Although it's been a couple of weeks, I wanted to add a few notes to Tom Dietz's September 13 very nice report on the Black Forest Star Party. Mostly I'd like to echo his comments that this was very dark site and a very good star party. I've had some time to check a sketch I made of stars near Polaris in order to determine the limiting magnitude. Made on the early morning of Saturday the 11th, most of the faint stars I drew were order 5.9 to 6.3 magnitude, with one star (HD 65299) at visual magnitude 6.45 (SIMBAD). So this roughly matches my guess at the time that the limiting visual magnitude range was near 6.5 or so (this is at about 40 degrees elevation angle of course, so it would have been slightly fainter at zenith). Several of the "regulars" there commented that it was only an "average" good night and that they had seen the Milky Way much better, so one could assume that something like magnitude 7 skies are possible there on a good (perhaps Winter) night.

Another indication of the good transparency was the observation of the Gegenschein (or Counterglow) that Tom mentioned. For those perhaps not familiar with the term, the Gegenschein is part of the Zodiacal band, the glow of reflected sunlight from interplanetary dust. The Gegenschein is the portion opposite the Sun and is light backscattered directly to theEarth. I thought I noticed it as a 10-15 degree diameter faint Milky Way like glow between (and overlapping the lower portion of) the circlet of Pisces and the NE part of Aquarius (near Phi Aqr). Having only seen the Gegenschein once before in my life (in May at the TSP) I was suspicious that this might be something else, like a patch of haze or even several faint stars I'd never noticed before. However, a check once I got back showed that the center of this patch was precisely 180 degrees in position from the Sun - thus clinching the identification with the Gegenschein. I would add that this really shouldn't have been too unexpected since on both nights the morning Zodiacal light (the part of the Zodiacal band closest to the Sun) was about as bright and broad as I've ever seen it, well out-shining the Winter Milky Way. Still, the Zodiacal light and Gegenschein are usually only well seen from the southern U.S. - this is just plain not an observation I ever expected to make from northern PA.

It's difficult to compare observing sites from memory, with perhaps the more recent of the good sites always winning out. But aside from perhaps long-ago observing sessions in remote areas of Ohio, this is about the darkest site I've ever seen in the eastern U.S. - at least other than Spruce Knob (WV) and perhaps Reddish Knob (WV/VA).

As to the star party overall, this was obviously a very well-run and well-planned event. For a first time attempt, the organizers did a fantastic bang-up job. If there was any problem it was that I personally was a little disappointed with the topics of the speakers, there essentially not being anything on observational astronomy (although Gary Honis gave a very good talk on light pollution problemsin PA). This is clearly a good site for observing, but right now I (and I suspect lots of others) would not try to attend if the weather was iffy. They need to strengthen their speaker list and topics, and, at least if attendance picks up even some, put up a large tent for the speaker and other programs. Then this would clearly be in the class of the best star parties in the U.S. That said, providing it doesn't interfere with the bi-annual Hidden Hollow Star Party in Ohio - and given a chance of good weather - I certainly plan to attend again.

The first annual Black Forest Star Party was held on September 10-12, 1999 at the Cherry Springs State Park in Coudersport, Pa. The park is located in Potter County, Pa and is possibly the darkest site in the East. My son Phillip and I were eager to see just how dark the skies really were and what it is like to observe free from the light pollution we all hate so much. So, we packed up the van, loaded our equipment, tent, scopes ...everything we could think of, and left on Friday for what we hoped would be an enjoyable weekend of observing. The trip to the site took about five hours and it was a relief to get out of the car and take a look at the field. There were a good number of people already there by the time we arrived, about 6:00PM. It was still light out so we set up our tent and then took a walk over to the refreshment pavilion for something hot to eat. After some soup, we came out from under the pavilion and noted that it was still not quite dark, but dusk. Nevertheless, as we walked back to our site, we looked up and were in for quite a shock. Even with the sun just barely set, the Milky Way was shining bright and boldly overhead. I said out loud "Oh my God, look at the Milky Way" as Phil and I stared at something we had not expected to see that early. Both of us smiled at each other, as we knew this was going to be a special night. We had not gotten more than 100 feet when a few people left the pavilion area and we heard the exact same words we had said a minute earlier. Before we made it back to the tent, a few more light polluted observers shouted out "Oh my God, look at the Milky Way!".

