Leader:  Ron Sentell    Phone: 865-441-2937    E-mail: ron@sentell.org
Meeting place:  Foothills Parkway Parking Area, 3.9 miles left from entry off U.S. 321           
Time:  10:00 PM
Registration available:  Cancelled due to weather forecast

Description:  

The Wears Valley section of the Foothills Parkway has 4 convenient locations for photographing the Milky Way over wonderful landscapes.  On July 9, the moon is below the horizon and the Milky Way Galactic Center rises at 10:40 PM.  At 10:00 PM, we will meet at the parking area located 3.9 miles from turning left on the parkway from Rt. 321 near Townsend.  We will spend time here and then go to the Caylor Gap parking area on the left located 9.6 miles from the initial turn onto the parkway.  Here, we will break up into smaller groups and rotate between this location and two other locations at 0.8 miles and 1.4 miles beyond this point. 

A clear, dark sky is essential.  Forecast.weather.gov with the location Townsend will be used for a go/no-go decision for this event.  Near the bottom of this webpage under Additional Forecasts and Information, I select Tabular Forecast for hourly details.  If sky cover forecast is about  25 % or greater, this event will be cancelled.

Learning opportunities: How to photograph and post process Milky Way images over majestic landscapes. Approximately a week after this event, a Zoom meeting will be scheduled to review images of participants and discuss post processing.

What to bring:

Your favorite DSLR camera and lens. Extra batteries. A wide angle lens is best for the Milky Way.  I use an 11-16 mm f/2.8 zoom lens.  

An intervalometer is useful for longer exposures of the foreground but not necessary.

Tripods will be needed.

COVID-19 precautions:  Wearing a mask and social distancing are discretionary. 

How to Find Me:  Silver Subaru Outback.