be amazed:
What makes an event special
is when you get to experience
what you haven't before.
What makes an event special
is when you get to experience
what you haven't before.
September 27, 2024
Cayucos Back Yard Party
with music by Fort Vine
projections by Bjorn
November 30, 2024
Star Party Santa Margarita Lake
See and feel for yourself
what it's like to look at the Moon
or a distant galaxy,
like you're about to land on it.
Book your experience with our exceptional high quality binoculars and telescopes.
We bring the Star Party to you.
"I've been looking at Saturn for 30 years and still say WOW every time I see it."
Follow us to the darkest
locations along the central coast.
imagine looking through super high quality, heavy binoculars, but you don't have to hold them in your hand. With our convenient paralleogram-mount we offer floating binoculars right in front of your eyes, where ever you want them, with a steady image, no holding, no shaking,
just viewing.
our smallest refractor, 5" @ f 5.6 with 1000 mm focal length. It packs a lot of punch. It's a great instrument for visual astronomy as well as video/photography. It delivers outstanding views, even in not the best conditions.
one of the few 7" refractors built by Meade in the 1980s, a rare high quality instrument @ f8, focal length 1600mm. Some observers said after looking through it at the top of Mount Pinos: "that was the best view of Jupiter I've ever seen in my life." It delivers spectacular views in preferebly excellent viewing conditions.
our largest telescope a 24" dobsonian with a f4.67 mirror made by Steve Kennedy in 2006 with a focal length of 2850 mm. One of the best mirrors available in that size and spec. No words can describe what you see, you just have to experience it for yourself.
"A Personal Viewing Experience"
we bring the telescope to you,
your house party, hotel, etc.
video or camera with 24" screen can be added,
also projector and large outdoor screen.
"Dinner with the Stars"
we bring you to the telescope
and a gourmet dinner experience.
pick up at hotel, event takes place at a ranch near Cambria
and we'll bring you back to the hotel after.
"Star Tours"
overnight package in Big Sur, private ocean view cabin,
all night viewing session.
includes dinner & breakfast.
central coast star party 630 Quintana Rd., #256 Morro Bay, CA 93442 805.503.7394
A wonderful astronomical viewing experience depends on not just darkness and transparency (no clouds), but also what astronomers call “seeing”.
Astronomical “seeing” refers to the visual blurring of objects while viewing, caused by turbulence in the atmosphere.
Different layers of air move at different speeds, at different temperatures, in multiple different levels right above the telescope, all the way to the edge of the atmosphere. Of course this is more or less always the case. Every rock, patch of dirt, tree, road etc. will cause a different temperature above, which will eventually diminish once it gets dark and cold enough. Sometimes it can take a few hours after sunset for the best conditions to arise. So the ideal location is not only dark, but also elevated above fog and away from turbulence.
- no wind, no clouds, above fog, the colder the air, the more steady it is.
- planets and Moon look best right around sunset and shortly after.
- to see galaxies or a nebula it needs to be extremely dark, with no Moon.
It’s that moment when all different pockets of air with the same speed and temperature seem to line up just right above the telescope and everything locks in, the image freezes and all of the sudden it looks like a sharp photograph, except it’s 3D and you get the sense of it floating there in space and that is when the hairs in your neck stand up and one usually utters the word “wow”.
Another important aspect of viewing is the importance of adaptation to darkness. Eyes are getting used to darkness over time. This does not apply to viewing bright objects like the Moon or planets. But when viewing dim objects like galaxies that are millions of lightyears away, it takes a little bit for the eye to get used to the dark object you are looking at. Meaning: it grows on you ! The longer you look at it, the more detail you see and the more it opens up in depth.
Please be aware that all it takes is one quick flash of white light and the eye is immediately reset and it will take another 20 minutes to get back to where you were.
To enhance the viewing experience it is important that both eyes are wide open and fully relaxed. No squinting. In order to achieve the best views, cover the eye that you’re not using with your hand. Squinting will cause both eyes to restrict and will prevent you from having the best views.
Maressa Gallery
784 Main St., West Village,
Cambria, CA 93428
next to Red Moose Cookies - yum.
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