Phil and I set up the scopes, an 8"Orion DOB and the 4.5" Astroscan and pulled out the charts so we could plan our night. I turned on our newly made Bernie Kosher model dew heaters, and plugged everything in. I made a point to survey the skies, from horizon to horizon. There was absolutely no sky glow that I could see, and the treeline was not a problem at all. The MilkyWay by now was stunning, as if someone had turned on millions of Christmas lights from one end of the sky to another. It was chilly, but a bit windy. I wondered if dew was going to be a problem. The site is 2400 feet above sea level, and I had hoped that we might not be as prone to dewing as perhaps at a lower altitude. Before long Phil and I were busy looking through our eyepieces, and marveling at how beautiful the sky can look away from the suburban skies we are so used to. Oh, by the way, why is it that Phil got to use the 8"DOB and I had to use the Astroscan? Whatever happened to seniority? No matter, I had a tremendous blast going from my flip charts of the Messier objects to the scope. Under skies that dark, starhopping was a pleasureobjects actually were exactly where the charts said they would be. The Little Dipper was quite bright, and I was surprised to find it so obvious. I was told that the skies were at magnitude 6.7, pretty impressive to say the least. Every few minutes the oohs and aahs could be heard from those lucky enough to be looking up as a meteor flashed by. This went on all night. There was not a cloud in the sky and it had rained the night before, so I had been hoping the conditions would be good. To say they were good is an understatement.

I had asked Phillip to make a log of what he observed. He did, but it went something like this: "M31 big, M51neat," etc. I was hoping for something a little more detailed and, well, scientific. Oh well, maybe I have to stop being a Dad and just let him enjoy himself more. Phil was blitzing through the sky, observing via the Sky Commander DSC's. I, on the other hand, just used the Messier charts. We both had a fantastic time. If we had skies like these around here, we'd never even consider the DSC's! The North American Nebula, the Veil, the Eagle, so many things in Sagittarius, Perseus, all over!

Normally, we both like to walk around and talk with other observers, look through the giant DOB's (there were some as large as 25 inches there). However, this weekend we were just too busy actually observing to do much else. By midnight, Phil was starting to get sleepy, so we agreed to call it a night. Later that night, I was awaken by the sound of many people talking about how the Orion Nebula looked. Apparently, it was spectacular. The next day I overheard several people say the same thing and most said that they had never seen anything quite like itincluding definite color in M42 when they viewed through the 25-inch DOB. One of my favorite objects was M31, which showed itself as a bright and large smudge naked eye. Through the 8 inch at 49X, the dust lane was easily observed, as were the two other galaxies nearby. I had to move the scope around to see them, though. Using the Astroscan, I spent a good two hours on Friday night swinging from one object in the Teapot to another. It just goes to show you that even a smaller scope can do a great jobespecially if the skies are dark. M13 was beautiful, with great amount of detail visible. I was able to easily locate M81 and M82, almost naked eye. Many of the faint fuzzies we enjoy so much were not so faint at all. In fact, many objects were easily seen naked eyeobjects that are not even visible in Bucks County. Using the Orion Ultrablock nebula filter really brought out the detail in the Veil. We never did see any aurora, although people had mentioned seeing it that weekend.

The dew turned out to be a HUGE problem, for those who had no dew heaters. After the wind died down, it almost seemed to have rained. Everything single thing was dripping wet. That is, everything except for what was warmed by the dew heaters. Thank God that Bernie took the time to show me how to make one, and thank God for my friend Dave, who actually came over earlier in the week and helped put it together. Without a dew heater, we would have been terribly disappointed. Apparently, this was unusually heavy dew for this area.

During the afternoon, Phil and I made the rounds of the field. We checked out lots of unique homemade scopes, as well as dozens of altered commercially made ones. There were awards for best scope (ATM'ers). The prizes were Crayford style 1.25 inch/2 inch focusers. After that, we did some solar observing with the glass filter on the 8-inch.

As far as the accommodations, they were basic. No running water, but bathrooms that were clean. The Pizza party was "OK", but next year they will need to have more. The talks were very good, the people were very friendly, and the observing was better than I had even wished for. Doorprizes were surprisingly good. In fact they even gave away a wide field 6 inch DOB, but only kids were eligible for that drawing. Some veteran observers commented that the skies rated a 7 out of 10 on their scale for Potter County. I cannot imagine what a "10" would be like. This year had 200+ attendees, supposedly next year they expect 400 or so. In fact, it may be a 3-day event. Phil and I are very glad we went and cannot wait until next year. There were no large campers or RV's, which I think was due to the organizers fearing that they would overwhelm the site. Although there was an adjacent field set aside for them, I believe that the restrictions may have scared off a few. Personally, I think that they should have encouraged RV owners. There was more than enough space for them. I did not feel cramped or crowded in any way.

