I registered and had purchased a park sticker. A few days before my planned departure to the Nebraska Star Party I assessed the smoke situation and decided not to attend. My personal judgement was that it wasn't worth the travel expense and hours of driving to seek out what would probably be mediocre sky.
Last night I was at a friend's house north of Minneapolis and the effect of the smoke was obvious. The limiting magnitude was around 4 instead of the usual 5.5. Extinction due to smoke was costing us somewhere around 1.5 magnitudes. That translates as requiring exposure times to be 4 times their normal values.
Looking at satellite loops suggests the smoke blanketed NSP the first three nights (Sunday, Monday and Tuesday nights). Wednesday night was probably the best of the event, but even then there were occasional clouds combined with smoke. Thursday night's forecast is for fewer clouds but more smoke.
Considering the five nights from Sunday through Thursday, recent years have not been kind to NSP. In 2019 it rained four of those nights. If NSP 2020 had taken place it would have provided maybe five hours of good quality imaging, unfortunately coming as three hours one night and two another. This year's NSP 2021 may have been a complete loss for imaging unless you're willing to image through smoke.
I'm beginning to think I was spoiled by my first three NSP trips (2014, 15, and 16).
The question is if this is just a bad run of weather or an indication of some sort of "new normal" as the climate warms and wildfires become a regular feature of summer.
Time will tell. And while we wait, get fully vaccinated if you aren't already!
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