stargazing_cloudy_starparty It was a very unusual e-mail message to receive about
a star party: "We generally go, even if it looks real cloudy." Chris Adamson and other amateur astronomers who are members of the Phoenix, Arizona-based East Valley Astronomy Club (EVAC) gather to stargaze, even when there may not be stars to see.
Seem strange? I thought so, which is why I decided to tag along with this group to a star party they were hosting in Arizona. The weather forecast: heavy cloud cover.
Storms over the desert
The EVAC observing site is in the desert about 40 miles (65 kilometers) south of Phoenix, Arizona. Some would call it the middle of nowhere, an unremarkable flat spot on the desert floor, far from civilization and reachable only by a small dirt road. There are no facilities of any kind, just a clear area in the midst of the scrub brush and cactus that cover most of southern Arizona.
Party with the stars this summer. Read SPACE.com's Special Report on summer stargazing.
Arriving at sunset I saw that Chris wasn't alone: there were about 15 others there.
Telescopes were set up; observing tables were out and piled with star atlases and other equipment; chairs were set out near coolers full of cold drinks, all ready for a night of observing in the warm, dry desert night. 
Amateur astronomers scout for a patch of blue sky at the East Valley Astronomy Club star party in Arizona.
But it was cloudy: As expected, from horizon to horizon it was nothing but clouds, with a patch of thunderstorms visible in the distance. Only to the far west -- just over the setting sun -- was there a sign of blue sky. What's a stargazer to do on a night like this?
The power of suggestion?
When there are no stars to see, astronomers talk about equipment. The first hour after sunset, therefore, the talk was about new gear, interspersed with hopeful glances toward the little clear bit of sky in the west.
As darkness grows, amateur astronomers ready their equipment for a night of stargazing.
And perhaps by the power of suggestion, the patch of clear sky started to grow. As darkness fell a few stars could be seen over the fading sunset, and soon a few more stars could be seen through thinning clouds overhead. There was excitement in the group and telescopes were pointed at the small cloudless portions of sky.
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By 10 p.m., more than two hours after sunset, a bit more than half the sky was clear. Though faint flashes of lightning could still be seen in the distance, to the west and south the sky was free of clouds, and almost all the telescopes were aimed at the southern constellation Scorpius.
The scorpion and the teapot
Scorpius is one of the prize constellations of summer, a huge undulating figure that lies along the
southern Milky Way and really does look like a scorpion. Because it lies near the line of sight to the center of our galaxy, Scorpius contains a wealth of beautiful objects, including glowing clouds of hydrogen gas, shadowy dark nebulae, and globular clusters that look like beehives of tightly packed stars. As the clouds cleared several people made the rounds of the party, stopping at each telescope to view what each was observing.By midnight almost the whole sky was clear, and many telescopes were turned to Scorpius' galactic neighbor, the constellation Sagittarius. To the ancient Greeks, Sagittarius looked like an archer, but to
modern Western astronomers it looks just a like a teapot, complete with lid, handle and spout. Sagittarius sits astride the center of the galaxy and is therefore the constellation richest in star clouds and intricate webs of dark dust lanes, all of which hide our view of the dazzlingly bright galactic core. A number of the observers at the star party switched to binoculars to enjoy the tapestry of glowing sights in Sagittarius, using the telescopes only to view small selected portions.The comet awaits
By then it was obvious that the gamble had paid off. The clouds disappeared and it became a beautiful desert night -- warm and pleasant, with myriad sparkling stellar beacons overhead. But by 1 a.m. sleep was beckoning and a number of the attendees packed up and started leaving.
A streaking Comet LINEAR, whose path is seen here, was spotted at the East Valley Astronomy Club star party.
By 2 a.m., only three vehicles were left and the few remaining observers were looking for the great reward of the night:
Comet LINEAR, racing through the early-morning skies. By 2:30 a.m. it had been spotted in the northeast in the constellation Cepheus. The two remaining star party attendees who were still awake remarked how it could be seen moving: its position in relation to the background stars was visibly different every few minutes. A time-lapse image of the comet taken at the star party (see adjacent) showed its rapid rate of motion.Planets in the dawn
Just before dawn, attention turned to the planets Jupiter and Saturn, presently visible only in the wee hours just before sunrise. Both planets have recently emerged from behind the sun and have been out of sight of most observers since May, but for the hardy few who are up at 3 a.m., they are now visible again.
By 4 a.m., the eastern sky began to lighten and the few observers who were left started to pack up. By sunrise the last vehicle had departed and the flat spot in the desert was again deserted. One of the last people to leave picked up a couple of remaining soft-drink cans so that nothing was left behind but tire tracks.
So was it worth it? It was certainly a gamble: the clouds, the storms and the possibility of a wasted trip. But everyone seemed to agree that it was very worthwhile, even the loss of sleep. It was perhaps best explained by Brian Page, an aerospace engineer and one of those who stayed up all night. "It was worth it just to see the comet," he stated simply.
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