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It's back....And this year we look forward to having another great time! 
You asked for it? You got it! The Hidden Hollow weekend Star Party at Warren Rupp Observatory will be back again this year the weekend of May 2nd - 4th!
Hidden Hollow 2008 Star Party Weekend Schedule
Welcome to the Hidden Hollow Star Party Weekend! One of our major pleasures is being able to offer our guests a variety of things to do – but the hardest part is finding time to do them all! The following schedule took careful consideration and some of our speakers repeat in order to allow our guests to participate in other program additions like Workshops and Planetarium programs. No matter what you choose to do and when, we’re sure you’ll have a wonderful time! FRIDAY, May 2nd
12:00 pm – Registration Opens (Club House)
12:00 pm – Sky High Lodge Opens (Prizes and Exhibits Areas)
12:00 pm – North Star Concessions Opens (Sky High Lodge area)
1:00 pm – Vendor Area Opens (Sky High Lodge)
1:00 pm – Raffle Ticket Sales Begin (Sky High Lodge Raffle Area)
4:00 – 6:00 pm – Planetarium Program (Sky High Lodge)
8:00 pm – Sky High Lodge Closes (Concessions Remain Open)
8:30 pm – Registration Closes – Astronomical Twilight
9:00 pm – Dome and Observing Opens (Lights Out – Parking Restricted)
NOTE: Although we do not anticipate cloudy skies or rain, things can happen! Should the weather not cooperate, Sky High Lodge will remain open and our guests may join us for additional speaker and workshop programs. SATURDAY, May 3rd 9:00 am – Sky High Lodge Opens & Registration Opens (Sky High Lodge, Vendor Area, Displays & Ticket Sales) 10:00 - 12:00 am – Phil Creed – Astronomy Bowl (Sky High Lodge) 11:00 – 1:00 pm –Mike Abrams: My ATM Dobsonian (Sky High Lodge Basement) There will be a 15 min break in the middle of this talk 12:00 – 2:00 pm – Solar Filter Workshop – Ken Hubal (Sky High Lodge) 1:00 – 2:00 pm – Barbara Hubal: Evolution of the Dobsonian (Sky High Lodge Basement) 2:00 – 4:00 pm –Mike Unsold: Digital Image Processing (Sky High Lodge) 2:00 – 4:00 pm – Planetarium Programs (Sky High Lodge) 3:00 pm – Registration, Contest Entries and Raffle Ticket Sales Closes 4:00 – 5:00 pm – Tom Whiting: Topic TBA (Sky High Lodge Basement) 5:00 – 7:00 pm – Phil Creed – Astronomy Bowl (Sky High Lodge) 7:00 pm – Contest Winners Are Announced – Door Prize Drawing 8:30 pm – Astronomical Twilight 8:30 pm – Sky High Lodge Closes (Concessions Remain Open) 9:00 pm – Dome Opens, Observing Begins (Lights Out – Restricted Parking) NOTE: Sky High Lodge will remain open for additional programs in event of poor weather.
Welcome to Hidden Hollow Star Party!!
We’re sure there are some things you’re curious about, so let’s see if we can answer some questions!
EMERGENCIES: We’ve included a list of emergency numbers in your registration packets. This includes things like towing services, local hospitals & ER, fire & police departments, and the nearest pharmacy. Club members will offer assistance, and can be found in Sky High Lodge during the day, the Clubhouse and/or Mohican Lodge at night. Please familiarize yourself with these locations – preferably before you might have need of them.
ASTROPHOTOGRAPHERS AND AMATEUR TELESCOPE MAKERS: This year we are proud to offer you and opportunity to enter our contests! If you’re interested, just sign in for the contest you’ll be entering at Registration and you’ll be given a tag to mark your telescope or photograph. In Sky High Lodge, you’ll find an area to display your photographs and ATMs will remain outdoors and marked with a glow stick during Friday night so folks have an opportunity to easily find and visit with you. In the event of rain, ATMs can either be moved inside the Dome or Sky High Lodge to give you a secure area to display them.
ASTRONOMY BOWL: Think you know your star stuff? Do you get psyched when you see that rare astronomy question on Jeopardy? How'd you like to put your knowledge of the heavens to the test? Then join us for ASTRONOMY BOWL! Teams of up
to 3 each will participate in an exciting question-and-answer forum
that's guaranteed to give the ol' noggin' a workout. Questions will
cover a variety of astronomical areas, including recent events, the
solar system, deep-sky objects, constellations, cosmology, famous
astronomers and even some pop-culture.
VOTING FOR CONTESTS: All Hidden Hollow guests will be supplied with ballots in their registration packets. All contests will be judged by our guests (by which they feel is best in each category). These ballots may be submitted at Registration, raffle or display area in Sky High Lodge and must be turned in by 3:00 pm on Saturday afternoon to allow us to tally votes. Winners will be announced after our final guest speaker.
