Special Observing ReportFremont Peak: September 14, 2002
Son Eric and I arrived on site at the Fremont Peak Observatory just as Sol settled behind the low treeline to the west. High cirrus clouds made their slow drift above our heads. Selene continued her post-half moon climb toward cilmination in the south. This would not be an occasion to write home about astronomically.
FPOA president Pat, secretary Denni, MFO ("most frequent observer") Paul, and I discussed changes in the observing site recently engineered by park personnel and payed for by California taxpayers. Five framed, levelled, gravelled-filled, and electrified observing pads were in evidenced. The pads had yet to be paved but, in my estimation, were ready and available for use. The question of the moment was "who" was to put them use and to what end?
Sure, it was obvious that member's of the FPOA would place personal scopes on them during public nights. But such nights were normally scheduled for non-full moon Saturday evenings during the warm-dry season (April to October). And acording to the FPOA charter, any scopes so positionned must-be accessible to the milling crowds. But there was a lot more potential use to be wrung out of 'em.
Pat was looking for input on this issue. And of course me being the type that is more than willing to voice my opinion hailed forth. Since taxpayers paid for the pads, no question they needs be available to the general public. And since the pads were designed for astronomical use that means the observing public. But there were a couple of complications...
First, and although the pads were wired using state funds, electricity was shunted from the observatory building. Power payed for by the FPOA monitored by the only meter on site. Now, the purpose of the power was primarily to support drive units on telescope mounts. And surely the draw wasn't that severe - but the potential for other more-taxing loads existed. So all the units were isolated by a switch only accessible to FPOA personnel. Therefore, arrangements would have to be made by the general public in advance and someone from the FPOA would have to activate the switch after a very long and expensive drive up to the observatory.
So hey, either leave the power on all the time or only when someone FPOA was present at the observatory. Of the two alternatives, I say go with the later. Most folks with scopes have there own power sources anyway...
So OK, that one was easy - for me anyway. But of course, I think the power is better put to use installing some red night lights at each pad. The bigger issue is general public and scope safety on dark nights with un-adapted vision. It's all too easy to stumble over scope or equipment under such circumstances - especially with folks unaccustomed to the virtuers of a truly dark sky.
The tougher problem discussed was pad-access. After all, there is a locked gate to the road leading up to the observatory. Administering code access is a bit of a nightmare. Not to mention that vehicles must drive a wee bit too close to the ranger's residence. So ultimately, it makes more sense to implement a new entrance to the observatory drive. Until then, there is no good answer to the access problem other than leaving the gate closed but unlocked.
Well there you have it - another example of less than satisfying answers to annoying problems. Nice observing pads, with good views to the south, but limited access to pads and electricity. Isn't that just like life? Why are things like this anyway?
Hey I have an opinion about that too. It is our destiny as human beings to see things as they might be - and get stuck with things as they are - until we finally transcend the limitations imposed on us by inertia and entropy. And hey how do we do that? maybe by appreciating more what we do have and caring less about what we don't. I don't know does any of this make any sense to you?
So then the discussion swung to politics and things were just heating up when Paul and I decided the observatory really needed to be prepped for the night's observation. So OK, I want to talk about politics anyway. And as it turns out I would like to take this opportunity to give you my point of view based on an email I sent to the white house. To wit:
I address this message to you, Mr. President out of concern for the future of this country and the world. It is my hope that the thoughts portrayed herein are neither those of "hawk" or "dove", "left" or "right" - nor even of the muddled middle. No, I hope to speak a humble council of reason and enlightened understanding.
Like most things that happen in this world, the events of the past year have fallen out of a "web of causes" beyond our individual ability to grasp and comprehend. There is a sense that forces are at work driving us collectively toward a certain "engineered" point of crisis. In casting the net of our understanding back over that web, a certain sense of "fatalism" about things may be seen. A fatalism that gives rise to much speculation on the part of folks given to "conspiracy-think". A speculation that some one or some group is "pulling the strings" and moving the world toward a "designer" future.
Your own election to the presidency, for instance, hints at this. Here we have a sitting Vice President of the United States coming off arguably one of the most economically successful administrations of the past forty years losing - despite a majority of votes across the country - to what can be perceived as electoral mismanagement in a state goverened by the victor's kin.
Can you see the potential for "conspiracy-think" in this?
And thus a "minority" administration takes the Presidency. One lacking mandate and therefore likely to prove ineffectual in advancing its own vision of the country's future.
Subsequently, and despite some evidence of aforeknowledge, a calamitous event occurs around which to rallye the attention and support of the greater part of the US population. Of course, I refer to the disasterous events of September 11, 2001. Now as I understand it, as you organized your administration and staff several months previous to that unfortunate date, there was much discussion of the fact that your new administration would make "international terrorism" the focus of its foreign - if not domestic - policy.