This was the first of what I suspect will be many years of a premier starwatching event. As long as the skies can be kept dark this site will be a favorite with observers on the East Coast looking for a truly dark sky site. I highly recommend it to anyone looking to experience dark skies in a beautiful secluded setting.

What a star party! Kevin Brown, John Nusbaum, Brent Archinal, David Corum, Ed and Laquetta Karch, and I met at the Black Forest Star Party over the weekend and had a great time. About 200 others attended and enjoyed two days of wonderful weather, fellowship, and observing. The observing field had few bad spots and easily handled the crowd, allowing all the attendees good horizons. About the only negative was a terrible amount of dew formation both nights and a slightly annoying sodium vapor light across the street that, fortunately, was mostly blocked out by trees. I expect it will be shielded or gone by next year.

The site's limiting magnitude was 6.5 or a little better both nights. The seeing was fair on Friday but considerably improved on Saturday. The largest telescopes were a 24" Tectron and Jack Galeen's 25" f/5 Obsession. There were several 20" dobs set up, including John Nusbaum's. I got the bugs worked out of my effort to piggy-back a 6" RFT on my 14.5" dob. It and the dob's GOTO drive worked flawlessly all weekend. I got a lot of comments like "Now that's a finder!" as folks noticed the 6" tube mounted on the mirror box.

Although we were all interested in checking out the 'scopes on the field, once night fell on Friday, the serious observing began. The Milky Way was stunning. I don't think I've even seen the Scutum star cloud so bright and well defined. With the dark skies it was truly a challenge deciding whether to focus on very faint objects or enjoy the outstanding views of the showpieces. I did a bit of both. The Sagittarius Messier objects were stunning with or without filters. I finally bagged Minkowski 2-9, an object that had earlier eluded me in Northern Virginia's light pollution. With an O-III filter in place, the RFT provided some of the best views of the North America and Pelican nebulae that I've ever seen. The Triple Cave nebula, or Barnard's E, was outstanding through Brent's 5" Jaegers. Although the seeing was only fair, I was still able to see a good amount of detail on Jupiter after midnight as we observed a shadow transit of Io and the GRS. With Pegasus high overhead, it was easy to resolve four of the five galaxies in Stephan's quintet. The fifth was resolvable with a little patience. By the early morning dew was becoming a real problem. After observing the California nebula through the RFT with the aid of an H-beta filter, I called it quits at about 2:30 a.m. Orion was just coming over the trees. I wondered if the weather hold into Saturday night.

The weather continued the be excellent right through to Sunday. I spent Saturday afternoon talking to folks and napping, so I didn't attend any of the programs put on by the Central Pennsylvania Observers, the star party's sponsoring club. If anything, Saturday night was even clearer and darker than Friday. Despite its low position, Barnard 86 was a lovely site low in the SSW at the end of astronomical twilight. We had little difficulty seeing the central star in M57 in John's 20" and even bagged it in the 14.5" at about 600x.

We had the opportunity to observe Jupiter and Saturn through a 6" Tak with binoviewer that provided some of the nicest images of Saturn that I've seen. The Milky Way was once again stunning and Brent suspected that a slight brightening of the sky that we saw near the Circlet in Pisces was in fact the Gegenschein. The Zodiacal Light was certainly noticeable, crossing the Milky Way at an angle between Taurus and Gemini. Comet Lee was impressive, shining at about 8th magnitude in the eyepiece. By 2:00 a.m., dew once again became a problem. I hadn't brought an extra dew heater to put in my eyepiece cases, so when the eyepieces began to dew over as soon as I took them out of the case, I called it an evening at about 3:45 a.m. My books and charts were all soaked through anyway.

All in all an excellent event. I expect that most of us will plan to attend again next year. When the word gets out about this one, it could very well become one of the major eastern star parties within a short time. The skies are about as dark as one can find at any star party in the East.

