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A review of Star Hill Inn - Long, but worth reading if you plan togo someday



 
 
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  #1  
Old July 30th 03, 11:08 PM
Tom Rankin
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Default A review of Star Hill Inn - Long, but worth reading if you plan togo someday


By Tom Rankin - Vice President of the Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association

My wife and I journeyed to Star Hill Inn ( http://www.starhillinn.com ),
June 27th, thru July 1st, 2003. The Inn is located in Sapello, New Mexico.

Getting to The Star Hill Inn was fairly easy. Interstate 25 runs from
Santa Fe and Albuquerque to Las Vegas, New Mexico. From there, it is a
15 minute drive, out a State Highway, to a marked dirt road, and finally
to the entrance to The Star Hill Inn. The Inn sits at over 7,000
elevation in a hilly section of NE New Mexico, not far from Taos. Large
mountains were visible nearby (more on that later).

The 'Inn' consists of several cabins stretched along a driveway about
1/4 mile in length. Generally you could only see 1 or 2 cabins from any
location. There are about 200 acres, filled with pines, fields, hiking
trails, lots of interesting birds, cactus (which was in bloom), a
labyrinth, and the Meditation Garden.

Most of the accommodations are cabins large enough for 2 couples.
However, some have 2 bed rooms, and some simply have a pullout couch.
Our cabin had a complete kitchen, a living room with a ceiling fan, lots
of reading material, including local tourism information, 1 bed room,
and a full bath. Outside there was a porch with a red light, and a few
chairs. There were shutters over the windows with screens and blinds.
Controlling the temperature in the cabin was fairly easy. It got a
little warm at times, but it was tolerable. Each cabin was a different
nightly rate, ours was about $175.00.

Our hosts were Phil and Rae Ann Mahon, a very pleasant couple who live
in a large house on the grounds of The Star Hill Inn. They have 'office
hours' twice a day (around 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM) when they are available
to speak to the guests. Other than that, I got the impression that they
wished to be left alone. You could leave them a note, and they would
eventually leave you an answer at your cabin. At night, Phil came out
and set up the telescopes on the common observing deck, located 1/2 way
down the driveway, and was available for questions. He would spend a
few minutes with each person at their telescope, showing them how it
worked. Then he left for the night.

The climate was generally dry and warm. During the day, the sun beats
down on the area, and the temperatures ranged up to the mid 80's. In
the sun, it feels warmer, but in the shade, it actually feels quite
comfortable, owing to the low humidity and gentle breezes that usually
blow. This does not mean that we did not have any rain! We had varying
amounts of rain every day that we were there, from a few sprinkles to a
furious thunderstorm, that unleashed sheets of rain, frequent lightning,
and marble-sized hail. At night, it cooled off considerably. Warm
clothing is a must. I ended up wearing long pants, 2 shirts, a jacket,
a hat, and gloves by the end of the observing sessions. By sunrise, the
temperature was usually in the low 50's to upper 40's.

In spite of the rain that we encountered, the weather cleared up every
night that we were there. We arrived at about 7:30 PM the first night,
unpacked, and went out to the deck to say hello and get ready for the
night's viewing. As it got dark, I was amazed by the blackness of the
skies. It was probably the best night of dark sky viewing I had ever
enjoyed (up until then!). Objects that were impossible to see with the
naked eye in the Hudson Valley (my home) were clearly visible, such as
M13. Looking at the Milky Way with 15 x 70 binoculars (which I brought
myself - Phil has some binoculars as well), was like viewing a
photograph! The first night, I had the use of a 12" Meade SCT with a
GOTO. (Each night, guests have the use of a telescope, included in the
cost of their room, with the exception of the 24" - see the web page for
a list of their scopes). I spent most of the night looking at Messier
Objects that are visible in the summer sky. Almost all were very
impressive. Not having observed much lately, I was glad to have the use
of the GOTO. Around 1:00 AM, the people using the 17.5" Dob went to
bed, so I used that for a while. Its views were excellent. The Swan
Nebula, M17, was especially fantastic. The detail in the gas clouds was
amazing, and I saw for the first time, the gas 'trailing' the swan,
ripples, if you will, in the celestial pond that the Swan swims in. I
stayed up till about 3:30 AM. Only one person was still awake, a man
using the 22" Starsplitter Dob for what was obviously an intense
pre-planned observing program. Astronomical twilight was around 4:00
AM. The seeing was not all that great the first night, nor any night
for that matter.

