Jeff getting ready for the evening. I think this is just before he took over as club president.

Kirk with his homemade 12" Dob.

Not sure who this gentleman is. I think he was from another club. Anybody who brings a telescope is welcome!

Bill setting up for the twilight presentation.

My scope.

Getting dark.

Some of the visitors waiting for the program to start.

Our ranger introducing us and the club.

Jeff and a park guest looking for the first star of the evening.

The eyepiece on Bill's telescope works well for taking pictures with a cell phone. Folks were getting some pretty good ones of Half Dome.

Kirk and Vernal Falls.

We all like to get set up well before it gets dark. That gives the Glacier Point visitors a chance to check out Half Dome. Sometimes there are even some climbers on the mountain. Everyone always gets a kick out of seeing some climbers up close and personal. With our telescopes you can even see what color their climbing shoes are.

Dwight, a long time, and I believe, a charter member of the SCAC.

Some of the folks checking out all the telescopes before it gets dark.

Mark on the left with a couple of park guests.

Jeff schmoozing with one of our guests.

Bill in the middle of the pre-observing presentation.

Half Dome sunset. It never gets old :)

Years ago Dwight and Chris built this 12" binocular telescope. It gives fantastic views that are truly three-D. Dwight and his kids putting it all together.

Astronomy is not a hobby that revolves around instant gratification. We spend a lot of time waiting for dark to come around. It can take a while to find your object. Once you find it then you have to focus and track it. Observing tends to be a quiet and contemplative activity. Mark and Bill hanging around.

What a difference just a little change in exposure time can make. See the picture above.

The park rangers that introduce us are really top notch. They really want to make sure the park visitors have a great astronomy experience, so they try to help us with whatever we need. The best thing is having electrical outlets at the amphitheater. 110v power is always way better that having to haul batteries out there with us.

I stuck my little digital camera up to the eyepiece of my telescope and got this. Not bad, eh? My telescope is a Schmidt-Cassegrain, that means that images are backward and upside-down. So I flipped this one around...

Mark and Bill again. Two wizened astronomers :)

Dwight taking in the scene.

That's me.

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