Snake Valley Club Night Feb 8th

[barx1963]

I am assuming this is on this Friday. Weather looking OK at this this stage. I am planning on popping up with the 20" in tow.

Anyone else going?

(Ken I hope this post is OK?)

Malcolm

[barx1963]

Anyone?

[danielsun]

Hey Malcolm, at this stage good chance I,ll be going.:thumbsup:

[byronpaul]

I'd like to get there, but need a few things to fall into place before I can confirm

[Nico13]

If the weather holds I'll make the run up.
Have to check with Ken to see if he got the generator working after last months overheat episode.

[danielsun]

The weather is looking good for tomorrow so hope to see you all there.:thumbsup:

[barx1963]

Looking OK. There is a little high cloud in Colac this AM but that has been the case all week and I have had the scope out every night this week so far. The diary is clear and I am booked in for a sleep in in the morning.
See you up there about 8PM

Malcolm

[Greenswale]

Cloud forecasts are looking a bit sad. Going to be a last minute decision for me.

[byronpaul]

Guys,

I might not make it as SWMBO has cracked it :mad2:

Will be a last minute decision for me as well .... got to build some brownie point in the next few hours

[barx1963]

Looking much better down here in Colac. Some thin high level stuff, but that usually disappears as you head north!

Malcolm

[byronpaul]

:prey2:SWMBO has won .... I'm stuck at home and will not make it tonight.

As a consolation, I'm allowed out in the back yard later this evening so I'll be thinking of you guys as I look up through all the crud ..... spewing.

Have a great night.

[barx1963]

Paul, I had better not tell you about last night in case you end up with a grudge against your beloved!!:D Nah, I can't help myself!
I was a great night. Cam was there with his troop of kids and getting the ED100/HEQ5 setup going, I had the 20", Danielsun was doing some timelapses and other stuff and new guy Matt was there with a 16" lightbridge.
After I left home there was still lots of high altitude stuff but as I headed north it was obviously getting less. At SV there was only a few patches in the south and they disappeared with the sun. Transparency was very good, seeing a bit patchy but the clouds stayed away!!
Observed until about 3-30 / 4am. Apart from the usual suspect I managed to nab 9 galaxies in the same field in the Hydra 1 cluster, great views of Comet Lemmon (the tail was super clear in my scope) several galaxies in Corvus, best view I have ever had of NGC4038/39 (the Antennae Galaxies) and heaps more stuff.
Helping introduce Matt to a dark sky was very pleasing as well.

Thanks for possibly the best night I have ever had at SV to Ken.

Malcolm

[Greenswale]

Grrrrr! Circumstances forced me out. Glad you all had a great night, but!

Monday night is looking good.......

[Nico13]

Hi Malcolm,
Glad you all had a great night, I'm sorry I didn't make it but had sent a message to KJ as I'd gotten home from work absolutely nackered and wreckon I would have fallen asleep just driving up there.
Didn't even get the gear out at home, a real shame by the sound of it on my part.

[barx1963]

It was a rough drive home this morning. Staggered in the front door at 6.15am with the sun just about to come up.
Will pay for it the next few days!!

Malcolm

[danielsun]

What a top night!! Got home 7;30 am. Seen some awesome views through Malcolm's 20 inch monster. Got a peek at Comet Lemmon and the Antennae Galaxies :eyepop:. Great to see Ken again and Cam with his kids and meet Mat and his very nice 16" Lightbridge.
Nice clear skies and just an all round top night! I gotta get to more of these club nights.;)

[Jen]

:eyepop: so jealous sounds like you all had a great night :thumbsup:

[Cam]

It was a great night. Wandered to the tent at 7:30 am ( a rude awakening with the kids wanting food haha). Good people get down to Snake Valley. Thanks Malcolm and Matt for the views through your scopes and the eyepiece comparisons. Daniel I can't thank you enough for the time you spent getting me up and running with my first DSLR imaging session through the new scope, much appreciated. Thanks for having us Ken.

[barx1963]

Cam
I was a great night. Good to see you having success with the imaging. You should post some of those solar images you showed me. They are excellent work and you should be very proud.

Malcolm

[danielsun]

No probs at all Cam, thanks ;) it was a good night and cant wait to do it again.
I agree with Malcolm, those Solar shots of yours are cool!:thumbsup:

Cheers Daniel.

[matt_rego79]

I just wanted to stop by and say a big thank you to Ken, Cam, Daniel and Malcolm. I had a fantastic evening and am really looking forward to the next club night.

Cheers

Matt

[danielsun]

Hey Matt, thanks and great to see you on the forum.:thumbsup:
Look forward to catching up again at SV soon.;)

Cheers Daniel.

[erick]

Congratulations all, on a great night under the SV stars!

[barx1963]

Matt
Glad you enjoyed yourself. have you had any luck with improving the collimation on the 16" yet? Just a thought but Bintel sell a combo sight tube and cheshire (see http://www.bintel.com.au/Accessories/Collimation/Orion-Collimating-Eyepiece/418/productview.aspx )
and here is a good guide to collimation that I found helpful
http://www.astro-baby.com/collimation/astro%20babys%20collimation%20guide .htm
There is also an article in AS&T this month. My philosophy with collimation is that is is possible to spend too much time on it tweaking a getting it just so. With a visual scope it is pretty hard to tell the difference between a nearly perfect job and an actually perfect job!
Having said that, your scope is fairly fast at f4.5, so it will always benefit from being well collimated.

Malcolm