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Robert Naeye
Spectrum
Going Deep at Yosemite
Editing Tyler Nordgren’s
cover story about astronomy
in U.S. national parks triggered some of the fondest memories of my life,
and not just from my time in astronomy. From 2000 to 2003 I worked for
the Astronomical Society of the Pacifi c in San Francisco. Soon after moving
to California I learned that most of the Bay Area amateur astronomy clubs
participated in the Yosemite Star Party, held every Friday and Saturday night
throughout the summer at one of the world’s most spectacular overlooks,
Glacier Point. Every club was assigned a weekend. I ended up joining fi ve
clubs partially because I wanted to go to these events several times each year.
An hour or so before sunset, club members would set up telescopes in
a small amphitheater and would give an astronomy slide show as twilight
faded. For the fi rst hour or two after sunset my fellow astronomers and I
basically held a public star party, where
San Jose Astronomical
Association, 2003
S&T: ROBERT NAEYE
6 May 2012 sky & telescope
we shared views of various objects
with dozens to hundreds of visitors,
with many diff erent languages being
spoken. After the tourists headed back
to their lodges and campsites, we had
Glacier Point all to ourselves, all night.
Under exceptionally dark skies
and an elevation of about 7,200 feet, I
enjoyed incredible views of deep-sky
objects through my 12½ -inch Portaball
refl ector and the scopes of other club
members. It was there that I fell in
love with observing the Veil Nebula
through an O III fi lter. I also gained a
fuller appreciation for the superb deep-
sky capabilities of my 102-mm Tele Vue refractor. When I scrutinized dark
nebulae, no longer were they simply regions devoid of stars. The refractor’s
outstanding contrast dramatically showed these clouds as they really are:
beautiful discrete objects in front of background star fi elds.
We also scoped out the headlamps of rock climbers suspended against
the cliff face of Half Dome. And always in the background were the soothing
rumbles of Nevada and Vernal Falls. My most memorable sight, however, was
using my refractor to watch the Moon rise over a faraway Sierra Nevada peak,
with a distant ponderosa pine silhouetted in front. The air was so steady that
night I could resolve individual branches. It was a “Wow!” moment.
The California astronomy clubs are still holding Yosemite Star Parties.
If you’re in or near Yosemite National Park this summer, check out Glacier
Point on Friday or Saturday night!
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Contributing Photographers P. K. Chen, Akira Fujii, Robert Gendler,
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