The other guests ranged from complete beginners to experienced amateurs.
Some of the beginners seemed a little 'out of it', not quite knowing
what to do. Some of the more experienced observers shared their time
and expertise with them. Many people shared their scopes, in a 'star
party' type of atmosphere. A few people stayed mostly to themselves,
but no one was rude or completely unwilling to share their scopes, when
approached in a friendly manner. Most of the guests stayed the minimum
2 nights, while we stayed 4.

The 2nd day, we woke up around 11:00 AM, went into town, shopped at
Walmart for food and a few odds and ends, and had a late breakfast.
There's not much to do in Las Vegas, but there is a hot springs near by
and a man-made lake.

The 2nd night, I used the 24" Ritchey-Chretien Cassegrain Telescope that
Phil had acquired from a professional observatory a few years ago (see
web page for details). The scope sits in its own dome and has several
eyepieces and filters, and can go up to 850x, which was sometimes
usable, depending on the object being viewed. It also has a very
respectable 6" f/10 refractor bolted on, just for kicks! The scope
weighs about 5 tons, and has an NGC-Max computer controller. You pick
an object, and then the computer tells you how far away you are in RA
and DEC. Then you must slew the scope, using the push buttons (located
next to the computer and next to the eyepiece, a nice convenience), to
the desired location, at which point the readout on the computer will
say '0,0'. (The scope was slightly out of alignment, but the object was
usually in the low power field). You also have to slew the dome so that
you can see thru the opening, again with a motorized control. Having 2
people in the dome (my wife), helped cut down on the time it took to
progress from object to object.

I started in the West and gradually worked my way across the sky to the
East over the course of several hours. The views were astounding. We
hopped from object to object, relishing the views. The sky was even
better than the first night, which was utterly amazing. What luck to
have such a great scope on such a great night! The rental for this
scope is $100, (you can also rent a CCD camera for $50 more), and I
consider it money extremely well spent. We called some of the other
guests over a couple of times for M13, M31, etc. and they all were awed
by the views as well. The focus on this scope was just a little bit
fuzzy at high powers, either because the optics were not perfectly
aligned, or perhaps due to poor seeing that night. Mars was very murky,
even at 3:00 AM.

At 3:30, my wife decided she was tried and wanted to go to bed. By this
time, I was completely satisfied, and so we shut down the dome. Inside
the dome, it was warmer than the outside air, which was about 50
degrees. This allowed me to stay comfortable all night, unlike the
previous night, where I was constantly going in the library to warm up
and drink hot beverages. I stretched out on the deck, alone, and used
my binoculars and my unaided eyes, drinking in the milky way until
astronomical twilight started, around 4:00 AM. It had been a memorable
6 hours! (As it turned out, no one else rented the 24" any of the 4
nights that I was there, which I found somewhat surprising).

The next day we decided to go hiking up Hermit's Peak, a mountain not
far away, in a National Park. It rises to just over 10,000 feet. My
wife and are avid hikers in the Northeast, but the mountains are
typically only 4,000 to 6,000 feet there. Phil told us that this hike
would take about 3-4 hours. We set out towards the Park, and just as we
got there, it started to rain, with lightning and hail. We debated
going up the mountain. After a while, it cleared up, and off we went,
starting out at about 7,800 feet. The hike was gradual at first and got
steeper as we approached the summit. There were a lot of switch-backs,
which made the going easier. Having been in the area for 3 days now, we
were now used to the higher elevation. Just before the summit, the
lightning reasserted itself, and we decided to turn back. As it turned
out, it did not rain on the way back, but we felt 'better safe than sorry'.

