CGO 7/06-7/07

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Sureshks
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Real Name: Suresh Sreenivasan
Location: Hopkins, MN

CGO 7/06-7/07

Post by Sureshks »

Hi all,

Could it be? Can there really be a fantastic weekend weather-wise coming up that actually syncs up with a CGO star party weekend? I think we're something like 0-16 for CGO star parties so far this year... :shock:

If you're as stunned as I am, here are some weather forecasts to prove it:

ClearOutside (Kenyon): https://clearoutside.com/forecast/44.27/-92.99

NOAA (Kenyon) : https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.p ... &BackDay=0

ClearSkyClock (CGO): http://www.cleardarksky.com/c/ChrryGrvMNkey.html?1

Sunset: 9:01pm
Astronomical Dusk: 11:26pm
Astronomical Dawn: 3:10am
Sunrise: 5:35am
Moonrise: 1:38am (Saturday morning - 36% lit)
2:08am (Sunday morning - 26% lit)

Low temps are in the mid-60Fs both nights. Can't get much better than this. :D

I'm thinking of heading down to CGO both Friday and Saturday nights and was wondering who else was interested in going.

Perhaps the CGO staff could do a Keyholder's training before sunset on one/both of the nights? :idea:

Please be forewarned about the local road construction along County Road 1 near Aspelund. :roll:

Here's what Steve Emert posted yesterday on how to get around this:

Goodhue County 1 is under construction, and a major part of it is closed to thru traffic. It looks like it will remain that way for quite a few more months.

Coming down from the cities, the best way is this:
Take Hwy 52 south to the Hwy 57 exit (Hader, Wanamingo). Turn right onto 57 toward Wanamingo.
Take Hwy 5 to and through Wanamingo, being careful to reduce speed to 30 at the entrance to the town, at the bottom of the hill.
After passing through Wanamingo, turn right (West) onto Hwy 60.
Take Hwy 60 a couple of miles until you see the sign for Aspelund, then the sign for Goodhue County 1. Turn left (South) onto Goodhue County 1.
Take Goodhue County 1 south all the way until you get to Cherry Grove.

Returning to the Cities:
Take Goodhue County 1 north until you reach the road closed sign for the construction beginning at the junction of Hwy 60.
Turn right (East) onto Hwy 60 and travel a couple of miles until the junction with Hwy 57 at the south end of Wanamingo.
Turn left (North) on Hwy 57 and travel through Wanamingo then about four more miles until the junction of Hwy 52.
Turn left (North) on Hwy 52 and continue until the Twin Cities.


Suresh
Last edited by Sureshks on Thu Jul 05, 2018 4:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Suresh Sreenivasan
B-SIG/FB/Metcalf Comm

Refr: AP 130mm GTX/SW 120mm/Borg 4"/Unitron 150 4"/Jason 2.25”
Dobs: ATM 16"/Orion 12”
Newts: Cave 8" RFT/Criterion RV6/Astroscan 4"/Orion 3.6" TCT
SNs: Meade 6"/Celestron 5.5"
SCTs: Celestron 9.25"/8”/B&L Criterion 4”
Maks: SW 7"/Quantum 4"/Meade 3.5” ETX
Cass: Vixen 8” VISAC/Simmons 4.5"
RC: MallinCam 10"
Sol: Lunt 80mm DS/PST
Bino: Vixen 12x80/Nikon 10x50
Mounts: CGX/EQ6r-Pro/AVX/GDPX/Porta II
Enberg
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Location: Athens, Ohio

Re: CGO 7/06-7/07

Post by Enberg »

Yes, the CGO committee is astounded that we may actually get a star party in this weekend. We are having training one hour before sunset, so that is 8:01pm for basic keyholder training with Vic. If you are already a keyholder, Steve is doing observatory/BAD training at the same time.
Master Observer
Orion XT10 dob
Orion StarBlast 4.5" f4 on a Dwarfstar alt-az mount
Vortex 10 x 56 binocs
Orion 150mm f12 MakCas
Enberg
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Re: CGO 7/06-7/07

Post by Enberg »

Ps due to all the recent rain, please do not drive on the grass at all. We have a cart there to help get your heavy equipment out onto the field.
Master Observer
Orion XT10 dob
Orion StarBlast 4.5" f4 on a Dwarfstar alt-az mount
Vortex 10 x 56 binocs
Orion 150mm f12 MakCas
tugger
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Re: CGO 7/06-7/07

Post by tugger »

Planning on both nights for me.
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Sureshks
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Real Name: Suresh Sreenivasan
Location: Hopkins, MN

Re: CGO 7/06-7/07

Post by Sureshks »

Hi Nancy,

Which night is the keyholder training planned for -- Friday or Saturday?