ABOUT SKY HIGH LODGE: As you can see from our weekend schedule, almost everything will be held in Sky High Lodge. The first floor will hold our vendor area to the east, the Hidden Hollow Store and Prize area against the south wall and the Planetarium and Photography Contest Area to the west. The Solar Filter Workshop will be held in the central area of the first floor where work tables are located. North Star Concessions will be located on the concrete pavilion. As you come in the front doors of Sky High Lodge, you will see a set of stairs leading to the basement area. Large, naturally dark, and a little more acoustically inclined, the basement will be the focal point for our guest speakers. Restrooms are also located in the basement area. Programs at Sky High Lodge run simultaneously, so we want you to have the most enjoyable and activity filled weekend as possible! For those who are disabled or have trouble walking… We understand. You are welcome to drive to the Sky High Lodge area, but please be mindful of where you park since many activities depend on the outdoor “space”. Be careful of pedestrians along the way!
VENDOR AREAS: Vendors will be situated in Sky High Lodge and remain open for as long as they wish. Please be courteous to them and do not disturb vendor areas when no one is present. Hidden Hollow Corner Store is a great place for you to pick up non-profit Hidden Hollow items or set up an area if you wish to vend items in a Swap Meet manner. You must be responsible for your own items or make arrangements with those working in the area.
CONCESSIONS: North Star Concessions will be open starting at noon on Friday and will remain open as long as there’s business! These folks go to a great deal of trouble to join us each year, so be sure to support them and enjoy their great food!
CABINS, BUNKHOUSES, SHOWERS, CAMPING AND RESTROOMS: Small cabins are available on a first-come basis and it doesn’t matter which one you choose. There’s always room in the bunkhouses to grab a few zzz’s! Hot showers and large restrooms are available in both large bunkhouses – Women East and Men West. There are also restrooms located in the basement of Sky High Lodge, one beside the Club House and a port-o-san at the top of the drive. Self-contained campers, tents and vans are always welcome, but please be observer friendly and park around the perimeters of the grounds. Not on the basketball court, please! You are very welcome to use a portable grill and we’ll provide you with a trash bag and lots of trash containers!
WARM ROOMS: Sure. Sometimes it gets downright cold! If the weather is nasty, Sky High Lodge will remain open in the evening and is heated. The Club House is also heated and will be open at all hours. Mohican Lodge will also be open as a warm room in the fireplace area only. But, be mindful and polite! The southern half of the building is a private sleeping, cooking and restroom area for many of the folks who must be here 24/7 both before and after the event. If the door to the private area is closed, please don’t disturb! Even we need rest, a chance to eat and time to clean up!
DOOR PRIZES: We’ve got lots of awesome door prizes for you this year! Be sure to stop by the Door Prize Area in Sky High Lodge… You won’t believe what we have in store for you! You can purchase the raffle tickets any time at the Sky High Hidden Hollow store and choose which prize in which you’d like to enter your tickets. The more you enter, the better your chances are of winning! Included in your packet is one door prize ticket, but please buy generously! Putting on a star party is a costly event and rather than charge you more for your visit – or give you less - we try to make ends meet through our raffle ticket sales. Sales close at 3:00 pm on Saturday and all tickets will be placed in a larger container and well mixed so drawings are random and fair. The final drawing will be held in front of the Door Prize display area following the announcement of our contest winners. If you absolutely cannot be present, please mark your tickets with your name and leave your name, address and phone number at sales.
LIGHTS OUT TIME: Sure. We know it gets dark a little earlier than 9:00 pm. We’re astronomers, remember? But, we’d like to give everyone the opportunity to leave and return in a comfortable manner. You are welcome to come and go freely in the parking area until LIGHTS OUT, but after 9:00 pm you MUST park along the downhill drive if you wish to leave during the evening’s observing time. Daytime guests MUST also leave by 9:00 pm.
WHAT IF IT’S CLOUDY OR RAINING? Hey! That’s one of the beauties of the Hidden Hollow Star Party. All daytime activities will continue on schedule. For ATMs, we’ll have a display area in the Dome or Sky High Lodge for the contest. If the night isn’t favorable for observing, we’ll re-open Sky High Lodge where you may join our guest speakers for additional programs, or pick up an indoor workshop. We’ll also have extra rounds of Astronomy Bowl. There’s so much room that’s there’s no need to be bored on a bad night! Our speakers will be there and it’s a wonderful time to ask questions or enjoy an informal chat.
I CAN’T POSSIBLY DO EVERYTHING! Well, sure ya’ can. We’ve been careful of how we arranged the schedule, so there really is time for everything. Saturday will be very busy, but all the activities means you get a chance to decide on what you’d like to do. After all, wouldn’t you rather go to a star party where there’s too much to do rather than not enough?! Who needs to sleep when all this great stuff is going on! Hidden Hollow was designed to be full of activity and fun. You are welcome to visit the food vendor and eat your lunch while listening to a speaker – just as you are welcome to join a speaker at any time.