The 3rd night, I used the Star Splitter 22" f/5 Dob. This is an awesome
scope. While not quite as big as the 24", the faster focal ratio
actually produces brighter views than the 24", but at lower powers.
Sometimes, this made the 22" superior. The skies were comparable to the
first night in darkness and seeing. I started out with a plan to look
for planetary nebulae, but I soon realized that I should have used the
24" for this quest. The 22" is completely manual, and although I am a
reasonably good star-hopper, and was armed with a copy of Star Atlas
2000.0 from the library, I realized this was not going to be a good use
of my time. I quickly abandoned this plan, and shifted to taking another
look at many of the objects that I had viewed on the 2 previous nights.
This scope is spectacular for galaxies and nebulae. I was quite happy
to share views with my fellow guests, trading peeks with them on the
other scopes and allowing then to look through mine. I went to bed
around 3:30, again the last to retire.

The next day we again got up very late, walked around the grounds, and
explored the area. The trails are plainly marked, and can be walked in
about an hour. There are some nice views from the top of the hill.
Later, we drove to a winery near Taos, purchased half a case of various
wines, and had them shipped back home. The mountains in this area are
spectacular, rising to over 13,000 feet. A few still had patches of
snow on them, much to our amazement. It was strange to us, being from
the northeast, to be driving along thru high meadows at 9,300 feet, and
to have mountains still towering above us.

The 4th night, I was slated to use the 16" Meade SCT. Knowing that I
had to get up early to catch a plane, and having been so spectacularly
successful so far, I decided to tell Phil not to set the scope up. I
didn't think it could happen, but I was burned out on observing! I went
to bed around 11:00, somewhat reluctantly, the sky having cleared again
for the 4th night in a row, after an intense thunder storm a few hours
before.

The Star Hill Inn has a 'library', next to the observing deck. This
room is lit with red lights at night, to allow observers to stay dark
adapted. There is a TV with a VCR, including an assortment of videos
loosely based on an astronomical theme, a number of board games,
hundreds of astronomy books, a PC with free (dial up) internet access
and astronomy software, a 'pay phone' for guest's use or to summon Phil
if there was a problem, photos of astronomical splendors on the walls,
several copies of various star maps, a sidereal clock, snacks, and hot
and cold beverages. The room is not heated in the summer, but it was
much warmer than outside, allowing us to warm up and/or ingest some
caffeine or sugar.

The telescopes were all reasonably collimated, and performed up to my
expectations, in some cases exceeding them. The biggest problem with
the equipment was the lack of nebula filters. Phil does say 'b.y.o.',
but this still seems to be a requirement to me for a place like this.
Most of his eyepieces were of excellent quality. There were filters
available, and there were some nice touches, such as the secondary dew
zapper installed on the Star Splitter. Dew was never a problem for any
of the scopes.

The promised 'dessert on the deck' was never offered any of the 4 nights
we were there.

Overall, I was very pleased with our stay. There are a few minor
problems with The Star Hill Inn, but they pale in comparison to the
views of the sky that it has to offer. I highly recommend a visit to
anyone who loves observing the night sky.

--
Tom Rankin - Programmer by day, amateur astronomer by night!
Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association - http://jump.to/mhaa

When replying, remove the capital letters from my email address.

  #2  
Old July 31st 03, 01:21 AM
Stuart Levy
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Default A review of Star Hill Inn - Long, but worth reading if you plan to go someday

In article , Tom Rankin wrote:

By Tom Rankin - Vice President of the Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association

My wife and I journeyed to Star Hill Inn ( http://www.starhillinn.com ),
June 27th, thru July 1st, 2003. The Inn is located in Sapello, New Mexico.

[...]
Overall, I was very pleased with our stay. There are a few minor
problems with The Star Hill Inn, but they pale in comparison to the
views of the sky that it has to offer. I highly recommend a visit to
anyone who loves observing the night sky.

--
Tom Rankin - Programmer by day, amateur astronomer by night!
Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association - http://jump.to/mhaa


I'd seen favorable Star Hill Inn reviews here before, but yours
gives by far the clearest impression of what it's like to stay and
observe there. Thanks for a very informative post!

