From: Collin Smith [mailto:CollinofAlabama@cox.net]
Sent: Sunday, December 19, 2004 1:18 AM
Subject: What's THAT!
Folks,
We apparently JUST missed Curt and his son out at Emma, while Wynne was left a lookin'. Don and I arrived at Emma on Friday night QUITE late. Didn't get there, in fact, till 10:45. Honestly, I was exhausted from the gradual sleep depravation of Sunday & Monday nights' outings, coupled with "getting ready for trip" stuff at work. Don must have been feeling similarly, because he fell asleep till about 9:15 when he called me. I was awake, but just starting to recover my strength. We decided, what the heck, let's go.
However, our late arrival was fortuitous. I had read my US Naval Observatory's Moon Rise-Set time wrong. The moon actually set on Friday night the 17th at midnight. I emailed everyone it would set at 11:08. It did, on Thursday night! So our late arrival helped us wait it out till later, once the moon had set. We observed until about 1:20 AM. Friday was the last reasonable night of dark sky observing till just after dusk on Thursday the 30th. The moon will render any dark sky trip pointless until then. Even on the 30th, folks will have to arrive around 6:45 (when it's totally dark) and only be able to get in about 2½ hours of seeing, since she rises at 9:36PM on the 30th.
But the wait was well worth it! Don and I caught several more meteors (I saw about 5 or so) Not bad for just a night out sans showers. We observed the Flame Nebula, NGC 2024, just off Alnitak in Orion's belt.  Couldn't see it like the photos, but we saw some nebulosity with a distinct dark gap in the middle. Don noted some green coloration to it. In Orion, we also observed M42 and M78. In the neighborhood, we got M41 in the Big Dog, M1 in Taurus, split Castor & tried to star test on Pollux. Saturn, rings, and five moons all danced with the wind (like our star test!). Further a field, M31-32-110 & M33 got chased down. Around 1 AM, freezing to the point of hurt, we turned our attention to M81 & M82, M108 & M 97, and finally the Whirlpool, M51 That last one lets you know just how late it was. And we saw it well! Both scopes picked out both galaxies. Leo had completely risen and Orion was crossing its highest point in the heavens. We were tired and quite cold, but we'd just sneaked out the absolute last of dark sky observing we'll get in 2004 -- unless it's clear on Dec 30th!
Hope everyone had a great year in 2004. It is my hope that 2005 will have even more opportunities for observing and advancing astronomy across west Texas and beyond. At least past Saturn!
Ciao astroamigos,
CDS

-----Original Message-----
From: Collin Smith [mailto:CollinofAlabama@cox.net]
Sent: Friday, December 17, 2004 11:58 AM
Subject: lookie there!
Folks,
The cemetery is a callin' me on this almost First Quarter Moon night. Bring your banjo, but I reckon a better choice o' gear would include gloves and a telescope. Some garlic and a cross might not be a bad idea either. Now, I ain't had no problems out there so far, but you can never tell! We'll meet about 9:30, since the moon will still be blaring away. But it sets at 11:08 tonight, so it should nice and dark around 10:30 or so, only getting better. When you arrive, the tombstones should be welcoming you from the west!
Check out all the details of the historic Emma Cemetery right here ...http://www.rootsweb.com/~txcrosby/emma/cemetery.htm#history
Got a chill yet? Well, make sure you dress REAL warm-like. People been known to get bone-chilled out there. Quite a few, according to the site above, and don't wanna end up like that, at least not tonight.
Here's how to get there. Once you get through the 378 dog-leg and the road T-s into 207, follow the mile directions EXACTLY. The iron sign in the picture on the website above is, like most spirits, nigh invisible at night.

R.I.P.