Now politically it can be agreed by most thoughtful observers that such a focus would not prove to successfully fix the attention of the American people without some very serious "attention getting" event... And subsequently, of course, an event of such magnitude that could accomplish this did occur. Happenstance?
And thus the "conspiracy theorists" of the country were handed a second event to point to in favor of their beliefs. Can you see why people who strain at the bit of making connections between events might suspect that someone in your administration allowed this tragedy to occur in response to their interpretation of your policy discussion?
The war in Afghanistan then ensued. A war, that to some of our perception was warranted and reasonably well prosecuted. Despite the need to ally with various reportedly unsavory groups in that sad country, a great liberation took place and a totalitarian relgious order was dislodged. Men and women danced in the streets and a new day dawned for the Afghani people. - A day they have yet to win outright for themselves but at least they now have the chance.
Yet, there are those who doubt the motives of your administration in prosecuting this war Mr President. For unfortunately your personal connections with the oil industry - as evidenced by a rather unfortunately parochial energy policy group nucleated around oil interests - is said to have scripted the visibly anti-environmental policies that have been enunciated by your administration. Could it really be that there is an underlying motive for conducting the Afghani war? And was it to promote the laying of a pipeline for oil exports from the former Soviet Union as some have claimed?
Now we are at new juncture. You stand ready to carry the war against terrorism to Iraq - a country lorded over by a despotic leader. One that has demonstrated the will to make weapons of mass and indescriminant destruction but when given the opportunity to use them in the past chose (wisely) not to.
But here is the rub... The case against Iraq has not been successfully made. At present that country's "leadership" stands condemned by the bulk of the international community for a variety of well-documented excesses. But alas, there really is no way to make a convincing case for moving into that benighted land multilaterally - not to mention unilaterally.
And without such a case any actions by the US is likely to ignite dangerous fuel spewed about numerous other middle eastern countries. And such a move will add further weight to the conspiracy-theorists notion that small groups of human beings are breaking the laws of this land - and of the world - to promote narrow-minded and parochial interests.
Could it be that groups promoting such ends by the instrumentality of the US government really do exist in this country? Are the conspiracy-theorists right?
Prove them wrong, Mr President - do the right thing. Start by de-emphasing terrorism as a focal point of your administration. Get the anti-terror job done yes - but don't make a big stink about it. Think about it. Such a hyper-sensitive reaction only plays into the hands of the terrorists anyway. Start talking about the future. There are ways to safeguard the planet's enviromental future while also maintaining a robust economy. You just need to begin poking around a bit. Make it more of a priority. Start listening to the majority of the voters that are reasonable and pro-environmental.
A change of direction is needful, Mr. President. If there are "powers at work" attempting to usurp "government by the people and for the people", don't let them turn you into a puppet. Walk tall. Be your own man.
Sincerely,
jeff
Now it should be obvious to my readers that a post-half moon sky, encroached on by high cirrus clouds did not exactly lend itself to "primo" views of the nightsky. And of course, the Moon itself can provide some satisfying views in and of itself. So yes, the bulk of the evening was spent serving up tasty views of the lunar terminator to a crowd of thirty or forty attendees. With Plato emerging into sunlight, we kept the scope mainly centered on the Lunar Alps, Plato and the Alpine Valley.
Now this was my first opportunity to view the Moon through a scope of such aperture. Amazingly, and at some 200x, no Moon-filter was needed. And surprisingly the degree of resolution was quite stupendous despite the fact that things appeared "blurry" to my optophiliacal right eye...
Meanwhile, I also made frequent visits to the fine 5 inch F15 achromat attached to the scope's flank. Clear, sharp views. Engaging to the eye. Very low chromaticism - just touches of magenta-green on aversion along the lunar-limb. But really not the resolution of the big scope.
The difference between the two views? - Mostly aesthetics, but possibly some real resolution advantages through the 30 inch Challenger...
With public interest in a waxing Moon waning, we re-oriented the Big 'Un on Globular Cluster M13. Drifting semi-transparent clouds made getting a good view chancey. But with some patience, and despite the lunacy, the cluster could be seen to occasionally explode into a myriad points of stellar profusion. Paul felt that M13 was the main deepsky crowd-pleaser of the evening.
Meanwhile, Cassiopaeia steadily gained sky position to the northeast. So M52 became our next feature. Not a big hit, but at least illustrative of the difference between these two classes of "clusters".
As Cassiopaeia ascended, Lyra settled low enough from the zenith to turn the scope on the King of Rings. And M57 did not disappoint. The high surface brightness planetary nebula gave a fine view of annulus and internal brightening. Quite contrasty - especially with Paul's ultrablock filter installed. In fact, there was a definite sense of "hydrogen-red" at the Ring's outer frontier. Meanwhile, its ionized-oxygen pale blue-green was quite visible and appealing. The choice of the Ring was a fine fine wrap to an evening that begun (for some) with a crescent Venus awash in atmo-chromaticism, but overall pretty much turned out to be Selene's special occasion..
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