Reminder: Galaxy Road Trip still has a few more spaces.

[Guest guest]

A note to let everyone know that we still have room for a few more people on the

Galaxy Road Trip happening May 30 - June 1.

 

If you want to go, be sure to call me right away at 415-567-6773 so I can send

you the trip sign up materials! (Due with payment on May 21)

 

Because most of us live in horrendously light-polluted cities, we rarely get a

chance to see the universe as it truly is, without a thick blanket of artificial

sky glow hiding almost everything from view. And not many people have the

astronomical expertise or equipment to examine galaxies, nebulas, star clusters,

double stars, planets, etc. under excellent conditions that we hope to enjoy on

the trip.

 

The goal of the trip is to give ordinary veggie-eating people a low-cost

opportunity to experience the breathtaking beauty of the summer night sky, in

the crystal clear and totally dark skies of Nevada's high desert -- despite the

high cost of gas. To maximize the effect, we selected a weekend when there is

only a thin crescent moon that doesn't rise until about 3:30am so not even

moonlight will interfere with our view. Of course, good companionship and

tastey vegan food will make the trip even more fun and joyous. No prior

astronomy knowledge is needed!

 

We plan to carpool and stay in an inexpensive cabin motel. Patricia Koot (a

certified nutrition educator – I believe that’s her title, and very good chef

too) will plan and cook our all-vegan meals! The idea is that all the

accommodations, food, carpools, etc are arranged and paid for up front so during

the actual trip people can just enjoy themselves. Each cabin is believed to

have its own kitchen for individual cooking, however, given the time constraints

of the trip, including very late nights, long drives, and need to sleep during

the day (rather than scurry about buying food and cooking), we thought it would

be easier for Patricia to specialize by running a central commissary. Of course

anyone who would like to help her in the cooking is encouraged to do so!

 

The organizers have put a lot of effort into planning this trip in hopes that it

will be a great and memorable experience for everyone! In hopes of giving

people the best possible show I've put together a detailed schedule of the

objects to be viewed with our telescopes (Dave Koot's big telescope and my

little telescope). I worked out a complete minute by minute schedule for the

whole trip, selecting the most eye-appealing and easiest to find objects suited

to our different telescopes. You may be surprised how many galaxies, nebulas,

etc you can notice from a truly dark site with just your own eyes; ass seen

through Dave Koot’s telescope, the various deep sky objects look quite groovy.

 

Completed paperwork and payment is due no later than May 21. These can be

mailed to SFVS, or you can give them to us at the special trip orientation and

participant meet-and-greet meeting on May 21 at the Wednesday dinner. While this

meeting is not mandatory, it's highly recommended that participants attend.

 

People willing to drive carpools are much needed and the carpooling fees have

been set so that drivers do not lose money in the bargain and in fact may make a

small profit for their efforts. (Remember gas is cheaper outside the bay area

and much gas will be purchased away from SF.)

 

Cost is about $175 - $200 per person depending on your choice of accomodations.