The TMSPA Weblog

Planning for On-Site Registration

Doug Groesbeck — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 16:52:48 +0000

Here are some tips if you did not pre-register and are planning on coming to TMSP and registering on-site:

Check this Weblog and TMSPA website

Arrive Early – Wednesday and Thursday are our largest projected arrival days for attendees. 80% of the pre-registered attendees plan on being on-site by Thursday.

Registration Hours – The Registration Tent opens and 9AM and closes at 8PM.

Come Prepared – Download, print and fill out the On-Site Registration Form from the TMSPA website and bring it with you. Remember that we will only accept cash and check payments for on-site registrations.

Be Patient – If you arrive on Wednesday or Thursday, expect there to be a line at the Registration Tent. Have your registration form and payment ready. Pull over as far as possible to the right side of the road as you approach the Registration Tent and follow the directions of the parking staff.

We expect Thursday afternoon and evening to be the busiest time for on-site registration.

We hope to see you on the mountain!

-TMSPA Staff

On-Site Registration Available

Doug Groesbeck — Sat, 07 Aug 2010 16:47:42 +0000

TMSP still has room available and will be accepting On-Site Registrations this year.

More information and the On-Site Registration Form can be found on the Registration Page of the TMSPA website.

On-Site Registration will only be open until we reach our capacity of 700 persons. The Registration Tent will open Wednesday afternoon. On-Site Registrations will not be able to purchase meals or annual shirts. Shower tickets can be purchased with your registration or at the Stuff Shack.

-The TMSPA Staff

Early Arrival Information

Doug Groesbeck — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 22:46:04 +0000

The permit issued by the US Forest Service gives TMSPA official use of the site beginning on Wednesday, August 11th.

If you are on-site prior to August 11th, you will need to follow US Forest Service regulations for the use of wilderness areas. Please check the US Forest Service website for more information regarding use of wilderness areas.

-The TMSPA Staff

2010 TMSP Preliminary Event Schedule Posted

Doug Groesbeck — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 07:15:10 +0000

A preliminary schedule of events for TMSP 2010 has been posted on the General Information page of the TMSPA website. All times and dates are approximate and subject to change. The final events schedule will be posted and included in your newsletter that comes with the registration packet you receive when you check in at the Registration Tent.

Please note that due to limitations imposed by the US Forest Service, portable toilets are not scheduled to be delivered to the site until Wednesday, August 11th. If you arrive early, be prepared to trek to the Forest Service pit toilet on the Lion Rock road when “nature calls”.

-The TMSPA Staff

TMSPA Accepting Online Payments

Doug Groesbeck — Sat, 27 Mar 2010 15:56:05 +0000

TMSPA is pleased to announce that starting this year, you will be able to pay your registration fee online. We have partnered with PayPal to accept online payments using your credit or debit card. A PayPal account is not required to make use of this service, though you may also use your PayPal account if you have one.

Making your payment online eliminates the hassle of printing the form and mailing your payment.

There will be a $5.00 fee added to your registration if you pay online through PayPal. This fee is in place solely to cover our cost of processing the transaction through PayPal.

Online payments will only be available to those that register through TMSPA’s Online Registration System and choose the PayPal payment option. We cannot accept payments via PayPal for other registration methods at this time.

-The TMSPA Staff

Table Mountain Star Party Registration Opens April 1st

Doug Groesbeck — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 03:36:37 +0000

No, it’s not an April Fool’s joke – registration for the 2010 Table Mountain Star Party will open on April 1, 2010.

If you’ve been checking the Table Mountain Star Party website, you might have noticed that registration was going to open around that time, but now we’re making it official. The Online Registration system will be going live at that time. Or, if you prefer, the old printable registration form will be posted at that time also for you to download. Either way, mark your calendar for April 1st.

We’re looking forward to seeing you on the mountain again this year!

-The TMSPA Staff

Happy New Year from TMSPA!

Doug Groesbeck — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 18:08:05 +0000

TMSPA would like to wish all of you a Happy and Prosperous New Year!

We would also like to remind you that the dates for the 2010 Table Mountain Star Party will be August 12th through August 14th. Please mark your calendars for those dates if you are planning on joining us on the mountain this year.

Registration for TMSP 2010 should open in early to mid-May and we will make an announcement here on the Weblog once the date for the opening of registration is set, as well as posting that info on the TMSPA website.

