Yep Geoff weather stinks for camping and viewing. If anyone is interested could meet up for coffee during the week.
I would like a coffee. Name the time and place.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan_L
yeah, the whole state looks like it will be rain effected this coming week.
Even Bourke and Lightning Ridge.
And April is school holidays affected. Going deeper into the west should be an option then if we could find a suitable site, I am recalling that caretaker guy at Coonabarabran that offered his property some time back. Or is Coolah open for business?
March is a write off for me, due extra work and last minute changes to my roster.
I will be in Coolah for at least a week starting the 17 April. Will probably have family and friends coming and going, but it's not like I will run out of room.
Its a real bummer. I cant change my leave dates now either. I am now just staring at the computer not knowing what to do at the moment.
Hey Geoff, the Snake Valley Asto Camp is on down in Victoria this coming weekend I believe. A bit of a trip but they might even have clear skies. They have a thread here. http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=153518
Hey Geoff, the Snake Valley Asto Camp is on down in Victoria this coming weekend I believe. A bit of a trip but they might even have clear skies. They have a thread here. http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...d.php?t=153518
Thx Glen, I think its just a little too far for me to travel. thx anyway.
March is a write off for me, due extra work and last minute changes to my roster.
I will be in Coolah for at least a week starting the 17 April. Will probably have family and friends coming and going, but it's not like I will run out of room.
Hi Allan, I dont know if I can get more time off then, but I will try to get there to check out the sky if at all possible. I'll let ya know.
It will be the last quarter Moon then if I am correct.
Cheers Geoffro.
I see the Aldi camping equipment sale is on again this Saturday, with the usual stuff. The tent peg kits in the plastic box are handy. And the rather unique Onezee sleeping bag that you can walk around in, good for a cold night of astronomy activities. Not sure about the relative value of some of the gear, say compared to ebay, but it will not deter the queue on Saturday at 8:30 am.
Of course there is no promise on the horizon that you might ever get to use this stuff at a dark site
An astronomy gathering/star party is being organised by the small township of Ben Lomond north of Armidale on the weekend of 22/23rd April. The town is at over 1300m alt and is lovely and dark. They plan on making it an annual event and hopefully will post more info on IIS soon. Not that far further than Tamworth so worth thinking about.
An astronomy gathering/star party is being organised by the small township of Ben Lomond north of Armidale on the weekend of 22/23rd April. The town is at over 1300m alt and is lovely and dark. They plan on making it an annual event and hopefully will post more info on IIS soon. Not that far further than Tamworth so worth thinking about.
Thanks for that news Terry. Would like to hear more about it.
I had sent a PM to TerryB in Armidale and received this info in reply:
"This year they are only trying to have a small event as a test but plan on making it an annual event after every Easter.
They seem quite organised. They have a hall that can be used along with camping that would only be available for the star party. They have arranged for the 8 street lights in town to be turned off for the Saturday night and blackout shield to stop any light from cars impacting on the area for the star party.
It is a small town of only about 80 residents and they feel this would be a good event for the town. "
That is all he knew at that time. I am sure he will be back soon with an update.
I'm not sure how many people the, very nice, hosts of the Star-Grazing event are targeting for the 'Test Run', but they have started a Tumblr account with some more information if anyone is interested:
I believe they have about 6 folks so far (including me!) signed up. Looks like they are very dedicated to working out the logistics of an ongoing event and could probably use a few more scopes for their public night and some additional feedback from folks to plan their future events.