Location: The parking lot
at the USS San Francisco Memorial in the Golden Gate National Recreation Area
located one block north of the intersection at 48th Avenue and Pt. Lobos
Street, just above the Cliff House.
One of the striking characteristics of San Francisco is its nighttime
illumination. While very beautiful to behold in the eyes of locals and tourists
alike, it can be a bane of the amateur astronomer's existence. On has to wonder
what possessed the Board of Supervisors to approve halogen street lamps thus
straddling our beloved ESSEFF with the affectionate but tongue-in-cheek
nickname of "The San Francisco Nebula". Despite this seemingly
insurmountable obstacle to a decent night of viewing, there sits a little gem
of a site easily accessible by vehicle or public transportation (yep, I've
gotten there on MUNI, with telescope, tripod and accessory case in tow). Ft.
Miley is this gem of a site.
As you approach Ft. Miley, you will see a large, circular parking lot that
looks over the entrance to San Francisco Bay, the Pacific Ocean to the left and
a postcard view of the Golden Gate Bridge to the right. It is also the home of
the WWII memorial dedicated to those men who fought on the USS San Francisco in
the Pacific. The actual bow of the ship is the memorial itself. If for nothing
else, it's worth it to go and look at this tribute.
The spaciousness of this area ensures more than enough set-up room for even the
largest portable telescope. Heck, you could even set up the telescope from Lick
Observatory if you could get it up here and still have plenty of room left
over. Parking is ample so there is little chance of getting dings in your
doors. The tree-lined land surrounding the parking lot does a great job of
blocking out the halogen street lamps, thus giving you some decent, dark urban
sky.
However, there is one drawback on the light issue and that is, car headlights.
Remember that this is a parking lot. You will have to contend with the
headlights of cars carrying tourists and locals alike coming up to take
advantage of the picturesque-ness of the surrounding area. (repeat after me
"Tourism is good for us", see last paragraph).
When it comes to doing lunar gazing, planetary viewing and bright
star/cluster/constellation seeing, Ft. Miley can't be beat as far as a site in
San Francisco proper is concerned. But then, (and you knew there would be a but
to this), there is the factor of FOG.
Now the fog factor does demote the rating for this site. In my experience, 7
out of 10 times that I have gone over to Ft. Miley, the fog has had this
uncanny ability to know exactly when I have finished setting up my telescope,
gotten my lounge chair in the perfect position and laid out all my comforts
that I like to have while gazing, before it rolls in like a Howitzer tank.
Before you can say hey, you can be enveloped by pea soup. It is one of the most
frustrating aspects for Bay Area astronomers. However, there is a side to every
coin. In this case, fog can be our friend; the trick is to get above it! It is
very effective in blocking out the San Francisco Nebula from other sites in the
Bay Area, which will be reviewed in the future.
All things considered, for easy access and relatively dark, urban skies, Ft.
Miley is a good place to observe from. A small telescope (refractor or
something under 12" in aperture) and/or binoculars seem to be the optimum
equipment to viewing but I've seen stunning sites through large Dobsonians set
up here also.
Viewing at Ft. Miley also gives one an opportunity to share the wonders of the
night sky with people who might not otherwise even think about looking up after
gawking at the Golden Gate Bridge, which to me is the far best reason to add
Ft. Miley to your list of places to go to.
Other points considered for the four star rating:
The laziness factor - good for those of us who want to get out but are too lazy
to even think about driving any place that requires a bridge toll.
Chore Neglecting Factor: This place is so close that even if you have 5 loads
of laundry to do before the morning, you won't feel bad because you're not that
far away and you'll only be gone for maybe a couple, three, four hours.
Also, if you get hungry while stargazing and all you have is some cash or a
credit card, there are some good eateries nearby on Geary Avenue.
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