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Post by bsimon615 on Aug 25, 2019 8:27:02 GMT -6
 Let's call this upcoming weekend at White Horse the (Len) Philpot Interstellar Star Gaze. Note - this new moniker was shortened above because the title bar would not allow any more letters - sorry Len! After all it was Len's idea to do a DSSG Trial Run this year as we have an extra long weekend due to Labor Day and the coming weekend happens to be "New Moon" Weekend as well. I have to admit that I was somewhat pessimistic about doing something at White Horse this upcoming weekend as we are still in summer and summer has been pretty brutal with little to no opportunities to view the night sky. However looking at the forecast for the weekend ahead it is looking like Friday August 30th thru Sunday September 1st should be nice. For White Horse the temperature is projected to fall to 64 overnight with a high in the upper 80's during the day. It will gradually rise by Sunday evening but the low is still projected to be 70 degrees with daytime temperatures remaining in the upper 80's to very low 90's . Len, how did you know this? As of now, we have 10 people signed up for the coming weekend. There is no need to pay in advance for this event, however if you think you can make it for any day or night, please let me know so I can communicate our needs with Carol at White Horse. Bunks rent for $35.00 per night. We plan on doing meals off site and/or bring your own M.R.E.'s. I think we can also get Carol to do a snack bar in the evening for things like burgers, hot dogs, fries, etc. Once again the great news is the weather forecast. It is looking good and it is about time! This event will be a great tune up for the Deep South Star Gaze (October 22nd to October 27th) where if we have our typical attendance that will be somewhere between 80 and 100 attendees. Some of us that are going to White Horse on Friday plan on getting to the Country Diner on Hwy 35 for 11 am before we drive the final 4 miles to White Horse. Any questions? Please let me know. Barry Simon |
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Post by Len Philpot on Aug 25, 2019 10:26:13 GMT -6
Yep, I'll take credit for the weather if it's good. If...  Check out the forum's weather page for details: dssg.boards.net/page/wx |
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Post by bsimon615 on Aug 26, 2019 22:53:42 GMT -6
Stay tuned. The ever changing weather forecast is now indicating that our best weather night this week will be Thursday - not Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Thursday evening is looking good. Friday evening may still be good, but not as good as Thursday.
Accordingly I will be calling Carol at White Horse to see if there would be a problem with anyone coming to White Horse on Thursday if they would want too. I know that if it is ok, I will be headed up Thursday afternoon with a plan to stay at least until Saturday (but not Sunday) as by Saturday the weather appears to deteriorate again.
Will keep everyone posted.
Barry
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Post by terry on Aug 27, 2019 9:32:18 GMT -6
My wife and I plan to be there if we can gain access on Thursday. Accuweather says Thursday, Friday, and Sunday will be good for stargazing. The weather channel says, and we know that they can't be wrong. So, I hope to be there for the whole weekend. But we will have to wait and see.
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Post by Len Philpot on Aug 27, 2019 11:47:15 GMT -6
I'm in a meeting at work until 4:30 Thursday, so it'll be Friday for me. But so far it's still looking about as good Friday night as Thursday. I guess it depends on which lies you believe.   |
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Post by bsimon615 on Aug 27, 2019 13:31:58 GMT -6
Yes, just confirming. We are good to go for Thursday for anyone who wants to arrive then to take best advantage of the weather forecast. Jerry LaBauve and I plan on arriving about 2 in the afternoon.
Barry
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Post by Len Philpot on Aug 27, 2019 17:14:07 GMT -6
You retirees suck. I'll be there some day... ...maybe. |
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Post by bsimon615 on Aug 28, 2019 8:02:23 GMT -6
 The weather forecast for this weekend for the Labor Day Weekend Star Gaze, Deep South Trial Run or Len Philpot Invitational StarGaze or whatever you want to call it is looking pretty good and continues to improve! It starts tomorrow, Thursday, because of the favorable weather, and runs to Monday, September 2nd. Thursday, Friday and even Saturday are looking pretty good. See the image. Green blocks are good (clear skies) and the black stripes designate the hours of darkness. Barry Simon |
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Post by bsimon615 on Aug 28, 2019 13:10:31 GMT -6
Ok, so who is attending?
