Page 6

2018 Texas Star Party Review

Reflections By Tim Cowden

The 40th annual Texas Star Party was held May 6-13, 2018, at the Prude Ranch near Ft. Davis, Texas. Located near the McDonald Observatory, the Prude Ranch is located on 3500 acres and features ideal skies for observing activities.

The big star party in way west Texas has a bit of everything. Rain, dust devils, clear skies, cloudy skies, an astronomer from the Smithsonian named Messier, Aussies, tours of the big scopes at McDonald, a really good chicken fried steak in Alpine, people making mirrors, people making telescopes, and the list of twenty stinkin' planetaries. There were back packs given away and junk changing hands at the swap meet. I love the swap meet. I like the dark skies. I like looking at other people's scopes and seeing old and new friends. I like sitting in the cool shade of the creek bed during the hot day. I like being bundled up in the cold clear night when chasing an elusive observation target. I like the low humidity and hate the plumbing infrastructure at Prude Ranch. By the fourth day, I'm tired of instant oatmeal for breakfast. I can hardly wait to go back next year.

Prude Guest Ranch

Tim Cowden - BVAC participant

Randy Light - BVAC participant

Warren Bracewell - BVAC participant

Mark Spearman - BVAC participant

Getting ready for a night of observing

Astrophotography

The photos below, and the Milky Way banner at the top of the page, are thumbnails of spectacular deep sky images taken by Randy Light at the Texas Star Party. Randy also captured the Stargate Asterism, Buck Rogers' famous portal from the science fiction TV series. Click here to visit Randy's website and be amazed when you see his full size images.

Sagittarius Star Cloud

Sombrero Galaxy - M104

Stargate Asterism

Lagoon Nebula - M8

IC410 - The Tadpoles Nebula

Flaming Star Nebula

Eagle Nebula

Hercules Cluster - M13

Milky Way

Daytime Tours

During the daytime hours, a variety of activities were offered to star party participants. A highlight for Warren Bracewell was a tour of the 107 inch and HET telescopes at the McDonald Observatory. The following photos were taken by Warren, and you may click here to see full-size images Warren uploaded to Randy's website.

Observatories in distance

107 inch telescope - McDonald Observatory

HET Telescope - McDonald Observatory

Award Winners

BVAC members Tim Cowden and Randy Light were award winners at the Texas Star Party. Tim took home the Certificate of Merit for ATM Design and Construction of his 16" f/4.5 Strut Telescope and the People's Choice Art Award for his hand-made, painted telescope mirror cover. Randy took home the People's Choice Award for his solar eclipse collage. Click here to see a full-size image of Randy's winning lunar image.

Continuing the winning streak, Warren Bracewell won a backpack with the ticket drawing. Congratulations to everyone.

Hand Painted Telescope Mirror Cover
People's Choice Award
Awarded to Tim Cowden

Solar Eclipse Collage
People's Choice Award for Photography
Awarded to Randy Light

Telescope Construction
Certificate of Merit
Awarded to Tim Cowden