I’m planning on coming out around 7:30.
Looks like a great night!
Chris (CatsPaw) and Bill (Mitche’s Tom) have opened CRO. See you soon!
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Everyone, we have storms traking straight into CRO from the SW. Looks like about 45-60min ETA.
The bad news is that it is growing and more developing behind it.
I’m not going to make it out tonight.
I’m on the way there. Fingers crossed.
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My weather apps show the storms died before they got to CRO, but who knows how accurate they are. Now one app says it’s mostly clear, and another app says it’s mostly cloudy.
I hope the one that says it’s mostly clear is accurate!
I just got back home, so I will not be heading that way.
Hoping the clouds clear out soon. 4 pads are in use along with the 14in and 30in scopes.
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Clouds lingered, but with enough openings for views with the C14. The 30" mirror was moved back into it’s cradle within incident thanks the crew. Imaging was disappointing for some members as their targets were clouded out or hazy. The was a lot of humidity in the air affecting seeing. But overall, the member attendees seemed very happy to have come out to see the facility and talk with one another.
CRO is in good shape now with a better 30", cut grass, sprayed for stickers, (I only had 2), better water, and better rolloff roof!
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Hi all! Very new here. I was looking to attend the 8/16 event. I see there is an option for invited guest. What are the policies and procedures? Is there a sign up, or someone I need to run it by, or do I just show up with them?
Very excited for my first night at CRO
Hey Jared! Welcome!
Guests are invited! (we call them prospective club members!)
No advance notice needed. Just show up. Check here before leaving if the weather is bad or iffy to make sure it will be open that evening. We’ll post here and on the club calendar (accessed through the website) if we cancel.
If you want a guide, post on here requesting to meet someone and we can guide you in. But if you put Cheddar Ranch Observatory, Watonga, OK into either google maps or apple maps, you can get directions with either one.
Don’t worry if you don’t have a scope. You can look through other folks scopes, or, if you know how to use it, there are several scopes there that you can use. If you have binoculars, bring those. Or just bring your eyeballs!
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Thank you very much! I’ll check back when closer to event night, but hopefully we see y’all out there!
The next All Members Night is this Saturday, 16 August!
The forecast is good to marginal. Hopefully it will improve a bit before Saturday! I hope it will be as good as it is right now in my backyard!
Sunset is at 2022 (8:22pm). The moon will not rise until 0048, so should not be a problem unless you’ll be observing all night.
Watch here for updates!
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Can’t make this one due to a Sunday family gathering commitment.
Clear skies everyone!!
I’m planning on coming out tonight Aug 16th. I could do some training on either one of the 2 telescopes if anyone is interested. I will get out there an hour before sunset or maybe earlier.
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The forecast is for partly to moderately cloudy skies, with winds 10mph or above. Probably won’t be the best night for viewing, but often with forecasts like this it turns out it was a great evening!
Ron and I will be there about 3 to mow and trim, so CRO will be open whenever you get there.
The forecast for next weekend is looking even better than this one! Mostly clear skies, with winds 5-10mph. But this is Oklahoma and that can change in 5 minutes, much less a week out.
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I’m interested in training on …
Dave,
I would normally be interested in training on the 14-inch, but am going to try imaging 3I/ATLAS tonight from one of the pads with my own equipment. 3I/ATLAS is too low from my home (blocked by rooftops) and this may be my last opportunity to get out to CRO before it gets lost in the western sunset dusk in September.
I’ll be there. I want to practice on the scopes. I want to set something up before sunset though.
I’m heading out in a few minutes, looking forward to it! Would love to get in on some C14 training.