-The TMSPA Staff

Registration Update – Thursday 7/23, 3:00PM

Doug Groesbeck — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 21:47:12 +0000

As of the time of above, we still have space available for On-Site Registrations.

“Houston, prepare for LOS”

Doug Groesbeck — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:05:42 +0000

As we celebrate to the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing, some of you who were around then might remember that phrase being transmitted from the Apollo spacecraft as they transited the far side of the Moon and lost radio communication. “LOS” was one of the plethora of acronyms used, and meant “Loss of Signal”.

We are going to experience our own LOS. The majority of TMSPA Directors are now either on the mountain or in-transit. Emails sent to tmspa.com addresses will not be received until after the event.

We will have limited connectivity on the mountain starting on Thursday, thanks to NomadISP and their WiFi Internet service, but we will not be actively monitoring or responding to emails. We will post critical announcements to this Weblog and website as necessary. If you are planning on coming and registering on-site, check here and the TMSPA website for those updates.

-TMSPA Staff

Planning for On-Site Registration

Doug Groesbeck — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 15:48:56 +0000

Okay, you’ve been sitting on the fence waiting to see what the weather was going to be like (and it is looking good) and have decided to make the trip to Table Mountain.

Here are some tips if you are planning on coming to TMSP and registering on-site:

Check this Weblog and TMSPA website

Arrive Early – Wednesday and Thursday are our largest projected arrival days for attendees. 85% of the registered attendees plan on being on-site by Thursday.

Gate Hours – The main gate and Registration Tent open and 9AM and close at 8PM.

Come Prepared – Download, print and fill out the On-Site Registration Form from the TMSPA website and bring it with you. Remember that we will only accept cash and check payments for on-site registrations.

We expect Thursday afternoon and evening to be the busiest time for on-site registration.

See you on the mountain!

-TMSPA Staff

Forecast – Sunny and Warm

Doug Groesbeck — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:47:45 +0000

“Seattle weathermen are half-right, 20% of the time.”

So goes the joke anyway.

Putting that skepticism aside, the current long-range weather forecasts for the week of Table Mountain Star Party look very promising, with a forecast of sunny and warm days and relatively mild nights. Ellensburg is forecast to have temperatures in the upper 80’s to low/mid 90’s or better from Tuesday the 21st onwards through the weekend.

The general rule-of-thumb for TMSP is to take around 15 degrees off of the temperatures for Ellensburg and that’s what we get up on the mountain. That’s equating to daytime temps in the 70’s on the hill – almost ideal daytime conditions.

Nighttime temps will be mildly cool – perhaps dipping into the low 40’s early in the week and increasing into the upper 40’s and low 50’s later on. That’s pretty typical TMSP nights.

As always, pack for all weather conditions – from cold to hot – as the weather is still unpredictable.

TMSPA Email Issues – Resolved

Doug Groesbeck — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 06:34:26 +0000

UPDATE – 7/15/09, 11:30PM PST

Our testing shows that the TMSPA email servers are back up and functioning normally. Our hosting provider is in the process of upgrading our email system which apparently caused the earlier problems. If you encounter an issue with sending emails to the tmspa.com domain, please be patient and try sending again.

-The TMSPA Staff

TMSPA Email Issues

Doug Groesbeck — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:27:53 +0000

7/15/09, 1:30PM PST

TMSPA is currently experiencing difficulties with our email servers. If you have sent an email to someone in the tmspa.com domain and received delivery error messages, please try re-sending your message to our Information account.

We will post an update here when the mail server issues are resolved, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused.

-The TMSPA Staff

On-Site Registration Available

Doug Groesbeck — Sat, 11 Jul 2009 19:09:27 +0000

TMSP still has room and will be accepting On-Site Registrations this year.

More information and the On-Site Registration Form can be found on the Registration Page of the TMSPA website.

We will only accept On-Site Registrations until we reach our limit of 700 attendees. Arrive as early as possible to avoid being turned away.

Registration Update

Doug Groesbeck — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:55:10 +0000

Registration for TMSP 2009 has been suspended effective July 8th.

We will continue to accept registrations in the mail with postmarks dated no later that July 11th. Registrations dated after July 11th may not be accepted and processed.

