In a show of determination, members of the Orange County Astronomers club (OCA) braved a major forest fire to attend their monthly dark-sky observing session on July 29. In the sky that night many were hoping to glimpse a rare event: A comet being destroyed by the sun's heat.

But they were not expecting to have to contend with a fiery event much closer to home.

An observatory threatened by pollution

The Orange County Astronomers is one of the largest and most active astronomy associations in the U.S., numbering more than 600 members. Orange County lies along the California coast at the southern end of the Los Angeles basin, an area that has become so light polluted that astronomical observation is virtually impossible. To carry on their observing, therefore, almost 20 years ago the OCA purchased land and built a remote observing site in the mountains south of Palm Springs, California, an area that was then far from urban lights. The elaborate observing site is home to a 22-inch (54-centimeter) research telescope, as well as fixed observing stations for dozens of smaller telescopes. But on this night it was evident that urban sprawl is now threatening even this remote location. Light pollution from San Diego, Palm Springs and other urban areas is now making it difficult to see dim objects, and vacation homes built next to the observatory site now regularly flood it with bright lights.

Summer riches and a missing comet

But the skies at the OCA observatory are still dark enough see the myriad wonders of the summer skies. On this night dozens of observers scanned the riches of the Milky Way, while other searched for the fading Comet Linear.

Many of the attendees are also amateur astrophotographers and their observing stations are some of the most elaborate. One of these is Dave Kodama of Cerritos, California, who had taken a long route around the mountains to avoid the fire, hoping to catch a photo of the dissipating comet. Kodama's observing station is a complex array of multiple telescopes, computerized equipment and several cabinets of additional accoutrements required to take photos of dim sky objects. But despite all the equipment, the comet proved elusive, and Kodama had to settle for taking nighttime photos of the nearby fire.

A few steps away another astrophotographer, Garth Buckles, plies his craft in a wood-walled enclosure he has nicknamed "Fort Apache." The circular enclosure shields his photographic equipment from wind gusts and provides Buckles with a spacious "office" where he can lay out accessories and documents. On this night it also shields the cameras from the eerie orange glow of the Pechanga flames, visible to the southwest as they illuminate the underside of distant clouds.

Beginners too

But most observers still prefer the simplicity of visual observing. At one of the terrace-like observing areas on the OCA site, astronomy beginner Terry Young is trying out a new telescope. Young, who works at an airline by day, is tonight voyaging far beyond the airline routes.

PARTY WITH THE STARS! Read SPACE.com's Special Report on Stargazing.

"I've always wanted to know more about what lies 'out there,'" explained Young. "Being here helps me understand more about where we are. It gives me a grasp for how far it is to all those distant objects." At first he struggled to find some of the celestial objects he was seeking, but by the end of the evening he had spotted a number of bright objects and he was already planning some upgrades to his new telescope.

A communal experience

A star party such as the monthly OCA event is a true communal experience. While each observer has his or her own goals and aims the assembly of observers has a very social air, with constant chatter and people moving from one telescope to another to see what others are doing. Combined with the rural outdoor setting - the occasional rustle of wind, a cow mooing in the distance, distant headlights bouncing over a dirt road - it makes it easy for a few hours to forget the stresses of office life and hustle of urban living.

And in the end that seems to be why so many people are willing to lug around heavy equipment and brave desert heat, long drives and forest fires. It's not just the science of astronomy, but the opportunity to sit for a few hours in a quiet place and ponder the bigger things. It's not a bad way to spend an evening, contemplating our place in the universe, serenaded by a lonely bovine and the murmur of leaves in the wind.