Seeing Tonight - NSW Coast

glend (Glen) · #1 03-03-2019, 12:03 PM

Looking at the spotless blue sky this afternoon bodes well for good Seeing tonight. With the New Moon approaching there will be plenty of dark hours, and the forecast looks good for several days. Get out there and enjoy it.

xelasnave · #2 03-03-2019, 12:57 PM

Yes the clouds have all come to Tabulam☺.
Alex

xelasnave · #3 03-03-2019, 01:00 PM

I do hope I get a run.
I have the 80mm ready to go and the old new☺ mount Bojan helped me with .... so I hope to be gathering data from two different setups.
Alex

Startrek (Martin) · #4 03-03-2019, 04:28 PM

Just arrived at my holiday pad at Narrawallee for the week with a beautiful afternoon light nor’easter and sunny skies
CFN has a clear night until 2.00am so I can squeeze in 5 or 6 hours tonight and maybe 1 or 2 hours tomorrow night

skysurfer · #5 03-03-2019, 04:32 PM

I hope it will clear up here (south of Coffs Harbor) so I can do some observations and astrophotography.

glend (Glen) · #6 04-03-2019, 02:09 AM

Very good night here. Just closed up the observatory. Imaging M83. Best night in awhile, with the humidity staying in the mid-70% range, which is good for being on the lake here.

Allan_L (Allan) · #7 04-03-2019, 07:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by glend

Very good night here. Just closed up the observatory. Imaging M83. Best night in awhile, with the humidity staying in the mid-70% range, which is good for being on the lake here.

YES. I wandered outside in the wee small hours myself to checkout the sky.
(first time for a while).
And I was pleasantly surprised at how clear and still it was.
Watched the planetary parade (Jupiter Saturn Venus and crescent moon rising in the East).
Brought a smile to my face.

The Mekon (John Briggs) · #8 04-03-2019, 08:06 AM

The past couple of nights have been good around here. Saturday night I observed Sirius B with my 106mm for the first time, all previous attempts at this aperture had failed. Last night had the 18" out and both seeing and transparency were good.
All up this has not been a good summer for observing, but when conditions have been clear I have noticed a lack of humidity - have not used my dew controller for months.
Last night was the first night in a long time when a felt dew on the scope before midnight. Humidity registered 88%

glend (Glen) · #9 26-03-2019, 03:38 PM

Perfectly clear blue sky all day long, here south of Newcastle. Do we dare to dream that this continues until tomorrow morning?
Even the Bureau 4-day chart looks good for tonight and Wednesday night.
I will not take my new scope out of the box until I am sure.

Astro dark from 8:20pm
Moon rise 10:47pm

Allan_L (Allan) · #10 26-03-2019, 04:15 PM

I hope the weather god smiles on you tonight Glen.

Any particular target I should already have been aware of?

glend (Glen) · #11 26-03-2019, 04:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allan_L

I hope the weather god smiles on you tonight Glen.

Any particular target I should already have been aware of?

Hi Al, thanks. Just hoping to do some first light images with the 71SDQ and the Nikon. Given the moon rise time I will be satisfied with Eta C, Omega C, etc. Just want to get a feel for the field of view.

Saturnine (Jeff) · #12 26-03-2019, 05:08 PM

I'm also praying that the skies stay clear tonight and early morning. According to ISS Transit Finder - https://transit-finder.com/results there will be an ISS / Lunar transit visible from a few kms up the coast from me at 6:09 am tomorrow, give or take a few seconds. What is interesting is that the moon and Jupiter will be close, well a few degrees apart, in the morning and if I was to be a few kms south of the lunar transit path, then it would be possible to see the ISS transit ( eclipse ) Jupiter. Not a common occurrence. Which event do I line up for, can't be in 2 places at the same time, even with my split personality.

Saturnine (Jeff) · #13 26-03-2019, 05:19 PM

Just checked on the map and the transit path runs from NW to SE and will cross the Three Sisters Lookout area in Katoomba at 6:09:05 am then continue SE passing over Camden then Wedderburn before getting to me on the coast at 6:09:19.37 am. Should still be dark enough as sunrise is not until 7:04 and nautical twilight begins at 6:10.
Could be some imaging fun to be had. Which camera, which scope and mount or a side by side rig with 2 scopes and cameras. It's all getting too complicated already.

glend (Glen) · #14 26-03-2019, 05:47 PM

Good luck Jeff. Your dedicated to be chasing transit paths, it's a one chance thing. It would make a nice calendar cover shot.

xelasnave · #15 26-03-2019, 06:48 PM

Good luck Glen..just remember short subs and high ISO can be your friend☺.
I was surprised how 6400 worked with the Nikon recently.
I am looking forward to hear how you rate the new scope..it looks fantastic.
Alex

glend (Glen) · #16 27-03-2019, 10:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xelasnave

Good luck Glen..just remember short subs and high ISO can be your friend☺.
I was surprised how 6400 worked with the Nikon recently.
I am looking forward to hear how you rate the new scope..it looks fantastic.
Alex

Alex, et al, first test image is here:

https://www.astrobin.com/397533/0/

glend (Glen) · #17 28-03-2019, 01:04 PM

Another clear blue sky day here, and tonight is looking very promising.
Astro dark from 20:17, and the Moon does not rise until after midnight (00:22).

Jeff how did your transit chase turn out down south?

Saturnine (Jeff) · #18 28-03-2019, 11:57 PM

Thanks for asking Glen but I wish you hadn't . From about 4:00 am cloud starting appearing to the south and by 6:00 the cloud front had passed overhead completely blocking any view of the moon and the transit. Briefly saw the ISS approaching from the NW through the remaining gap between the cloud front and the horizon. Was still clear further inland as my nephew got some video from Camden.
If I had've been more astute I should've gone inland , away from the coast but that would've meant getting caught up in peak hour traffic, not something I willingly would put myself in the midst of any more.

glend (Glen) · #19 05-04-2019, 06:55 AM

The forecast for this weekend looks excellent, according to the Bureau and the New Moon is tonight. A great opportunity, hopefully, for everyone on the Coast to get the scope out. But strap on the dew heater just in case.

Edit. This needs an update, given that it has been raining all morning here (after being clear overnight). The rain, after previous rain this week, is going to take some time to evaporate. The forecast says two or three sunny days from tomorrow (Sat), so I would watch your local humidity levels, especially if your near the water. I am thinking a min of one sunny day before I consider opening the Obs roof.

Wavytone · #20 05-04-2019, 07:57 PM

IMHO it’s a rerun of last weekend - cold front blowing through mid afternoon and it will blow its guts out all night, wind dropping Sunday morning.

Sunday night should be ok but I’m skeptical about Saturday night.