The informal star party held at Cherry Springs State Park in Potter County, Pennsylvania on May 5th and 6th, 2000 by the Astronomical Society of Harrisburg was a smashing success despite the unseasonably hot weather and the occasional swarms of gnats. The somewhat hazy skies at night were compensated partially by steady seeing. Although the transparency left a bit to be desired, especially on Friday night, it was good enough for the big Dobs to pull in Hickson and Abell galaxy groups and to provide very good views of some of the showcase star cities of the spring.

The absolute pinnacle of the weekend was the fantastic bolide that occurred at 10:45-6 EDT on Friday night (02:45-6 UT, 2000/5/6). This was the best fireball that I have ever witnessed. The one that I saw last September from Spruce Knob, West Virginia was brighter, at approximately -13 magnitude, but I did not see the entire event in that case. Streaking towards the horizon from Ursa Major through Ursa Minor, the Friday night fireball was simply dazzling as it changed colors and finally fragmented.

Another dazzler of a man-made variety was the pass of Iridium 80 the next evening. The flare reached a magnitude of -7 in the east northeastern sky at 10:29 EDT.

One of the most compelling views I have ever had through a telescope was provided by Dave Barrett's 24" Tectron and an I3 image intensifier eyepiece on Saturday night. The Cat's Eye Nebula, NGC 6543, glowed an eerie green through the I3 and a 4x Tele Vue Power Mate and exhibited internal structure that had to be seen to be believed.

Dave's Tectron was the largest aperture on the field but the 18" and 20" GOTO Starmaster Dobs owned by Dave Pisak and Gary Honis respectively provided plenty of astronomical eye candy too. I also spent quite a bit of astronomical quality time at John Nusbaum's home-made 20" Dob observing Hickson groups as well as galaxies such as M51, M99, M106, NGC 4631 (the Whale Galaxy), NGC 4656 (the Fishhook Galaxy), and NGC 4762.

I had the opportunity to catch some photons through a 92mm Astro-Physics Stowaway for the first time. This nifty little refractor, possibly the best easily transportable telescope in the world, belonged to Tom Bemus.

Anthony Davoli had a very impressive astrophotography rig consisting of a 9.25" Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain, a Vixen VX102-ED refractor, and an Orion ShortTube 80 refractor that allowed shooting two prime focus and two piggybacked camera photographs simultaneously.

My personal observing was done through an Orion ShortTube 80, a 12.5" Starsplitter Compact Dob, and my traveling companion Roger Studer's 15" Obsession Dob. I logged a number of new Herschel 400 galaxies including NGC 4102, NGC 4251, NGC 5373, and NGC 5672 but because I spent a lot of time at other scopes and doing some astrophotography and eyepiece comparisons I didn't make as much progress towards finally finishing the program as I had hoped.

Some of the other notable deep sky objects that I beheld through various telescopes that weekend included M5, M8, M11, M13, M14, M16, M20, M27, M44, M57, M67, M84, M86, M104, M105, NGC 2903, NGC 4565, NGC 6572, the eastern (NGC 6992) and western (NGC 6960) portions of the Veil Nebula, the North American Nebula (NGC 7000), and the galaxies of Markarian's Chain.

Roger and I spent a very pleasant Saturday morning and afternoon in the county seat of Coudersport enjoying a pancake breakfast, bluegrass music at the Maple Festival, and a tour of the Potter County Historical Society Museum (highly recommended). Gary Honis once again demonstrated uncommon hospitality by serving breakfast on Sunday morning.

Cherry Springs State Park, which has just been designated Pennsylvania's first dark sky park, is rapidly becoming a Mecca for amateur astronomers in the eastern United States. And there are some exciting new developments in the works.

The account below is of my first trip to a dark sky site, Cherry Springs State park. I hope to go again and again. Potter County's motto is "God's Country." I can see why.

Camping with my dad and me is never a small operation. Lists were made for this trip about a week in advance. Meals were all planned- Caesar salad, Spaghetti w/meatballs, and italian bread. That's just one night. Anyway, we packed everything we could possibly need into the minivan. It was full. VERY full. We didn't even have space for my 4.5" dob, which I had wanted to take for wider field views.

I took my borrowed OM-2 and some film, just in case we had a night long enough (and clear enough) for astrophotography. And of course, I grabbed my LX-90 and stuck it back in the shipping box, after taping the dust cover so it wouldn't fall off and scratch my corrector.
We set out around 10:30 AM Friday morning. It sure is a long drive from Delaware, I'll tell you that. 7 hours. Arriving at CSSP around 5:30 PM, we explored a little, and set up on the north end of the main observing field, kind of near the restrooms. There was not a soul in sight.

