Post by bsimon615 on Oct 3, 2019 20:00:55 GMT -6
For some of you this will be your first time at a star party with an attendance of more than a half dozen or so people. To that end I want to direct all of you back to the post here dated August 8th. That post talks about field rules. It has a link to our Field Rules posting. That posting has been tweaked over the years but is essentially unchanged and most of it's rules are "common" to many star parties in the United States. Please read it and let me know if anyone needs clarification of anything.
I do want to stress a few things that seem to get questioned every year -
Lights - for use at night everyone should have a red light, containing either a red painted bulb or a red led. Traditional white bulbed flashlights are strictly forbidden.
Arrival - End of civil twilight over the days of the DSSG this year is between 6:41 pm and 6:45 pm. Please, please, please, do not arrive after 6:30 pm. That is our cutoff. Plan your departure from whereever you are coming from to arrive well before the cutoff time. You will not be able to drive onto the property. You will have to park out by the gate (which has a "horse" statue) and you will have to walk in the final 150 yards. No exceptions. This too is standard practice at star parties.
Note that for me Google Ways at 5 pm this afternoon said that my drive time to White Horse this afternoon would be 1 hours and 53 minutes. That being said I would not be able to make it before the cutoff leaving at that time. I would have had to leave by 4:30 pm and even that would be cutting it close.
One other reason we would like people to arrive early is because, particularly for the new people, you will have plenty of questions and need plenty of help. Where to set up, where am I sleeping, how do I disable the lights inside of my car, etc., etc. If you arrive right at dusk that means that someone who is trying to get their scope ready for the night will have to help you and that would probably be either me or Len Philpot.
Green lasers are for outreach events in the city, not for dark sky star parties. As with every other star party – no green lasers, they cannot be used as finders.
Departures at night – you must be parked near the entrance gate (by the white horse statue) and facing out. Your inside vehicle lights must be disabled. When you leave, do not turn on your headlights, use yellow parking lights only until you are clear of line of sight to where telescopes are set up.
Very, very, very few people come in and leave it night. Virtually every attendee stays on site overnight.
Note – door prize drawings are at 3 pm every afternoon. You must be present at the drawing to win any prizes awarded.
Parking on the Arena Field – probably full by Wednesday afternoon, Thursday at the latest. No rv’s or campers in this area. No generators in the Arena area. We do have plenty of space for setup outside of the Arena Field.
Probably forgetting to comment on something. See the Field Rules previously referenced. Ask questions if you cannot find an answer.
Thanks!
Barry Simon
I do want to stress a few things that seem to get questioned every year -
Lights - for use at night everyone should have a red light, containing either a red painted bulb or a red led. Traditional white bulbed flashlights are strictly forbidden.
Arrival - End of civil twilight over the days of the DSSG this year is between 6:41 pm and 6:45 pm. Please, please, please, do not arrive after 6:30 pm. That is our cutoff. Plan your departure from whereever you are coming from to arrive well before the cutoff time. You will not be able to drive onto the property. You will have to park out by the gate (which has a "horse" statue) and you will have to walk in the final 150 yards. No exceptions. This too is standard practice at star parties.
Note that for me Google Ways at 5 pm this afternoon said that my drive time to White Horse this afternoon would be 1 hours and 53 minutes. That being said I would not be able to make it before the cutoff leaving at that time. I would have had to leave by 4:30 pm and even that would be cutting it close.
One other reason we would like people to arrive early is because, particularly for the new people, you will have plenty of questions and need plenty of help. Where to set up, where am I sleeping, how do I disable the lights inside of my car, etc., etc. If you arrive right at dusk that means that someone who is trying to get their scope ready for the night will have to help you and that would probably be either me or Len Philpot.
Green lasers are for outreach events in the city, not for dark sky star parties. As with every other star party – no green lasers, they cannot be used as finders.
Departures at night – you must be parked near the entrance gate (by the white horse statue) and facing out. Your inside vehicle lights must be disabled. When you leave, do not turn on your headlights, use yellow parking lights only until you are clear of line of sight to where telescopes are set up.
Very, very, very few people come in and leave it night. Virtually every attendee stays on site overnight.
Note – door prize drawings are at 3 pm every afternoon. You must be present at the drawing to win any prizes awarded.
Parking on the Arena Field – probably full by Wednesday afternoon, Thursday at the latest. No rv’s or campers in this area. No generators in the Arena area. We do have plenty of space for setup outside of the Arena Field.
Probably forgetting to comment on something. See the Field Rules previously referenced. Ask questions if you cannot find an answer.
Thanks!
Barry Simon