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Old 22-03-2018, 01:34 PM
Wavytone
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Wavytone is offline
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Killara, Sydney
Posts: 4,147
Quote:
Originally Posted by snarkyboojum View Post
I've ... come across Crago and Terrey Hills as a couple of good sites near Sydney.
Crago at Mt Bown is run by ASNSW, see http://www.asnsw.com/crago

Terrey Hills - owned by Ku-Ring-Gai council and access is provided by NSAS - see https://nsas.org.au/observing/ This site is IMHO the best you can hope for in the Sydney basin, short of driving 2h up to Blackheath, or beyond. Key aspects of the Terrey Hills site - you can set up on a tar pathway, no bright lights, and its on a ridge with low horizons in all directions. The Magellanic Clouds are easily seen naked eye most nights and the Coal Sack if the transparency is above average. One key aspect of the Terrey Hills site is that it is on a ridge surrounded by trees. if there is a light seabreeze the airflow will be compressed by the ridge resulting in laminar airflow, which means the seeing can be surprisingly good there, yet terrible elsewhere.

One irritation is that the NSAS seem to have developed a fondness for red LED's and had it lit up like a runway to welcome alien UFOs.

Acron Oval in St Ives and Killara Oval on Koola Ave are also good if you want no LED lights, or Terrey Hills is not open (ie other nights), these are surrounded by trees and reasonably dark.

Last edited by Wavytone; 22-03-2018 at 02:02 PM.
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