We pitched our tent, and I started setting up the astro equipment while my dad began to cook dinner. It was soon realized that we forgot the pasta (!), so we'd have to eat hot dogs that night. I put my tripod out within cord range of the car, and leveled it. The weather forecast didn't look *too* promising for that night, so I decided against using my wedge.

Right before dinner, a German couple showed up. They were looking to spend the night, and decided to set up next to us. We later found out they had been traveling across the USA for 2 months, and before that had spent 9 months bicycling from Bejing to Singapore. Talk about a trip. The skies looked promising as the sun went down, but it soon became apparent that it wasn't going to be a nice, clear night. The wind was from the east/southeast (a Bad Thing), but I set up anyway. I aligned once it was dark enough to do so and there were a few bright stars visible.

After dark (it took a LONG time to get dark, too), we took advantage of some holes in the clouds to view M13 and M3. I was absolutely amazed. M13 was huge, and absolutely wanted to resolve itself perfectly. I saw so many stars in it, it was incredible. I stuck in the barlow for 154x, and I was rewarded with the most beautiful view of a globular cluster I have ever seen in my life. It was so stunning. My dad, too, really enjoyed it. We showed it to the German couple. They were amazed as well. After that, I slewed over to M3 for a quick look. I've always loved M3. It was the first globular I was able to resolve, so it has found a special little place in my heart. *sniff* Anyway. It was beautiful, as expected. VERY easy to resolve at 154x. Core was smaller, but the outlying regions were very large like M13.

It clouded over then, so we took to discussing stars and astronomy with the Germans. They had never really been able to see stars of different colors, so I promised them a look at Albireo. The clouds decided to cooperate, so I slewed over. They were amazed. Always feels good to help someone out with astro. Around then, the clouds socked in for a while, and Tim Morey and a friend of his came over. Tim was great to talk to. He told us a lot about the region, and about the plans for CSSP. He has an interest in astronomy, so we showed him M13 through a hole in the clouds. It looked even better than it had earlier. Soon after that, the clouds socked in permanently. Tim stayed for a while and chatted. After he left, my dad and I turned in for the night. The next day was to prove far more eventful.

After a light breakfast, my dad and I closed up camp and headed out. We checked out the PA Logging Museum (not to be missed), the Tioga Central RR, and the West Rim of the PA Grand Canyon. Right about then, it started to rain. Not just rain, pouring rain. It was a deluge. We began to make our way back to CSSP, by which time the rain had stopped. The weather was looking hopeful. When we got back, Dan (I didn't catch anyone's last names) was there. He had a beautiful 10" f/4.5 splitring newtonian that he built himself (ground the mirror and everything). Later, another guy showed up. I feel terrible forgetting his name, but, well, I don't remember. He brought news that the weather was supposed to clear around midnight. He set up his AP1200 mount and 6" Starfire apo. I was in awe. That mount is ENORMOUS! The clouds were coming across in bands as the sun set, and we could catch hints of stars, but not much else.

Dan decided not to get his newt out until it cleared, and I kept the cover on my '90 until it did the same- the dew was horrid. The guy with the AP got all aligned up, and was ready to take photos when it cleared. Here's where the watching part began. We were continually listening to weather radio and watching the western horizon for any break in the clouds. None was seen. Finally, around 2 or 2:30 AM, a clear line rolled partway across. We had some good views of M13 and M92. The guy with the AP let me use his 10mm radian while he was photographing- that was cool. We looked at Mars and M92 with it. It was great on M92, but the seeing wasn't very good on mars. I also had the LX90 slew over to M51. I could easily see the whole disk on the main galaxy, and some hints at spiral structure. No good views of the connecting arm, though. Around 3 AM, I turned in for the night. My '90 was soaking wet, and some of the accessory screws have began to rust (*shudder*). I avoided the worst of the dew on the corrector with my funky dew shield, though.

The next day, my dad decided that the weather forecast was so good for Sunday night that he'd take off Monday as well. (WOOOOO!). We proceeded to drive all over creation in our minivan. Highlights of the day: Seeing Tim at the East Rim of the Grand Canyon. Driving some of the bumpiest roads in Tioga and Potter Counties. Fording two streams in the minivan. Stunning scenery. All day, we had some puffy clouds streaming from the west overhead, but as night fell, they just stopped coming. The guy with the AP had left Sunday morning, but Dan stayed. Dennis and Kevin also showed up. Dennis had dual 80mm refractors on a G-8 mount for photography and an U8 for visual. Kevin had a 10" LX-200 on a superwedge. Everyone except me had a dew heater of some kind. This is something I really regretted.