TMSPA will make a determination as to whether on-site registration will be offered this year and post that information here as well on the main TMSPA Website no later than July 13th. If we do determine that on-site registration will be offered this year, we will post a revised Reigstration Form that you can fill out and bring with you to the mountain. (We will have forms on the mountain for you as well.)

Please note that on-site registration will not offer the purchase of our annual apparel items or meals.

If on-site registration is offered, we will only accept arriving parties arriving until we reach our limit of 700 attendees. If you are planning on waiting and registering on-site, arrive as early as possible to avoid being turned away.

Fire Restrictions

Doug Groesbeck — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 06:47:13 +0000

As a general safety precaution, TMSPA Policy prohibits fires or the use of any cooking source that creates hot coals or ashes such as barbecues with charcoal briquettes due the danger of a fire on the site.

That policy is now backed up with the following announcement from the US Forest Service:

Due to high temperatures and increasing fire danger, effective on Friday, July 3, 2009, campfires are prohibited on National Forest lands within Chelan County (Chelan, Entiat and Wenatchee River Ranger Districts). A campfire restriction means that wood and charcoal fires are allowed only in designated campgrounds with fire rings, some classified Wilderness areas and specially designated sites. Pressurized liquid gas stoves are still allowed, but briquette fires are not.

As the hot, dry weather continues in Eastern Washington as forecast, it is reasonable to predict that the fire ban will be expanded to other regions such as Kititas County as well. So please, for the safety of your fellow stargazers, make sure that you use a propane or white-gas cookstove as your only cooking heat source.

More information on TMSPA Rules can be found on the Rules & Regs Page.

2009 Observers Challenge

Doug Groesbeck — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:57:37 +0000

The Observers Challenge Program is returning for its third installment in 2009. This popular program presents you with a list of 30 objects to view while at TMSP. Observers who find and document their observations of 25 of the objects on the list will receive an Observers Award pin. Lists from previous years are also available and eligible to be awarded pins as well.

You can find the lists and more info on the Observers Challenge page.

Our thanks to Jim Bielaga of Aurora Astro Products for developing the observing lists.

Stay Connected – WiFi Internet at TMSP

Doug Groesbeck — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:04:14 +0000

Can’t survive a weekend without email and Internet access? TMSPA is happy to announce that Kelley Hogan from NomadISP will be attending as a Vendor at TMSP this year. Now you can bring your laptop or WiFi-capable phone and stay connected while on the mountain.

There is a fee for the service, with several options for the amount of access usage you desire. Typical cost is around $12 per day for full-time access. Payment is done online with a credit card when signing up for the service. Bandwidth usage restrictions may apply.

In addition to the WiFi service, Kelley will also be setting up a cell phone repeater, which we’re hoping will improve cell coverage on the mountain – perhaps no more need to find just the right spot to make that call!

Registration Still Open

Doug Groesbeck — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 15:11:52 +0000

Registration for TMSP 2009 remains open. We are closing in on our attendance limit of 700 persons, but there’s still time to get your registration submitted!

The Online Registration System will be taken off-line on or by July 8th. Registrations need to be mailed and postmarked no later than July 11th to be processed. If your registration comes in after that time, it will not be entered and you will need to check if on-site registration will be offered.

We will make the determination if on-site registration will be available and post info on the website by July 13th.

You will not be able to order meals or annual shirts / apparel items if registering on-site, so you need to get your registration in if you want those items. Shower tickets will be available on-site.

Featured Guest Speaker: Terence Dickinson

Doug Groesbeck — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:06:56 +0000

We’re pleased to announce that our featured guest speaker for 2009 will be Terence Dickinson. He will be making a presentation entitled “A 60mm Refractor in the Atacama, and Other Astro-Adventures”

Mr. Dickinson is the author 14 astronomy books, including “NightWatch,” one of the world’s best-selling stargazing guides, and co-author with Alan Dyer of “The Backyard Astronomer’s Guide.” A former planetarium staff astronomer, he was the first editor of Astronomy magazine. Following that for more than 20 years he was a professional science writer freelancing for Science Digest, Popular Mechanics, the Gannett news service, and CBC radio and the Canadian Discovery Channel. For the past 15 years he has been the editor of SkyNews, the Canadian magazine of astronomy and stargazing.

Check the Guest Speakers page for speaker schedules.