1998
Table Mountain Star Party 1998
It's hard to believe that this was the year of the tenth annual Table Mountain Star Party. Looking back, none of us imagined how successful and terrific TMSP would become. It is a true credit to the amateur astronomers of the Northwest who have supported the event, giving it the energy which makes it progress and thrive.
The weather, even at this altitude, was HOT during the day. But down the mountain it was even hotter - in Ellensburg temperatures reached 105 degrees. Evenings, however, were wonderful as you wandered about amid the buzz of hundreds of astronomers enjoying the sights of the night skies and sharing them with each other. It is impossible to explain what a unique experience an evening on Table Mountain is - you have to be there. Those who have attended know what I mean.
Summary
This year's primary door prize was a 6" f/8 International Telescope complete with equatorial mount, motor drive, 3 eyepieces, 6 color filters, 50mm finder scope, 4x Barlow, camera adapter, and sunscreen. This telescope was donated by Astronomical Telescopes' Bill Borsheim and Jim Bielaga. Thank you for your generosity. Our lucky winner was Steve Schonberger of Redmond, WA, a member of the Seattle Astronomical Society.
A very sincere thanks to Herb and Paula York of Anacortes Telescope and Wild Bird for their very substantial donations made on the mountain.
Also, a thank you to Joseph and Karen Sunseri from Earth and Sky Adventure Products for their generous donation of two Celestron Novice 50s to the Student Program for use as door prizes.
Additional prizes were donated by our on-site vendors, sent by other companies not able to be with us, and purchased by the TMSPA. The retail value of all donated items totaled over $5000.
Matt Bergvall - USFS: USFS: "Trees" of our area.
Alan Gorski - S&T Contributor: "Eyepieces" and how to select them.
Ken Swanson: "Stars on Line" - the automation of the Rattlesnake Mountain Observatory for classroom use.
Alan Gorski: "Filters" - their use and selection.
Joe Rottman - Rose City Astronomers / Sidewalk Astronomers: "Basic Astronomy" - how to get started.
Kelly Beatty - Senior Editor, "Sky & Telescope Magazine": Senior Editor, "Sky & Telescope Magazine": "Impacts" - past asteroid, comet and meteor impacts on the earth.
Kelly Beatty: "The future of Astronomy".
Randy Johnson - Seattle Astronomical Society: "A Walking Telescope Tour".
Al George - Pettinger Guiley Observatory: "Building a Backyard Observatory".
Jeff Medkeff - Assistant Coordinator for the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers (ALPO): "The History of Observing, How to Observe".
We wish to offer a special thank you to our Judges for all their time Friday night and Saturday. We well understand that this is a big, time consuming job.
- Dr. Chuck Jacobson, Tacoma Astronomical Society ( TAS )
- Mark Buettemeir, Squak Mountain
- Brad Hitzel, CAMASSIA Group ( Wenatchee)
- Gene Dietzen
Here are our winners:
"They stood at the ready, with passports in hand, searching the mountain for walking planets. They ran on three legs, told time by the sun and the stars and walked with nature in splendid decor. They ate watermelon, played some more bingo and answered Jeopardy questions for prizes galore."
This is just a sampling of the games and activities the students at the 1998 Table Mountain Star Party readily and happily participated in. As many as 229 students under the age of 18 registered at the TMSP98 for the fun. Games like the "Big Bang Run" and "Solar Search" sent them scampering in all directions on the site. Other daytime activities included astronomical face painting, nature walks and of course our annual "Table Mountain Games", which include the three-legged race, the infamous water race and the watermelon eating contest, which always brings huge smiles to their faces. Our night-time schedule consisted of Constellation Bingo and Astronomy Jeopardy, complete with game board and light system!
This year our student program was bolstered by the added effort of Mr. Jack Horne and his team of volunteer teachers. The students learned how to make star clocks, sundials, star frames and star wheels. Each was taught to track the movement of the sun on a sundial, how to tell time at night with a star clock, learned the constellations and even made their own on a star frame. Best of all, was the fact that each student was allowed to take each item they made home with them for further enjoyment. Again, our Thanks to Jack Horne and his teachers!
As with most large gatherings, there is the door prize drawing. The students gathered, eagerly awaiting their chance to win one of two Celestron Novice 50 Telescopes donated by Joseph and Karen Sunseri of Earth and Sky Adventure Products or one of the many prizes donated by Jim Bielaga of Rex's Astro Stuff, Bob Nederman from Astronomical Innovations and Tony Hallas from Astro-Photo prints. There were simply too many prizes to list all the vendors who donated, but their generosity made TMSP a very enjoyable time for all the students. Thank you to all the vendors! Our tradition on Table Mountain each year is to ensure that each and every student receives a prize, this year was no exception .... no student walks off Table Mountain without something. After the vendors door prizes were given away, each student who did not win a prize was given a red glow-in-the-dark light bracelet. It was incredible, seeing so many glowing red light sticks on their wrists, in their hats or just waving in the air.
Everyone, including the staff, had a terrific time and is looking forward to next year.
From The TMSPA Staff
The Table Mountain Star Party Association Board of Directors would like to thank all the people who so graciously donated their time and talents to help make this year's event run smoothly. Thanks to Frank Gilliland and the Squak Mt guys for volunteering to spend many hours on the dusty road directing parking. Thanks to Ken Slavens, Bob Isaacs and the Tacoma Astronomical Society for the excellent student programming they provided. Thank you to Al George and the Sky Shoppe for the help in procuring door prizes. Thank you to David Harris of HTS Audio for donating the use of their fine audio equipment.
A special thanks to the guys of the Navy CB unit, Construction Battalion
CBU-421 from Everett, WA:
for putting up and taking down those "pain in the neck ( and back, and legs, and arms )" speakers tents ( also known as GP Mediums ). You guys made our day - twice. Once again THANK YOU !!
A great big thank you to the 35 "Friends of Table Mountain" volunteers, who helped over and over again with the many and various tasks on the mountain - TMSP would not be what it is today without our faithful volunteers! Look for them next year wearing their hard earned `TMSP Volunteer T-shirts'.
Also, a sincere thank you, to those we have forgotten to mention specifically, for all your support! You are all the reason we get better and better.
We really appreciate all the positive input received about this year's event. Many people work hard, planning and producing the TMSP. Their only reward is to know it's worth the effort.
The TMSPA has already gone to work on next years event to be held on August 12, 13, and 14th, 1999.
Make your plans now and enjoy astronomy at its best.
Page updated 04/28/2008