At the star party of Corona Borealis in Courtaoult, France

Invited by Corona Borealis I participated as the chairman of the Volkssternwarte Goch/Kleve from 19 to 22 August in the annual star party of C. B. in Courtaoult in France. The long trip of 600 km was really worthwhile: A nice astro community of eight people indulged in astronomy in a remote, wide area in the Champagne region. The small village of Courtaoult is situated in an absolutely dark area, no illuminated streets and no larger towns or cities nearby. So it is ideally suited to go for astronomy during the nights - and to enjoy the French culture during daytime: Many old churches and basilicas in the vicinity, the huge drive-in caves for sparkling wine near Bailly and last but not least the well-known town of Chablis...

However our primary objective was to practice astronomy: Some of the dutch friends are real experts in astrophotography and we had some long talks and discussions about this topic. Since they use different types of cameras, the exchange of experiences was really versatile.

As a member of our Volkssternwarte I could furthermore gain completely new experiences and learn a lot in making high value astronomical equipment transportable and make it ready for use in a short time because as of now the Volkssternwarte does not yet practice mobile astronomy.

The first night was clear and we used it for setting up the equipment and get things running. The next two nights stayed dry, however had many clouds so astronomy was limited to more theoretical parts.
Unfortunately I had to leave early already on Saturday due to other appointments and on the way back through northern France I could see the clear, deep blue sky approaching from the west. At this moment I really envied the dutch friends who could stay longer and enjoy some perfect nights.
To summarize: I enjoyed the star party very much, it was a wonderful time and I could learn a lot from the the dutch colleagues.
Anyway, we are looking forward to the star party 2010 at Courtaoult - and some more perfect nights...