19 replies to this topic

[JOEinCO]

Anybody from Cloudy Nights going this year?

 

(besides Mr. Gafford  )

[Mike McShan]

I'm going. It will be my first time for this star party.

 

Clear skies,

Mike

[Johnmiod]

How about a where, when and any website?

[JOEinCO]

How about a where, when and any website?

 

Google works. Let me enter that for you.  

https://rmss.org/

[AstroFam]

My son and I will be attending again this year.  Wouldn't miss it!

[ddastro]

Looking forward to getting back to RMSS, haven’t been in a couple of years. It’s a very well run event in a great location.

[Bcteleskier]

I’ll be going for the whole week to get a head start.

[Joe F Gafford]

I arrived on Wednesday morning as I am not a CSAS club member and found the site nearly filled. Wednesday and Thursday nights was clear all night with Friday and Saturday nights cloudy with spotty after midnight. I manage to get 7 objects done with two new and five others redo from other attempts on lesser seeing nights. Excellent children's programs during the day as well as this particular star party is strongly family oriented. This year's logo has a red windowed RV in front of a snow-capped mountain motif as this is the preferred mode of camping these days. The Sierra Blanca Massif to the west had snow caps. I've been to RMSS since 1991 and missed only one as that year my brother had his wedding in SoCal and the A.L. meeting was in Bryce Canyon that year just after that wedding. SPOILER ALERT! ALCON will be at Bryce in July, 2025. Details later on that from the A.L. website.

 

I took very little event pictures and no video of this event as my age (71) and ailments are catching up on me. I had a hard time walking as the neuropathy pain had worn me down over the past 12 years. It took me more than two hours to set up and the same when breaking camp with the 18" and the portable dome in my avatar, but with Bryce colors instead. This was noticed by my acquaintances. I need others to step in and photographically and video catalog year-by-year of these star parties as I've done since 1991. 

 

Joe

Edited by Joe F Gafford, 10 June 2024 - 11:46 PM.

[Joe F Gafford]

Just got to the few images of this year's RMSS.

 

A panorama. 

 

My setup on a slope with the mounting leveling boards below the base spiked in to prevent movement. I got AC power to the rig this year.

 

Joe

 

[Joe F Gafford]

Evening primrose was all over the field.

 

 

An image of M-80 taken Thursday night to whet your appetite.

 

Joe

[Mike McShan]

I really enjoyed this star party. I arrived Wednesday morning, and since I was tent camping, it was pretty easy to find a good location in the designated area.  My non-astronomy gear included a Jackery battery and solar panel to power a small refrigerator, so it was not exactly roughing it.  The setup did work very well though. 

 

As Joe said, Wednesday and particularly Thursday were very good nights for observing. I'm mainly a visual observer, so I used the opportunity to finish up the Messier Virgo objects, completing my Astro League award.  The organizers had also put together three observing lists of increasing difficulty for awards, and I completed the first two of those. I did get some of the most difficult list done, too, but ran our of clear sky as Friday was mostly clouded out. Since the forecast for Saturday night was not good, I decided to break camp and start home Saturday morning. I visited Capulin Volcano National Monument on my way home and hiked the rim for the first time in several years. This small NM remains one of my favorites.

 

Overall, I think that RMSS is a well run star party with a really friendly atmosphere.  I enjoyed it a lot and hope to do it again.

 

Clear skies,

Mike

[Mike McShan]

As noted above, Friday night was cloudy with occasional rain, so a lot of people were hanging out in the assembly pavilion, playing games, chatting, etc.  The lights of the building are switched to red at 9PM, but no one was particularly concerned about night vision since it was cloudy anyway.  So, some of the kids were playing with with colorful glow-in-the-dark hoops, bracelets, and sticks.  The combination of red light and colorful bracelets made for an interesting photo.

 

 

Edited by Mike McShan, 12 June 2024 - 08:34 PM.

[mogur]

How early can you come as a member? Does it affect the price?

[AstroFam]

mogur:  since a perk of CSAstro membership is use of Starry Meadows, you can arrive as early as you want.  My son and I have been arriving Sunday morning the last few years.  The prices doesn't change as none of the event functions start to happen until Wednesday. 

[mogur]

mogur:  since a perk of CSAstro membership is use of Starry Meadows, you can arrive as early as you want.  My son and I have been arriving Sunday morning the last few years.  The prices doesn't change as none of the event functions start to happen until Wednesday. 

Cool. Are there many that arrive that early? Just wondering how soon the field gets filled up (the GOOD spots).

[AstroFam]

The last two years it has been pretty lean Sunday and Monday.  Tuesday started to pick up the pace a bit but nothing like Wednesday.

[KJR]

I see RMSS 2025 is June 25-29. The rules don't allow early arrivals and late departure due to insurance.

 

Anyone know if the road from the main site is suitable for a 40' diesel pusher motorhome. I'd hate to get stuck.

 

Thanks

 

KJR

[AstroFam]

I see RMSS 2025 is June 25-29. The rules don't allow early arrivals and late departure due to insurance.

 

Anyone know if the road from the main site is suitable for a 40' diesel pusher motorhome. I'd hate to get stuck.

 

Thanks

 

KJR

Non-club members are not able to arrive early due to insurance.  Club members are able to arrive early as insurance covers year-round use of Starry Meadows.

 

I don't recall if I've seen a Class A Diesel pusher at the site but plenty of large, motorized RVs and large 5th wheels make it in.  I have a 28' trailer and quad-cab pickup and don't feel like anything is tight or risky.  There is a short section of road that is a little narrow and steep.

 

I'm going to dig through my photos of previous events and see if I find any large Class A units like yours.

[AstroFam]

I see RMSS 2025 is June 25-29. The rules don't allow early arrivals and late departure due to insurance.

 

Anyone know if the road from the main site is suitable for a 40' diesel pusher motorhome. I'd hate to get stuck.

 

Thanks

 

KJR

Can't say they are 40' in this image but I bet they are at least 30'.  Hope this is of some help.

[mogur]

I was there year before last. The dirt road in from Hwy 69 was badly "washboarded". I couldn't go more than 15mph comfortably in my van. A big rig like yours will probably fare better with the longer wheelbase. Unless it were raining heavily or something I don't think you need to be worried about getting stuck.