Okie-Tex Star Party
I just returned from a week out in the extreme west end of the Oklahoma panhandle and the annual Okie-Tex star party. Besides being home to the highest elevation in the state atop the Black Mesa, this part of the panhandle is also the location of the town of Kenton. The only town in Oklahoma that observes the Mountain time zone.
Including this most recent trip, I have been to Okie-Tex 5 times. A star party is a gathering of several hundred astronomy buffs, both professional and amateur, that can last for a few days to a week or longer. Along with telescopes of all shapes and sizes, activities common to star parties are educational sessions, door prize giveaways and in some cases, contests for best amateur telescope making and best photography of night sky objects.
For me, the main attraction of attending something like Okie-Tex is having the opportunity to network with people of various interests and experience in Astronomy.
Okie-Tex is about 250 miles each way from my home. I usually pack anything from 2-3 telescopes for the trip with attendant accessories and photography gear. The weather this time was a bit of a mixed bag, but I stayed busy most nights in the wee hours logging galaxy groups and other deep sky objects. When conditions are right, I often have one telescope taking pictures while I work with my 20″ reflector to make visual observations.
This year I imaged the Double Cluster in Perseus and the Andromeda Galaxy. Here is a picture of the galaxy.
I made this image from 120 subexposures of 60 seconds each. I collected data using a dedicated CCD camera that only works to image dim astronomical objects. It was attached to a 3″ refractor telescope aligned to track the sky. I used filters to collect light in 4 sets of data – Luminance (clear – all colors), Red, Green & Blue. Then I compiled the data sets using software to create the image above. Click on it to see a larger version.
Great stuff Peter! I trust this finds you and family doing well. Already a year since clearing out the Alliance office! Thanks for your interesting sharing. We are doing fine, not missing board meetings! best, gary
[...] Way galaxy has about 200 known globular clusters. They are a common feature of galaxy systems. The Andromeda Galaxy has an estimated population of 1,000 of these globbies. The super-giant elliptical galaxy M87 may [...]