The night started out wonderfully. I took a look at M5. It was really thick at 77x, and was downright stunning at 154x. M13 rivaled the view of it that I had had on Friday night (again at 154x). Finally, Saggitarius was free. You could see the Lagoon complex naked eye! I slewed over there, and was rewarded with an incredible view of the nebula. It was entwined with the cluster so nicely at 77x. I tried using the O-III filter. It helped some, but dimmed the cluster down so the overall impression was lessened. After M8, I told the '90 to go to M24, just to see what I could see at 77x. I was amazed. The field was wall to wall with stars... I have never SEEN so many stars in the field at once. I slewed around, just enjoying it. I believe there were a few dark nebulae in there, holes in the cloud, but I couldn't be sure. M21 was sparseish, not too impressive. I then took a little tour of some of the Ophiuchus globulars. I particularly liked M10, it was relatively easy to resolve, and quite beautiful. More of a stardust type effect than M13 or M3, even at 154x. M12 was very interesting. I could detect a very elliptical quality to the core, something I've never seen in a globular before. I could partially resolve M12, but not too well at 154x. Next up was M14. It had even more of a stardust effect, but was nearly impossible to resolve any stars at any of the mags i tried. M19 was slightly more resolvable, but I tended to like M14 better.

After that tour, I did some photography. I shot M13 and the Lagoon on T-Max P3200 B&W. Next up was more visual- M17, M20, and M16. At 77x, M17 was a beautiful patch of nebulosity. I've always tended to favor it over the Lagoon, I'm not sure quite why though. I stuck in the O-III at 77x for a great view. For the first time, i could see the actual swan shape. Some of the striations and variations in the body of it appeared as though they were feathers. Surrounding nebulosity that was brought out with the O-III appeared as though they were ripples in the water the swan was in. It was quite beautiful!

After that, I went over to the Trifid, M20, for my first look at it. After a good look at 77x, I was finally able to see the dark lanes in
it, and the reflection nebula to the north. It was quite cool- one of those instances where it looked like a photograph, but without the color.
All the while, I was slowly starting to get a bunch of dew on my corrector. It probably started around midnight when the wind stopped, but it was slowly getting worse. I wanted to finish the roll of film, but I also wanted to see so much more. I continued on to M16, where I just saw the cluster, but no nebulosity. My last visual object in my scope for the night was M22. At 77x, it was huge- larger than M13. There was a large fuzz in the core, and it was sprinkled with tiny stars. At 154x, it was the best glob I've ever seen. The number of stars resolved was more than M13, but there was still more of a fuzz in the background, making it all the more beautiful. Thankfully, the dew was not yet a problem.

Once I was done with M22, I nearly finished the roll back on M17. By this time, the scope was incredibly dewed up. It was 1:30 or 2 AM. I had been noticing a large amount of skyglow to the north most of the night, and began to comment on it. Someone thought it might be Coudersport, but Dan looked up and immediately identified it as an aurora- my first. I alternated looking back and forth between the aurora and the beautiful Milky Way in Cygnus and Saggitarius. Around 2:15-2:30, the aurora began to pick up. It took on a slightly greenish (very slight) color, and started to throw streamers up. Some of the streamers began to get very bright. There were beautiful curtains and streamers slowly moving across the northern sky most of the night, until twilight hit. They reached at least 40 degrees above the horizon.

I attempted to do some piggyback photos while watching the aurora, but the camera lens dewed up. Dan finished photographing around 3 AM or a little earlier, so he offered to show me some things in his scope. We took a look at M8 (stunning), M17, M31/32/110, M57, and M27. We used my O-III on M17 and M57, where it really helped. M27 was really cool- I saw the central star for the first time. After that, he swung over to Venus, which was rising in the southeast, just as mars was setting in the southwest. At one point, they
were both about 5 degrees above the treeline. Very cool.

As twilight brightened, the aurora attempted a comeback with a few faint streamers, but mostly stayed as a glow to the north that eventually merged with the twilight. I finally went to bed at 4:30 AM, after the most incredible night of astronomy I have ever had. Thanks to everyone who has made Cherry Springs State Park what it is, and to those hardy souls who were also there (especially Saturday night).