(This article originally appeared in the Q3 2005 STAR newsletter.  -I)

Star Quest II – A Summer Wonder

Scott Carpenter

Star Quest II was held July 6-10 at the National Radio Astronomy Observatory in Green Bank, WV. This was the second year of the event, hosted by the Central Appalachian Astronomy Club (CAAC) of Clarksburg, WV. There were approximately 125 attendees. I attended this year with my two sons, Christian, 8, and DJ, 4, along with my 7-year-old nephew, Tino. From my home, it was about a 7 hour drive to the event, but the last few hours are through some of the most beautiful country-side in the Appalachians, and simply added to the total experience.

Being hosted at a nationally-funded astronomy center, the event was an extremely pleasant experience, compared to other more “rustic” star parties. The camping field was several acres of open field next to the site’s airstrip, although we never saw a plane come or go during the time we were there. The site was barely half-filled with campers. Green Bank NRAO also has an on-site bunk house for guest use, and these were available for event registrants for a nominal additional fee. The best news was that they had very good shower facilities, with the ever-important “hot” water!

Events during the day included a number of hour-long lectures on topics ranging from an Intro to Radio Astronomy to an examination of Optical Systems for Amateurs. There was a keynote speaker each night. Friday night’s address on the Nature of Science by Joe Heafner of Catawba Valley Community College was especially interesting (note to Club – we should get Joe to speak to RAC sometime…). Attendees were also allowed to use the site’s 40’ radio dish by first taking a 1-hour orientation session, and then signing up for a late-night session to do some real amateur radio astronomy. My group found a huge patch of hydrogen gas that was moving towards us, which we didn’t think was going to hit us eminently, but you should watch out, just in case that thing smacks into you one day soon. Each night they showed a movie in the auditorium. As seen through my son, Christian’s eyes, the classic “The Day the Earth Stood Still” is apparently one of the greatest comedies ever made. I kept trying to tell him that people thought movies like this were really scary when they were first released, but that just seemed to make him laugh even harder. “Klatu Barada Nikto” was the funniest punch line ever! Just no respect for the classics. Kids!

The site had a great visitor’s center, with an absolutely fantastic hands-on science exhibit. My kids went there for at least an hour every day, with more and more questions coming up each day that they would return to the center. So, I call that a definite success. There were also two different kids’ activities each day sponsored by the event staff (making a planisphere, checking out the star lab, giving your parents an hour of freedom, etc.) The NASA bus was on site for a couple of days. Being in a radio-free zone, I was a little dismayed at the time that the NASA employee didn’t have any updates on the pending launch of the Shuttle Discovery (which we subsequently made two attempts to travel to Florida to eventually see, but that’s another story). We also took the local tour of the radio dishes. I had been at Green Bank as a young tyke, but that was before the 300’ dish collapsed from metal fatigue in 1997 after significantly outlasting it’s expected design and usage time. We did get to see the new 100 meter dish, the “world’s largest fully steerable single aperture antenna.” The entire site is within the nation’s radio free zone. No cell phones, walkie-talkies, TV signals, or any other kind of interference is allowed. We heard one story of a local whose garage door opener started failing and emitting radio signals that were interfering with research at the site. The story goes that they sent out the direction finder van, identified the culprit, and “helped” the local man fix his garage door opener. While at the site, we could not pick up any radio stations. In fact, this was during the time that the first London bombings occurred, and we had difficultly getting information about “the world” (although sometimes that’s what you want in a vacation, eh?)

The weather was pleasant – mid 70’s in the day and high 50’s at night. Seeing was great. It was particularly enjoyable to be at a dark site for several days in the summer to catch all the summer wonders. For me, this comes basically 6 months opposite the Winter Star Party, which gives me a chance to pay more attention to the summer treasures. We caught a glimpse of Mercury in our binoculars right after sunset, and even Venus and Jupiter performed well for us in my 16” F/4.5. One of the most enjoyable parts of the event was that we WERE allowed to use our green laser pointers (heck – these don’t interfere with that big ol’ 100 meter dish). We had some remnants of Hurricane Dennis that gave us an extended rain shower, which turned out to be enough to flood us out of the tent. Finding a way to fit 4 people in a mini-van is an exercise that I hope none of you ever has to attempt. If you do, I would quickly suggest that you give up on any notion of “comfort”.

Overall, we found the event very enjoyable. For me, there’s no better way to pass along in life what matters most, and this type of event wraps up everything in life that I love – vacation, astronomy, and time with the kids. There’s a good chance you’ll catch me there again next year.