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California Star Party
Lake San Antonio
September 29-30, 2000

California Star Party (CalStar) 2000 occurred at Lake San Antonio's park, northwest of Paso Robles, on Friday and Saturday, September 29-30, 2000.  It was a wonderful event sponsored by the San Jose Astronomical Association with approximately 200+ eager and talkative star gazers from all over California in attendance.  One count of telescopes put it at 86, covering the full gamut from tiny spotter scopes and binoculars to monster 25 inch diameter Dobsonians.  There were also several very expensive and extensive astrophotography set ups with computers and CCD cameras using up to 7 inch diameter Astrophysics and Takahashi refractors.  Deer herds and wild pigs that roamed the campground were fun to watch.  And one very appreciated park amenity was the presence of showers at nearby campgrounds ... it was sure nice for people to shower off after a hot day.

Lake San Antonio, about 2 miles away, was a nice retreat from the day's blistering 95 degrees.  It is a very popular boating, skiing and swimming lake, having nice multi-bedroom cabins for rent.  The first two photos below show the lake and some facilities.  Park management was very pleased to have our stargazing group, giving us free access to the park for both days.  Comments from most everyone were very positive, expressing the desire for this event to continue for years to come since it was such a nice relaxed, family atmosphere.  There were no vendors which pleased everyone, that being a definite request for future California Star Parties ... no vendors allowed.   Maybe we can hold an informal swap meet next year and possibly a BBQ.

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1. Lake San Antonio boat launch.  There is a small grocery store having sandwiches, ice, cold drinks, snacks and various gift items and beach and boating gear and clothing.  They also have a video game room for the kids.  The cabins are also in this area.
2. Lake San Antonio store and game room.  There is also a small snack bar, but it is closed at this time of year.  Cabins are in the background.  A shower facility is nearby.
3. California Star Party 2000.  There are still many astronomers yet to arrive, so it is a little sparse on Saturday afternoon in the 95 degree heat.  The clear skies made up for the warm day.
4. Astronomers ... start your engines!  Saturday evening.  Scopes start to emerge from the cars and from under covers.  Kent Wallace, from the Central Coast Astronomical Society, starts preparing for celestial viewing.
5. This is a Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope, approximately 8 to 10 inch diameter on a motorized mount.
6. Here are some of the many Dobsonian telescopes, including a 14.5" Starmaster and an 18" Obsession owned by Bob Czerwinski from San Jose.  These are fun to use, being very straight forward to operate once they are assembled.
7. The different telescope types and sizes were wonderful.  Notice the battery pack on the ground ... you need this for the motor operated mechanisms.
8. CCAS members Kent Wallace and Melody Moore really enjoy their astronomical hobby.  Melody gets to use Kent's 8 inch C8 while Kent uses his 20 inch Starsplitter Dobsonian.
9. More scopes continue to appear.
10. Here is quite a setup .... note the desktop computer.  A small portable generator operated during the day to charge up the all-important battery packs.
11. Scopes start to form-up in a number of rows. 
12. On the left is an 8 inch Celestron Nexstar, a motorized "Go To" scope .... select the object from its database of 64,000 objects and it spins to the precise location.   Pretty spiffy. Too many motorized scopes and you find it hard to talk over the whirrrrr and whizzz of the machines.
13. Here is a beautiful Dobsonian.  Albert Highe, from Redwood City, on the right, is the owner and builder of this wonderful telescope.  For a treat, see Albert's website.. For information on building this scope, see his telescope website.
14. A Schmidt-Cassegrain on the right and refractor on the left.
15. Central Coast Astronomical Society members take a break prior to the start of serious star gazing.
16. CCAS members learn about this extraordinary 6 inch Newtonian scope.  The astronomer on the left is the owner.  His father built the scope in 1935 and it performs beautifully today.  Apparently this scope caused some real excitement with John Dobson and other astronomers in the 1930's.
17. CCAS member Greg Campbell and his Dobsonian.
18. A Takahashi refractor and its proud owner.

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