Kulnura Observing - 17th Feb

Deeno · #1 01-02-2007, 11:06 PM

After enjoying the dark skies of Lostock, the skies of home are somewhat disapointing, and there seems to be no talk of a observing night at Kulnura!

GTB_an_Owl (Geoff) · #2 01-02-2007, 11:45 PM

don't panic Deeno

there WILL be one - i am sure

iceman (Mike) · #3 02-02-2007, 06:14 AM

Yeh i'll be there on the 17th Feb. I can't make it on the 10th.

Rodstar (Rod) · #4 02-02-2007, 07:37 AM

I am up for it, too.

I imagine we may have a few extras this month, newbies to the forum courtesy of Comet Mcnaught.

I'll pack some port.

cahullian · #5 02-02-2007, 12:53 PM

I'm out hedgehog hunting already " )

GTB_an_Owl (Geoff) · #6 02-02-2007, 01:05 PM

YEP
i'm looking forward to it

ving (David) · #7 02-02-2007, 01:36 PM

17th, hmm....

iceman (Mike) · #8 02-02-2007, 01:38 PM

I changed the title of the thread to reflect the fact that we'll be there on the 17th

C'mon Ving, come up!

It'll be only 2 days before I come down your way for the MAS meet.

Deeno · #9 02-02-2007, 01:49 PM

Excellent!

That gives me a couple of weeks to put it back together and work out how to collimate it

ving (David) · #10 02-02-2007, 02:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman

I changed the title of the thread to reflect the fact that we'll be there on the 17th

C'mon Ving, come up!

It'll be only 2 days before I come down your way for the MAS meet.

gah! you know i want to... have to see.
looking forward ta seeing yo at the MAS mmet

been a while huh.

silwat · #11 02-02-2007, 02:34 PM

Hello all

Unfortunately for me I missed out Lostock and I'm now desperatley awaiting the next dark sky camp. Does this trip to Kulnura have the same intentions as Lostock? Would it be a good chance for someone, as new to the sport as I am, to come along and learn a little something? or do I have the wrong Idea?

iceman (Mike) · #12 02-02-2007, 02:39 PM

It does have the same intentions - that is, good friends observing under (relatively) dark skies only 30-60 minutes away from home!

It's definitely a good place for newbies to come and look through some other scopes, get advice and help with their own scopes, look through some larger aperture scopes, and have a great time with friendly people.

Hope to see you there!

But, just to clarify, it's not a star party where you stay overnight/camp/have dinner etc.. that is, you should plan to arrive before sunset and leave before sunrise

There is power available, and sometimes there's an urn etc.

ving (David) · #13 02-02-2007, 02:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by iceman

It does have the same intentions - that is, good friends observing under (relatively) dark skies only 30-60 minutes away from home!

.

30-60 mins? I wish!
try 3-3.5hrs!

its a very relaxed atomsphere and the numbers vary but are small. its just as much a social thing as it is an astronomy thing and you will find teh people there to be very helpful

silwat · #14 02-02-2007, 02:54 PM

Fantastic! Looks like I'll have to come then

Is there a thread with details about this event that I have overlooked? (I hate asking all these questions if you've already answered them elsewhere)

Thanks for getting back to me so quickly guys

iceman (Mike) · #15 02-02-2007, 03:20 PM

This is the thread with the details

There's a new one created each month.

This sticky thread has the map of how to get there.

ausastronomer (John Bambury) · #16 02-02-2007, 04:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deeno

Excellent!

That gives me a couple of weeks to put it back together and work out how to collimate it

Deeno,

Can you get there a couple of hours before dark, say about 6:30pm? If so, I would be happy to bring some tools and show you how to collimate and set the scope up from scratch. Including, centering the spider in the tube, aligning the focuser, positioning the secondary and adjusting it's rotation in relation to the focuser and then adjusting the tilt of both the primary and the secondary mirrors. Then when it's dark, I can explain to you how to check your collimation properly on a defocused star.

If anyone else is interested and wants to turn up at 6:30pm, I would be happy to run a small group informal workshop on collimating a newtonian. Any takers ?

I will also be bringing the 18" Obsession with me to soak up some eye candy later in the night.

CS-John B

[1ponders] (Paul) · #17 02-02-2007, 04:46 PM

Event added to Calendar.

RB (Andrew) · #18 02-02-2007, 06:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ausastronomer

If anyone else is interested and wants to turn up at 6:30pm, I would be happy to run a small group informal workshop on collimating a newtonian. Any takers ?

I will also be bringing the 18" Obsession with me to soak up some eye candy later in the night.

CS-John B

John I'd love to.
I might even bring the girls with their LB.

Deeno · #19 03-02-2007, 06:01 AM

Thanks John
That would be so cool!!
Had a go with instructions printed up from of this site somewhere. Spent what seemed an age fooling around with it(What have I done!!!!) but, I reckon it ended up pretty close. Lovely view of Jupiter this morning.

wavelandscott (Scott) · #20 03-02-2007, 03:57 PM

I'll put it in my diary...although I may be stuck at home still unpacking boxes...If we make good progress this weekend and next I might be able to get a pass from the warden...

Hope to see you all there!