Nebraska has a lot of good things going for it. We have abundant farm land with one of the largest underground freshwater sources in the world; lots of lakes and streams for recreation; pasture for cattle; abundant blue skies; good, breathable air; a relatively low crime rate; and, contrary to some opinions out there, intelligent life. <smile> It is no wonder the state slogan is "The Good Life."

Many of the early pioneer families--the "sodbusters," if you will--came to this part of the country for those very reasons: abundant land, big skies, and the opportunity for creating a good life for themselves.

There is one other thing that the early sodbusters had that is not written about very much -- the stars. Out on the open prairies of Nebraska, the nighttime sky was extremely dark and displayed the "billions and billions" of stars of which the late Carl Sagan spoke so frequently.

Those same stars are still drawing people to the dark skies of Nebraska. The Omaha Astronomical Society and the Prairie Astronomy Club of Lincoln held their annual weeklong "Star Party" from August 2-8. They chose to be under the very dark skies of north central Nebraska at Merritt Reservoir, located southwest of Valentine, Nebraska. This is a place that offers opportunity for family recreation and a chance to engage in a favorite pastime, star-gazing.

Admittedly, I am one of those "star nuts." So, I was there, along with my wife (Janice) and 10-year old son (Kenneth), who is a budding star nut. We were among the faithful who had high hopes for clear skies and outstanding viewing opportunities.

Kenneth Whetstone tries out one of the more unique
viewing devices, a binocular viewing chair.
It allows the viewer to swivel in a complete circle, and
the binoculars are held in place by a pneumatic
support structure. The enterprising owner was selling
plans for construction of the chair.

The 1997 version of the star party was the fourth annual and drew amateur astronomers from several states and three foreign countries--Belgium, Canada and Brazil. There was even a couple from Hawaii in attendance. By mid-week, there were 212 registered and an expectation of more than 350 people in attendance by the closing day.

Jason Stahl, a Criminal Justice major at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, who was coordinator for the event, said, "This is an opportunity for our club members and others to include their families in the practice of their hobby. Sometimes, it is just dad or mom loading up the scope and heading for a dark-sky place. Now, the family can come along, and we offer recreation opportunities for everyone."

The biggest scope on the field -- 36" Obsession --
attracted a lot of attention.

As the sun dropped toward the western horizon, the star gazers--with their eyes turned toward the sky--started to gather on the viewing field, which is a large, relatively flat hilltop where the large and small telescopes can be set up, aligned, and readied for a night-long viewing session.

This year, as in the previous three, the skies were not always clear. For the fourth annual star party, only three nights offered acceptable viewing conditions. However, even if the night started cloudy, it did occasionally turn clear toward the wee hours of the morning. Such clearing found the dedicated, die-hard astronomers at their scopes, ready, and waiting. Also, conversely, some of the nights that started clear turned cloudy during those same wee hours.

Apprehensive star gazer watches a brewing
thunderstorm on the horizon.

One thing about a dedicated "star nut" is that even though the sky is overcast and clouds block the light from the stars, they do not go away. They sit there with their scopes at the ready, waiting for the clouds to part and the viewing to begin--no matter how long it takes. Sometimes, that is all night. Nevertheless, they wait.

At this year's star party, there was a new word added to my vocabulary. That word is "sucker hole." According to those using the word, it is a hole that develops in the cloud-cover, thus giving the viewer hope. Enough hope that he or she jumps to the scope, removes the cover protecting the expensive equipment from the dew, and readies the instrument for viewing just in time to see the hole close up again and drift away -- hence the name, "sucker hole."

On one of those cloudy nights, Janice provided some entertainment for the disappointed astronomers. The small son of a tenting neighbor had a glow-stick, a small three-inch long tube containing a glass vial. When snapped, the vial broke and combined its chemical contents with another chemical in order to give off a phosphorescent glow.

Since Janice, Kenneth, and I are also "kite nuts," we thought about how much fun it would be to attach the glow-stick to one of our kites. We brought kites to fly in skies free from trees and power lines. With a word of warning to Janice about the consternation she was about to cause just over the sand ridge on the viewing field, we lofted the kite and listened. Sure enough, the murmurs started and soon developed into a loud rumble of questions. Eventually, one astute observer recognized what it was and loudly told everyone else. That is when the fun began.

It seems that bored astronomers do not just sit around discussing technical details about scopes and equipment and telling old war stories of past viewing glory. Anticipating cloudy nights, they had packed large strobe lights in order to play "laser wars" and "photon torpedo." Removing the eyepiece of the telescope and aiming the instrument at someone across the viewing field, they flashed the strobe through the empty eyepiece socket. Hence, a "laser beam" flashed out.

Once the question was answered regarding what the "Unidentified Flying Thing" was --notice I did not say "object," although that thought did flit through the minds of some who were there -- the "laser beams" began shooting out like anti-aircraft fire, seeking the kite.

Nighttime is not the only time for fun and games. There was a daylong float of the Niobrara River in canoes and on inner tubes. Some called it a four-hour floating water fight. There was an afternoon beach party, catered meals, an ice-cream social, and other family-centered events. Many enjoyed door prizes of astronomy equipment, books, computer software, and other assorted materials given away throughout the week.

Lynn & Steve Edmondson and their son, Andrew, of Carbondale, IL.
anticipate their hamburgers at one of the two catered meals served
at the Nebraska Star Party. The other meal featured steak.

Although there were cloudy skies, a thunderstorm, and a night of high wind (which caused the campers to scurry in order to secure tent and tarp pegs), it could be said that "a good time was had by all."

Yet, the designated Clear Skies Coordinator for the event did have to suffer the "...slings and arrows of outrageous fortune." At the beach party, he was coerced into sitting in a chair while the attendees took turns with a giant sling shot, lofting water balloons in his direction--a penance for his shortcomings. Yes, he did receive the penalty for his failure to deliver consistently clear skies.

If this sounds like something you would enjoy, the 5th Annual Nebraska Star Party will be held at Merritt Reservoir during the week of July 18-24, 1998. If you do not have a telescope, this is still the place for you. There will be a bunch of them there -- big ones, too. In fact, I did not take my scope, but was still able to add several stellar objects to my lifetime viewing list.

If you would like to see more photographs of the Nebraska Star Party and some of the objects viewed, check out the WWW link below. It will put you right in the middle of the activities. Maybe we will see you next year.