issue. (Just look up and read articles written by Clay Sherrod about dealing with pollen on optics, and how you should remove it to avoid having the nasty stuff affect your coatings.) So, the late April dates minimizes this concern.
2) We get Omega Centaurus up earlier for observing.
3) For those who want to get up earlier on Saturday morning you will be treated to a very close conjunction of Jupiter and Venus just separated by just 12 arc minutes (0.2 degrees). Neptune, Mars and Saturn will all be nearby. See photos that I will attach here.
4) Historically the weather should be warmer but still spring-like.
There is a downside, unfortunately. For those who like to attend the Jazz Fest you will find that the 1st Weekend of Jazz Fest conflicts with our dates, but you can always attend Jazz Fest the following weekend. I tried to get them to change their dates, but.......err, they said - "Maybe next time."
Our dates also coincide with both the Texas Star Party and the Mid South Star Gaze.....so you have options.
Please remember too, that as the Spring Scrimmage is more low key (than the Deep South in the fall) we have no registration fee. There is of course fees for lodging, rv/camper space and meals. For any that just come for the day who are not staying overnight there is a "Day Use Fee". All of this will be spelled out on the "No Registration Fee - Registration Form." I hope to have the form ready on this message board in about another month if not sooner.
Other News -
Fortunately it seems that the whole COVID Issue is getting better. The Omicron Variant has not been as bad as earlier variants and it has both increased awareness and perhaps with more cases and more antibodies being developed it has helped us get closer to herd immunity. Last fall we had a vaccine mandate in place and our attendees complied. I can think of only two attendees who did not attend because of the mandate but we picked up a few more because we had the mandate. We are now strongly recommending that everyone have the vaccine(s). I do have the records from the fall and we will have a check box on the registration form for verification, but we will not be checking to confirm vaccination status. There will be no mask mandate indoors or out of doors. We will segregate attendees that are signing up for bunk space by vaccination status. (One or more bunk rooms for those vaccinated and one or more bunk rooms for those who are not vaccinated.)
Additionally as many of you know, we have had an ongoing issue with an attendee who feels that it is perfectly ok to wear a gun on his hip, either in plain sight or somewhat concealed. The 2nd Amendment is cited as a rationale for doing this as well as the fact that up until the last incident this had not been addressed on our Liability Waiver or in our page about Observing Field Rules. Wearing clothing is not addressed in our rules either, but both wearing clothes and not carrying weapons is a common sense thing that up until now we did not feel we had to specifically address. This has been addressed now on both the Liability Waiver and on our Observing Field Rules pages. This was not a unilateral decision, it was by consensus and with input from others. According to Mississippi state law a private entity can forbid gun carry within their establishment or property and there are signs that can be posted as reminders. (We will have those signs.) The Deep South and the Spring Scrimmage are private events that one has to register for and if a prospective attendee does not feel inclined to follow reasonable guidelines that everyone else has no problem complying with, well basically then....you are not welcome and your registration will not be accepted. Carol at White Horse told me that while we are the renters of her property that our rules about this are her rules. So we hope this issue is finally put to rest.
Note - if you typically have a gun in your vehicle, in your glove box or under your seat, please leave it there. I don't think you will need it for protection against the wild rabbits or the turkey buzzards.
As always, if anyone has questions, please reply to this thread.
Barry Simon, Director
Deep South Star Gaze/Deep South Spring Scrimmage
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