Is this my perfect "close to home" semi dark sky getaway? Do I dare say that this is THE place. I don't know just yet. I stumbled on this place, just like I stumbled upon a fellow astronomer, of whom I am now proud to call my observing buddy, a couple of weeks ago. I was just taking a leisurely stroll down to Westwood from my workplace when I bumped into a sidewalk astronomer. Being the crazy person that I am, I went up to say hi and struck up a conversation. Terry was testing out his newly acquired Orion 80ST OTA on a VersaGo mount. Turns out that Terry works at UCLA and is an avid deep sky observer like me! Cool. The very fact that he works here makes it easier as we can meet ever so occasionally to observe together (time and weather permitting of course). Terry is the ultimate "grab and go" astronomer as has his scopes with him all the time so he can observe on a moments notice. His passion for visual stargazing is infectious. He takes the bus to Malibu to observe for goodness sake. NUFF SAID. If that is not passion, I don't know what is.
Anyways after exchanging some e-mails and having a lunch together, I decided to check out Terry's semi suburban/rural sky site, Solstice Canyon National Park. The drive there only takes about 30 minutes so its much closer than Pinos. The other good thing is that it has a view of the southern sky so Omega Centauri, Centaurus A and M83 are a go. The other plus is that I can pretty much go there any time of the year as it does not snow there like Pinos. So yeah so many pluses. Any downsides, I don't know. The site seemed pretty good and kinda dark (hard to tell with the waxing gibbous moon interfering with the views last Friday night). Also the other downside is that you have to walk in. The park gates are closed at night and it is illegal to park at the entrance, so yes there is a bit of a hike to get in (which means you are restricted to truly portable "grab and go" instruments). Fortunately I am at the stage of my observing career where I rather use easy to carry instruments. My 10" f/5 practically lives at home (well until we buy a bigger car or move to a townhouse) and even my 6" f/5 on a modified EQ/Alt/Az mount does not get much use (well it is my scope of choice when I go to Pinos). My main scope currently (much like Terry) is my Orion SkyScanner mini dob mounted on a Orion Paragon tripod. This setup is surprisingly good and solid (and extremely light)!
So what did we get up to last Friday night. Humm lets see. I started to fart around with some imaging (stupid me what was I thinking) using my 6" f/5. We had almost gale like winds that night so that was strictly a no go. I would try again next time I go, but this time it will be with the SkyScanner, if and only if there are no winds!!!!! The skies there were good enough to bag galaxies. Objects tallied that night include M42, the Orion Nebula (in the 6" as well before I got frustrated and packed the damn thing up as I had to observe close to the road where I parked my car.....with cars coming by it was a practice in frustration!), Pleiades, the Perseus double cluster, M41 in Canis Major, M46 and M47 in Puppis, galaxies M81, M82 and M51 in Ursa Major, M65, M66, NGC 3628 in Leo, M104, the Sombrero in Corvus. Was planning to stay up for Omega but ended my session a little past 12 midnight. I guess I no longer have the observing stamina I once had.....I blame it on lack of sleep brought on by being a parent hahahahha!!!!! Also it was super dumb of me to forget to pack my dark jedi cloak. Squinting in gale force winds is NOT fun for observing at all. Terry was way more focused and bagged some new objects he had never seen before, plus some old friends. My plan for the next time I go there is to explore the Camelopardalis region and well as sketch the cat's eye nebula (NGC 6543) in Hydra, as well as stay up to catch southern sky delights!!!!!