Suresh
Suresh Sreenivasan
B-SIG/FB/Metcalf Comm

Refr: AP 130mm GTX/SW 120mm/Borg 4"/Unitron 150 4"/Jason 2.25”
Dobs: ATM 16"/Orion 12”
Newts: Cave 8" RFT/Criterion RV6/Astroscan 4"/Orion 3.6" TCT
SNs: Meade 6"/Celestron 5.5"
SCTs: Celestron 9.25"/8”/B&L Criterion 4”
Maks: SW 7"/Quantum 4"/Meade 3.5” ETX
Cass: Vixen 8” VISAC/Simmons 4.5"
RC: MallinCam 10"
Sol: Lunt 80mm DS/PST
Bino: Vixen 12x80/Nikon 10x50
Mounts: CGX/EQ6r-Pro/AVX/GDPX/Porta II
heinerv
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Real Name: Vic Heiner

Re: CGO 7/06-7/07

Post by heinerv »

Friday.
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bhamil
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Real Name: Brandon Hamil
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Re: CGO 7/06-7/07

Post by bhamil »

    I am planning on attending both Friday and Saturday nights and I will gladly conduct training on the visual rig at anytime while I am down there. Just come find me if you arrive late. I want our fantastic new 16” SCT to get use and I do not want lack of training to be an impediment. Like Suresh said in the earlier post, I simply cannot believe we are actually getting to do astronomy this weekend!!!
    Brandon Hamil
    651-436-3888 (Cell)
    --------------------------------------------
    Former,Cherry Grove Observatory Committee
    SCTs: CPC 800, CPC 1100, C14
    Refractors: TeleVue NP101, TEC 140
    Solar Scopes: Coronado 40mm PST, LUNT 100 DS
    Canon 12x36 image stabilized Binoculars
    100% visual observer
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    SEmert
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    Re: CGO 7/06-7/07

    Post by SEmert »

    I'll definitely be there Friday night to do 24" Starmaster (the B.A.D.) training. Not sure about Saturday yet...
    Steve Emert
    MAS Membership Coordinator
    12.5" f/4.7 Obsession Clone Homemade Truss Dob, sometimes equipped with Celestron StarSense Explorer app
    Celestron C8 SCT OTA on AVX GEQ mount
    Astro-Tech AT72 ED Refractor OTA usually on Explore Scientific Twilight 1mount or tripod with Benro geared head
    Celestron 5" SCT OTA on Synta AZ-4 or Explore Scientific Twilight 1 Alt-Az Mount, usually equipped with StarSense Explorer app
    Orion 150mm Mak OTA and Orion EQ-G computerized mount
    heinerv
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    Re: CGO 7/06-7/07

    Post by heinerv »

    Many of us suffering from PDS (Photon Deficiency Syndrome) got a small dose of photons on Saturday night. So now we are 1 for 18 on CGO nights. Maybe we will improve over the next few months. We accomplished some training also. Make sure you email me or send a private message if you received the training and need a code.
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    SEmert
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    Re: CGO 7/06-7/07

    Post by SEmert »

    In regards to the training... we started some training on the 24" Starmaster Friday night, but aborted it as the scope wouldn't perform a go-to. It is now functioning. The problem was a loose nut behind the keyboard. Saturday evening I found that when I had upgraded the Argo Navis firmware earlier this year, I had to change the baud rate to 38,400 and of course I had forgotten to set it back. After resetting the baud (bits per second) rate back to 19.200 and the startup (communications) protocol from "navis" to "ServoCAT", and also setting the time zone to UTC -5 for DST (the time zone must be changed every time we go from CST to CDT or back), it works fine again. Oops.
    Steve Emert
    MAS Membership Coordinator
    12.5" f/4.7 Obsession Clone Homemade Truss Dob, sometimes equipped with Celestron StarSense Explorer app
    Celestron C8 SCT OTA on AVX GEQ mount
    Astro-Tech AT72 ED Refractor OTA usually on Explore Scientific Twilight 1mount or tripod with Benro geared head
    Celestron 5" SCT OTA on Synta AZ-4 or Explore Scientific Twilight 1 Alt-Az Mount, usually equipped with StarSense Explorer app
    Orion 150mm Mak OTA and Orion EQ-G computerized mount
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