Hello! I am brand new here and will be attending the observation Saturday the 26th since I am interested in possibly joining the club. Any advice on some items to bring that may not be obvious to first timers? Thanks, and I look forward to getting out there!
My wife and I are planning to go out to CRO for the first time on Saturday. Weâll aim to arrive in the late afternoon.
Welcome Derek! Even though it looks like it wonât be cold, bring a jacket, maybe a stocking cap and gloves. As Dave often says, dress for 20 deg colder than it is. Weâre not moving around much so it feels cold.
Please park so your headlights point towards the gate. And only use red flashlights or headlamps after dark. You can get red film to put over the lens of a white flashlight if you donât have a red light. Iâll bring some tail light repair tape, which works great.
Also, thereâs stickers, sand burrs I guess, out there, so I donât recommend sandals or open toed shoes. I usually wear boots. And take off your shoes when you get home, before you walk on carpet. Theyâll stick to your shoes, until the carpet snags them. I guarantee youâll find them again the next time you walk around barefoot. And donât let them get onto your lawn, or youâll have them all over next spring.
If you donât eat beforehand, you can bring some food heat it up. Thereâs a full kitchen. Bring anything you like to drink, though we have a few things there for all to drink. Lots of instant tea, hot chocolate, etc. Iâll bring a few snacks that anyone is welcome to. Thereâs water in the cooler or bottles in the fridge. DONâT drink the water from the faucet. Itâs not potable.
If you donât have a scope, donât worry. You can look through others, or we have several that you can use. If you have binoculars, bring them. You should be able to see Comet 2023 A3 with them tomorrow.
Anything I forgot CRO members?
Please make sure someone with a key is going to have it open when you get there, otherwise youâll be sitting at the gate until one of us gets there. I still havenât found out if it needs mowing, so not sure when Iâll be there.
Dave checked on the camera, and it doesnât look like the grass has grown much, if any, since the last mowing, so I wonât be heading out early to mow.
I like to stop at Swadleyâs in El Reno for dinner before heading out, so my plan now is to get to Swadleyâs around 4:15-4:30, leave around 5 and get to CRO about 6. Sunset is at 6:44.
If anyone wants a guide, meeting me at Swadleyâs is easiest. Or post on here what time you can get to Cherokee Trading post or Geary City Hall, and make arrangements with someone else going to meet at either place. Cherokee is the traditional meeting spot, but Iâve found meeting at the Geary City Hall is easier to find each other. Lots of cars at Cherokee and itâs easy to miss each other. There are no cars at the Geary City Hall lot on Saturday evening, so if a car is there, itâs probably waiting for a guide.
You can also get directions in either Google or Apple Maps. Just search for Cheddar Ranch Observatory, Watonga, OK, and it should pop up.
Iâll probably be there until 11-midnight, but another CRO member might stay later.
Itâs going to be chilly, so dress warmly! Iâll probably put on some long johns and wear my winter boots. Fall is definitely here!
I plan on getting there around 5:30 to 5:45 - ish to set up
Driving thru Geary is a speedtrap! Be sure and slow down at every sign. 25 thru downtown.
Especially coming home. Make sure you donât speed anywhere near Geary. And the city limits go all the way to I-40.
CRO is now open!
I plan to be there shortly adter dark.
We had a great All Members Night at CRO last night! Some wispy clouds early, but those cleared off. Almost no wind. Great viewing.
The comet C/2023 A3 (Tsuchinshan-ATLAS) was naked eye visible (barely. Itâs fading fast!). The Milky Way was bright overhead.
Thanks to Chris Johns for opening, and Marv Halsey, for opening and operating the 14â! Iâm always glad when thatâs open and in use!
We had at least 14 folks there last night! Thatâs how many I counted before it got dark. Itâs possible one or two more came after dark and slipped by me. There were quite a few non-CRO members, which is the whole point of All Members Night at CRO. And four of the folks there were prospective members! We might have some new folks join soon. Great viewing nights like last night are the best recruiting tools for the club!
It got a bit chilly, dropping into the low 50s. I needed my long johns, winter boots, stocking cap and a warm shirt and coat. Plus some light gloves at times. The building was a great place to warm up though! And with no wind, it wasnât bad at all. Stickers were bad.
The long range forecast for next week, Nov 2, is not looking good. I see in the forecast a 70% chance of thunderstorms in that area next Saturday, day and night. But this is Oklahoma. Stand by. Iâll probably make the call on Saturday. And also check back here for any last minute changes.
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It was my first time out last night, and all I can say is WOW! Thanks to all who make this possible; this is a fantastic facility! Iâm looking forward to the next members night.
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Iâm glad you had a good experience last night! And nice pics!
Great photos, Bob! Thanks for your feedback. We work hard to make All Member Night a great experience for all. Of course, we cannot control the weather; but it was one of the best viewing nights Iâve seen all year. Transparency was very good and seeing was excellent.
Thanks to Chris for opening and helping manage the facility last night. He changed batteries in the always annoying smoke detector, removed a small snake from the water heater closet and helped me cover the C14 at closing. Did much more to help members feel welcome all evening.
Thanks to Mitche for hosting and providing delicious snacks! They were devoured as the night got cooler.
It was a pleasure meeting new and prospective members and showing off our C14. We viewed the comet, planets, several nebulae and various NGC objects, and Jupiter rising at the end of the night. There were lots of âWOWâ experiences for us all; myself included as I had not seen the comet as yet.
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OKCAC Member night at CRO on Saturday, Nov 2nd.
Sunset is at 6:37pm and the moon sets at 7:05pm.
The current forecast for Saturday is cloudy all day with rain chances. This one may need to be cancelled.
The forecasts for Saturday are still not good. But weâll make the final call tomorrow afternoon.
ALL MEMBERS NIGHT IS CANCELLED FOR NOVEMBER 2
Forecasts havenât changed. At a minimum itâs going to be completely overcast tonight, with a strong possibility of thunderstorms.
No need to wait until this afternoon to cancel.
Thanks for the update, though I figured it would be
forgot to say thank you online drmarvh44; info: the 2 camper/motorhome spots have 30A electricity but no sewer;
OKCAC Member night at CRO on Saturday, Nov 23rd.
Sunset is at 5:23pm and the moon rises at 1:11am. Will have some planets to look at Mercury, Venus, Saturn, Neptune, Jupiter and Mars.
If youâre planning to come out, please post on here that you are going. We need at least 1 CRO member to open things up.
Remember to dress for temperatures 20 degrees colder than the temperature in the city.
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