This is who I have so far. I am including the maybe's/probables because of the way we set this up. Pay when you arrive/arrive when you want based upon the weather. Note - all you are paying for is your accommodations - basically $35 per night per person if in a bunk.
Len Philpot
Barry Simon
Terry Clarke
Francine Clarke
Jerry LaBauve
Walter Sarrat
Richard Erbe
Gabe Dickens
Steve Edmiston
Mike Danielson
Laurie Hayes
Ed Matthews
Perhaps more as the weather forecast is favorable.
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Post by bsimon615 on Aug 30, 2019 11:26:06 GMT -6
The weather at White Horse has been good so far - clear but hot during the day. Cooling off in the evening but surprisingly more humid than what we would have thought. Got down to magnitude 6.5 last night with an SQM of 21.8. 5 of us so far - Jerry, Len, Terry, Francine and me. Expecting a few more later. Tonight should be nice and clear again and if the mild breeze we have keeps up ....Friday night should be even better than Thursday night.
Barry
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Focused_Naim
New moon
The Earth will exist after we are gone. Sustainability is a philosophy to save humanity, not Earth.
Posts: 12
Astronomer since: Hopefully, 2019.
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Post by Focused_Naim on Aug 30, 2019 18:53:55 GMT -6
I'm going to start heading that way soon.
I plan to mark near the front gate and walk to the observing area.
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Focused_Naim
New moon
The Earth will exist after we are gone. Sustainability is a philosophy to save humanity, not Earth.
Posts: 12
Astronomer since: Hopefully, 2019.
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Post by Focused_Naim on Aug 31, 2019 20:18:39 GMT -6
This sucks, but I wont make it tonight. I'll be back (Arnold S. voice) tomorrow before it gets too dark.
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Post by Len Philpot on Aug 31, 2019 22:50:05 GMT -6
I'm pretty sure we'll all be gone tomorrow. It clouded over tonight and we took our scopes down (after seeing lightning), at least mostly. As far as I know we're all planning on heading out tomorrow. Sorry about that. :-)
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Focused_Naim
New moon
The Earth will exist after we are gone. Sustainability is a philosophy to save humanity, not Earth.
Posts: 12
Astronomer since: Hopefully, 2019.
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Post by Focused_Naim on Sept 1, 2019 20:05:49 GMT -6
Ah damn, I just bought a Red LED headlamp too. Haha it's alright. I'll see you all in October. Hopefully, with a scope.
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Post by bsimon615 on Sept 2, 2019 20:13:40 GMT -6
We had a pretty good run of weather for the "Labor Day Weekend at White Horse", aka - The Len Philpot Invitational. All in all the weather cooperated nicely with clear skies on Thursday and Friday. Saturday started out good, but lightning to our east and intermittent cloudy skies chased us inside only to find that it did clear after we had packed up most of our stuff.
We did see vague hints of redness in the northern sky which seemed to correlate with the possibility of aurora activity that was a possibility on Saturday evening. Maybe we saw evidence of this. In any event it was subtle and not too impressive.
We were very lucky to get the clear skies that we did have and the 8 of us that did attend were glad that we did. Those in attendance were:
Terry Clarke, Francine Clark, Barry Simon, Jerry LaBauve, Len Philpot, Steve Edmiston, Bill Johnson and Naim Vilabrera. Thanks to all of you for helping to make this an enjoyable event. A good trial run to the Deep South Star Gaze coming soon in October.
Barry Simon
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Let's call this upcoming weekend at White Horse the (Len) Philpot Interstellar Star Gaze. Note - this new moniker was shortened above because the title bar would not allow any more letters - sorry Len! After all it was Len's idea to do a DSSG Trial Run this year as we have an extra long weekend due to Labor Day and the coming weekend happens to be "New Moon" Weekend as well.
