Hi all,
Having a right royal lousy time with the weather. Alas that goes with astronomy.
Also means we are eternal optimists,
Probably loopy for that too,
Well, we've been penciled in for a session at Katoomba Airfield for Saturday June 20. And it's gonna be
FREEZING !!!
First thing I'll do up there is get the combustion heater
cranking!
Access to the Airfield is via Medlow Bath, the next village after Katoomba heading west. At Medlow Bath's only set of traffic lights turn into Station Pde, and then turn left into Rutland. Rutland is also known as Grand Canyon Drive. The Airfield is 4km from this intersection with the last 3km being unsealed. Being unsealed it can experience erosion that can create nasty ruts in the road surface, so take it easy. It is
not a 4WD road. Just an unsealed road surface. See the first pic below.
The Airfield is totally BYO power, food, drinks, etc. Loos are available for kids and ladies. There are sofas in the office building we can get some kip in too. The office building also has a combustion heater that becomes the centre of the universe during winter. There is also no actual finish time. It is up to you when you've had enough or need to head home. But we are welcome to stay overnight if we like.
This is an informal gathering. We all share the cost of a gift to Rod, the Airfield manager, of his preferred brew. The hat gets passed around for this.
These get togethers are a great chance to ask questions if you are new to astronomy. Folks who come up bring a wide variety of instruments and gear, and their interests vary just as widely from visual through to imaging (and even sketching... ). The Airfield's elevation at 1000m also makes it not only one of the highest observing sites close to Sydney, but also its elevation makes a big impact in reducing the influence of Sydney's light pollution. And being on top of a ridge, and with its clay runway, dew is very rare, and fog falls into the valley below.
Accessing the Airfield
Note that some natsav systems call this site "Katoomba Airport", and won't show Katoomba Airfield.
On entering the Airfield's gates, keep to the left hand track - there is no access to the observing field using the other two tracks. Drive past the "no entry" sign and turn right up the hill past the various buildings. The setup slab is on the left once you reach the main runway. See the second pic below.
The first pic below shows the route to the Airfield coming from Katoomba. The second pic shows the way to the observing slab on the main runway.
If you have a telescope, bring it along! If all you have are binoculars, brilliant! Bring them! Binos are a fantastic astronomy tool. I always bring my pair. If you don't have a scope, no problem either, we like to share the views through ours.
I may well be bringing two, maybe three scopes up. Won't know what to do with myself!
Last note:
It WILL get cold up there. Very blooming cold. Please come dressed appropriately, including shoes, gloves and beanie. The office building's combustion heater will be on for when you need a bit of a warm up.
See you soon,
Alex.
