Just got home..............wow, i am cold and stinky it was very brisk for a few mornings with ice everywhere. I think i heard someone talking about -6 degrees. It sure felt like it. Beautiful skies with some fancy meteor action thrown in. Heaps of piccys taken and heaps of new ideas to mull over. Time for a shower and a nap. cant wait for next year.
Great 2008 Astrofest, and once again a job well done for all the organizers, specially the hard work of Anne-Louise, what a lucky guy Tony is!.
Our family and I had a ball, cant wait for next year!. I have attached a couple of pics (some BAS members and weight throwing comp).
These are the only pictures I have ready atm. I'll dig my camera out and see if there are any terrestrial ones on there.
1. Rho Ophiuchus complex. 20D (Modded) & 85mm f/1.8 @ f2.8. 12 shots @240sec. ISO800. ICNR (only way to keep up with the dropping temp)
2. Veil and Gamma Cygni Nebula and part of the Nth America Neb (more of this one to come later) 20D (modded) & 85mm f1.8 lens @ f2.8. Total of 10 shots @240sec. ISO800 ICNR.
These were done quickly for a demo, but they show promise, so I'll go back and complete them when I do all the others I took
6 Cracker nights of imaging for me Very little sleep. (4:45 a.m. this morning) A few hicups but I got enough to keep me busy for a few wet nights.
I've just finished making my prioritized wish list in excel.... dew heaters, refractors, cables, side by side plates, cables, a ton of double sided velcro and some cables...
I gotta say, I loved astrofest.... My wallet hopes I never EVER go back !
I had a mixed bag - lots of learning - lots of hardware problems - great company, wonderful meteors the whole time, and a message for those that know - no good news there!! only have one real image - but because of an approaching front I packed up forgetting to get flats, darks etc, and to cap it off one of the shots has a jet flying right through it. Unfortunately it will be my last Astrofest for a while, and i wont be going to lostock either this year - not one day
Al and I left Duckadang with a three star Salute from Paul, Dennis and Jeanette, travelled through the fog and frost on a crisp clear morning for a 12 hour drive to Newcastle. I loved the company and the camp was well run by AnneLouise Et Al. I came second to a NSW bloke from Coffs Harbour - so NSW still won the counterweight toss.............
I had a pretty good year - the meteors were amazing.
With the added complexity in my gear this year I also had my fair share of hardware and software issues and I've got some work to do to track down why the comms between the laptop and EQ6 kept dropping out.
Still haven't got round to processing all the DSLR images but I'm happy with the individual frames.
I'm also pleased to report that I finally managed to get the dunny tent back into it's bag
I'm also pleased to report that I finally managed to get the dunny tent back into it's bag
Quote:
Originally Posted by AlexN
Ahhahhahahaha!! Nice one Peter, I thought that tent had you beat!
What Peter and Alex are referring to, for those that either did not attend Astrofest, or simply missed this incredibly entertaining interlude, was the sorry sight of several astronomers trying to fold Peter’s toilettent back into its carry bag.
Normally, astronomers are bright, clever, resourceful folks. They can pack cubits of gear into car spaces too small to fit it, then transport it to a dark sky site and set it up, in the dark under the feeble rays of a dim red torch, without the manual. Then, they can star hope to the dimmest of faintest fuzzy and locate it with ease.
But, try getting them to fold a tri-fold dunny tent back into its travel bag and you have the astro-comedy of the year. Confidently, each one strode up to the challenge, genuinely believing they were up to it; not one succeeded, myself included.
We followed the instructions; A to B then twist C to D and hey presto, the tent with a life of its own would neatly acquiesce and fold itself back into the carry bag.
Linda did manage to put her genie back in its bottle in the short space of three tries, but it was a two-fold dunny and not the vastly more complicated 3-fold model!
I sincerely hope that someone managed to record this tragi-comedy on camera!
Truly Peter, we weren't laughing at you. It could have happened to any of us.
I think at least 6 different "experts" attempted to get that dunny in the bag!
You'll be pleased to know that you may have instigated a new competition for next years Astrofest.
I only wish I could have photographed each and every "expert" attempting to wrestle that tent into the bag.
Open the .gif and the black noise goes away.
What Peter and Alex are referring to, for those that either did not attend Astrofest, or simply missed this incredibly entertaining interlude, was the sorry sight of several astronomers trying to fold Peter’s toilettent back into its carry bag.
When I asked if I could try I was told it was 'IN' the bag and it wasn't going to be taken out!
When I saw Pat beginning to dismantle his (same tri-fold)I was all ready to have a try if he showed any of the signs of trouble but in a few seconds his was folded and in the bag.
Was there something wrong with the other tent? Could the wire have been twisted? That would make the folding almost impossible.
What a great camp!
Weren't the meteors amazing in the beginning of the 9 nights! I haven't seen so many bright ones since the Leonids back in 2001. And what a bright one to miss! The ground lit up as bright as day! What a trail! Did anyone get a shot? I tried but failed (DEW!)
The nights were all clear (some dewy) and even on the 1 cloudy night there were people observing till late. I was expecting 2-3 rainy nights when the weather reporters started saying 'a day or so of rain' on Thursday (24th). It was about time, as we haven't had a rainy camp since 1998 (5 nights of rain I think).
I wish I had been able to do more astro-photography, just too tired
I can't believe the temperature fluctuations at night, from 15 deg one night to -3 deg on others. The manager said the birds were ice skating on the bird bath water on Sunday morning.
It did seem to be the year of electronic failures. Computers dying, hard drives rattling, cars breaking down stopping people coming, cameras failing, cables being forgotten, fuel running out etc... The list could go on and on.
I'm so glad to see everyone else had a great time too!
I only wish I could have photographed each and every "expert" attempting to wrestle that tent into the bag.
Open the .gif and the black noise goes away.
ROFL! Thanks Jeanette – your clever animation brought back the memories of this hilarious happening! Great work with the camera!
I was hoping that you’d drop by here. Once again, you and the committee pulled off a really enjoyable, successful and very well run Qld Astrofest. Anyone who has ever organised and run one of these events knows how much dedication, time and effort goes into them and I thank you and the committee for providing those resources and doing it so well.
The food for vegetarians was pleasantly varied and tasty so next year I’ll bring less but eat more if that makes sense!
As Gerald mentioned in a separate thread, seeing the troopers at work when the camp is being readied for the week and then being returned to its previous state, represents a task greater than the 12 labours of Hercules combined! You guys rock and I sure hope that you enjoyed the camp as much as I did.
Is there any news about Mike and the nasty bump from the portable fridge – please pass on my best wishes to him and I hope he is well.
Cheers
Dennis
Quote:
Originally Posted by earthlight
What a great camp!
>snip
I'm so glad to see everyone else had a great time too!
![[1ponders]'s Avatar](../vbiis/customavatars/avatar45_9.gif){kind=avatar}
!) 
