Rocky Mountain Star Stare 2003
by Chris S. Thomas

On June 26th, 2003, I arrived in South O'Brien Gulch, in the southern region of Pike National Forest in Colorado.  About an hour northwest of Colorado Springs, this was the site of the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society's Annual Rocky Mountain Star Stare. After a day and half of travel, my friend Julie Merrild and I finally made it. We went on to have an amazing weekend, more than 9000 feet above sea level and under the darkest skies I have ever seen. My friend Amber Briggs joined us, and we all made friends with brothers Alan and Eric "Otto" Gorski. Alan is a member of the CSAS, and he recruited us to help with the kids' activities on Saturday. 

One of the highlights of the trip was the "Star Tracker". Jim Sheets of Kansas converted an ambulance into this mobile observatory, which houses a Celestron C-11. During the day we were treated to spectacular views of the sun, provided by a Coronado solar filter and a video camera attached to the C-11. On Jim's monitor we viewed huge solar flares and prominences, which changed shape in just a few minutes time. Some quick adjustments to the camera, and sunspots were visible. Jim got special recognition for his Star Tracker in a presentation by CSAS before they gave out the door prizes.


We spent much of our time observing with Alan's telescope. The skies at RMSS 2003 were crystal clear, with a naked eye limiting magnitude of at least 6.5. The summer Milky Way arched overhead like a thick cloud, and wound its way southward through Sagittarius and Scorpius. Between these two constellations, dark dust lanes like the famous Pipe Nebula were visible, only slightly obscuring the center of our galaxy. Alan's scope provided jaw dropping, "orgasmic" views of the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulas, The Swan Nebula, and M22- all located in Sagittarius.

We also observed with Josh and Kelsey and their 17.5 inch Dobsonian. Josh was a Galaxy Hunter like myself. The most memorable views we had were of M51, the Whirpool Galaxy. Its' sprial arms were clearly visible with direct vision- almost like a photograph! The archetypal edge-on galaxy with cental bulge- NGC 4565- was huge. Bisected by a dust lane, its thick spiral arms tapered to pencil thinness. it was twice the length of M82, the Cigar Galaxy. We also glimpsed part of Stephan's Quintet, a faint galaxy cluster near NGC 7331 in Pegaus.

Please visit the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society Website to learn more about the RMSS. Many thanks to everyone that made RMSS 2003 an awesome event!