Stuart Levy
  #3  
Old July 31st 03, 03:53 AM
LynnTX
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Default A review of Star Hill Inn - Long, but worth reading if you plan to go someday

Thanks Tom,

Incredible review- and sounds like a dream trip.
I don't think I have the skills to take advantage of such a facility,
but maybe someday I will.

Lynn
  #4  
Old July 31st 03, 04:52 AM
Del Johnson
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Default A review of Star Hill Inn - Long, but worth reading if you plan to go someday

I have seen this problem of soft images on Ritchey-Chretien reflectors.
RC's are great in theory but difficult to implement in practice.

Del Johnson



"Tom Rankin" wrote in message
...


The 2nd night, I used the 24" Ritchey-Chretien Cassegrain Telescope that
Phil had acquired from a professional observatory a few years ago (see
web page for details). The scope sits in its own dome and has several
eyepieces and filters, and can go up to 850x, which was sometimes
usable, depending on the object being viewed.

(snip)
The focus on this scope was just a little bit
fuzzy at high powers, either because the optics were not perfectly
aligned, or perhaps due to poor seeing that night. Mars was very murky,
even at 3:00 AM.


--
Tom Rankin - Programmer by day, amateur astronomer by night!
Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association - http://jump.to/mhaa

When replying, remove the capital letters from my email address.



  #5  
Old July 31st 03, 05:01 AM
Mike Simmons
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Default A review of Star Hill Inn - Long, but worth reading if you plan togo someday

Do you have an explanation for the softness of RC images you've noticed,
Del?

BTW, what is the optical design of the planned Laguna 2.5-meter?

Mike Simmons

Del Johnson wrote:

I have seen this problem of soft images on Ritchey-Chretien reflectors.
RC's are great in theory but difficult to implement in practice.

Del Johnson

"Tom Rankin" wrote in message
...


The 2nd night, I used the 24" Ritchey-Chretien Cassegrain Telescope that
Phil had acquired from a professional observatory a few years ago (see
web page for details). The scope sits in its own dome and has several
eyepieces and filters, and can go up to 850x, which was sometimes
usable, depending on the object being viewed.

(snip)
The focus on this scope was just a little bit
fuzzy at high powers, either because the optics were not perfectly
aligned, or perhaps due to poor seeing that night. Mars was very murky,
even at 3:00 AM.


--
Tom Rankin - Programmer by day, amateur astronomer by night!
Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association - http://jump.to/mhaa

When replying, remove the capital letters from my email address.

  #6  
Old July 31st 03, 06:07 AM
Lon Dittrick
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Default A review of Star Hill Inn - Long, but worth reading if you plan to go someday



I also spent a couple of days at StarHill in late June. This is a
pretty good review. Phil was very gracious and was kind enought at
11:00 P.M. to open up a scope for me after the skies cleared on my
second night there. It was a great experience! My only beef is that
the southern horizon is partly obscured by trees, eg. Scorpius was
only half visible off the horizon. Other than that it was a great
couple of nights! Lon
  #7  
Old July 31st 03, 12:19 PM
Tom Rankin
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Default A review of Star Hill Inn - Long, but worth reading if you planto go someday

To all: Thanks for the kind words...

To Lon:

Ah yes! The Tree! There was one tree we dearly wanted to go out and
cut down! It blocked our view of a good part of the South East. I have
a feeling Phil cut some trees down many years ago, and now some are
growing up again. Of course, for me, coming from the North East, I
could still see down to lower declinations than at home on a flat horizon.

There were a couple of trees not far from the 24" dome too, but as they
were to the North, it did not quite matter as much.

Lon Dittrick wrote:
I also spent a couple of days at StarHill in late June. This is a
pretty good review. Phil was very gracious and was kind enought at
11:00 P.M. to open up a scope for me after the skies cleared on my
second night there. It was a great experience! My only beef is that
the southern horizon is partly obscured by trees, eg. Scorpius was
only half visible off the horizon. Other than that it was a great
couple of nights! Lon


--
Tom Rankin - Programmer by day, amateur astronomer by night!
Mid-Hudson Astronomy Association - http://jump.to/mhaa

When replying, remove the capital letters from my email address.

 




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