REGISTRATION: During the noted times, registration will be partly in the Club House and partly in Sky High Lodge. While this might seem a little confusing, we don’t have a large staff to run Hidden Hollow and this gives some of our workers an opportunity to enjoy activities as well. For those who are pre-registered, it’s just as simple as checking in. If you’re planning on paying at the gate, please do so during registration hours or make prior arrangements with HH staff. All guests are required to wear supplied wristbands and Saturday daytime guests MUST be hand stamped.
OBSERVING AREAS: As you come up the hill, you can see the area to the north is open for observing. This includes the fields around the Dome and to the edges of the woods.
PARKING: There should be plenty of room for everyone in the graveled parking lot and surrounding area. Many of our campers like to set up along the edge near the woods so we encourage you to be polite to your neighbor. If you plan on leaving after 9:00 pm, park where you can get in and out with ease. If you plan on staying the entire weekend, park where space is available and most convenient to you.
If you need anything, please don’t hesitate to contact any staff member. Have a safe and wonderful time!!
Meet Our Hidden Hollow Guest Speakers…
Mike Abrams – Mike is a RAS member and will be talking about his adventures in making his Dobsonian telescope. And the scope in question is not just an "ordinary" one, but one that one that was awarded, for having three separate "innovative components" at Stellefane, in 2007. Michael will be talking about things such as buying and testing the mirror, various design considerations, construction techniques and a few of what he calls his "mistakes and false starts." And he has plenty of photographs to illustrate all phases of the project. If you've ever built a telescope, thought of building one, or just admired the beauty and creativity of an ATM you've seen, Michael's talk is a must-see! Phil Creed
- He was First "Bitten" by the Astronomy Bug on the night of the
July 6, 1982, - total lunar eclipse (Age 8) . His special
interests: Deep-sky observing and (especially) comet observing. He's
observed over 50 comets in his lifetime, starting with Halley's
Comet. There are a lot of people that want to live to 100; his goal
is to have all his senses intact at 88 so he can see Halley's twice,
and share the view with future grandkids! Barbara Hubal - Barb's home club is the Richland Astronomical Society (RAS), where she is currently serving as club secretary. She's been into astronomy since 2002, when her husband Ken won a 6-inch Dobsonian telescope at a star party. As he already owned several, he promptly gave it to her. Rumor has it that she just couldn't stand watching it gather dust, so she learned to use it. Barb's been interested in Dobsonian telescopes, since she helped build a 6-inch f/8 Dob in 2005 for a local teenager. Since then, she's been researching the history of the Dobsonian telescope, and this year she's going to tell us about the evolution of the Dobsonian, from the time John Dobson began to make it popular, to today's commercial scopes. Mike Unsold – A workshop/presentation. Mike is the developer of the ImagesPlus camera control and astronomical image processing software, which was listed as a "hot product" by Sky & Telescope in 2004. He currently sells ImagesPlus 3.0 software through MLUnsold Digital Imaging. Mike became interested in astronomy back in the 1960s when he started exploring the solar system with a 60mm Swift refractor. This early experience created a life long interest in science and imaging. His professional career started in the late 1970s and includes many years of teaching mathematics at Kent State University and software development. Mike will be giving a workshop taking raw digital images and going through the enhancing process. Anyone having imagesPlus is welcome to bring their laptop and work with their own data. The workshop is anticipated to last about 2 hours. The Riverside Telescope Makers Conference (RTMC) has hosted Mike's workshops for the last two year, and they both sold out! Many other organizations that Mike has worked with have had to charge additional fees to attend his workshops, so RAS is pleased to have Mike with us this year at Hidden Hollow, and are proud to be able to offer this chance to work with him without charging any additional fees. Tom Whiting - You know him... You love him from every star party you've ever attended! This year we are pleased to welcome back Tom Whiting again to Hidden Hollow and to have him speak. Retired Air Force ("Take all the time you want, I'm retired.") Tom is also the head of the Erie County Mobile Observer's Group and his skills with his 30" scope are beyond compare. He discovered the Mini-Coathanger (W1) in Ursa Minor! Tom will be doing a presentation again this year on how to get the most out of your observing and quick, efficient ways of finding what you're looking for. You’ll enjoy this character and his BIG scope!
Our speaker area will be located in the basement area of Sky High Lodge where you are welcome to bring food and drinks. Some of our guest speakers may give two performances. This will allow our Hidden Hollow visitors an opportunity to take part in other activities, such as workshops or planetarium programs. Since there are multiple activities occurring during presentations, you are welcome to join a speaker at any time.
After our last speaker, we will announce the winners of our ATM and astrophotography contests. When this is complete, we ask that you meet us on the ground floor of Sky High Lodge in front of the door prize area for our raffle drawing.
Good luck and have a wonderful time!!
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