South Pacific Star Party SPSP 2013

[jakob]

Having missed out on IISAC Lostock this year, I'm planning to attend the South Pacific Star Party at Wiruna.

Any Iceinspace members attending? :question:

[Irish stargazer]

I'll be there for two nights

[multiweb]

Will be there from Thursday onwards at the house. :thumbsup:

[seeker372011]

I last went in 2005. Too long between drinks.Registered yesterday,plan to be there Friday and Saturday nights.

Now to get the leave approved :)

[The Mekon]

I am booked to go. I was at the first Ilford party in 1993 so this is a bit of an anniversary for me. Like you Seeker, I was last there in 2005.
This year am taking both the 18" and the AP starfire to do a bit of a comparo.

[iceman]

Unfortunately I can't go this year. It's been a few years for me but will try and remedy that next year.

[okiscopey]

I'll be there. Fourth attendance. I'm a Kandos resident, so its a very short journey for me.

[RB]

Yep, same here.

:sadeyes:

[h0ughy]

i have to save my pennies as i have just made a large purchase so the $400 plus i would have spent going to this event will be going into the new .....

[MortonH]

Sorry I won't be there to see all your cool gear! :(

[strongmanmike]

Ah cool we can talk Franko-Aussie politics :D :rofl:.....:question: err just kidding :whistle:

[Rodstar]

I have a wedding in Bowral to attend that weekend (brother in law), so no chance this year. (Sad Face). I hope to get there next year.

[mithrandir]

I'll get there one of these days. This year we'll be packing for 5 weeks in Europe including a visit to CERN and the LHC. :D

[Matt Wastell]

I will be there again - looking forward to it!

[Big Dave]

Making the long trip again for the third time. Will be at the House from Thursday.

[StraightWall]

I'll be there. Traveling from my home in California, USA!

I'm renting a camper van in Sydney later today, and will work my way out to the SPSP site by Thursday. Between now and then - no firm plans. My default is to find a dark sky site and do some binocular touring with the 20x60's I brought along, but I'm open to all suggestions for other activities, astro-themed or otherwise.

First time in Australia for me. Been here only a few hours, and have already been addressed as "Mate" about five times. I think I'm going to like this place :thumbsup:


See you at the SPSP, Mates!

Tom Schutz
SF Bay Area
USA

[Barrykgerdes]

Hi All
I have booked in this year but unfortunately I got snared by the hospital system and can't actively take part.

However I expect to be there for the Sat roast and will spend the night at the house. I will bunk near the fire so expect someone to to keep it fuelled up! I will be discussing other arrangements with Marc during the week.

And for StrongmanMike Please no big hugs this year as I am very tender around the chest since at the hands of the surgeons (butchers) at the hospital.

Barry

[multiweb]

I'll make sure there's plenty of wood and the fire is going. Just put your feet up and relax. If I catch you doing anything I'll dob you in. :P

[Barrykgerdes]

Ta Marc

Barry

[seeker372011]

Welcome to IIS and to Australia.Now that you have picked up the vocabulary, soon we'll have you wearing one of those hats with corks hanging off them.


See you at SPSP, and stop and smell the roses along the way.

One astro option maybe to spend a night at Magellan Obsevatory..it's a bit of a detour though

[gary]

Wildcard Innovations are once again proud to be a sponsor and we will be there from
the Friday. Drive carefully and see you there!

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place
Mount Kuring-Gai NSW 2080
Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Fax +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

[strongmanmike]

If it's the first time down under ie Southern Hemisphere (?) then you are in for a real treat if it's clear Tom! Be nice to meet you and it shouldn't be too hard to spot you as there are usually only 1 or 2 rent-a-camper vans there each year :)

Mate Mike

Ps. Of course my luck this year there will be a dozen campers I bet :rolleyes:..oh well, will have to knock on every door till someone named Tom answers...if there are more than one Tom..well?..hopefully only one will have an American accent :question:

[Shano592]

Just shout, Mate ... I mean, Mike. At least one Tom will answer, I'm sure!

[marc4darkskies]

Woo hoo ... It's SPSP time again!! :party:
Wife & I will be there from Thursday.

Cheers, Marcus

[strongmanmike]

Me too :thumbsup:

I'll be there Thursday afternoon with Marco, Damien and two others arriving early Friday.

We will be in our usual spot (hopefully) :hi:..... :drink:

Mike

[Satchmo]

This will be my 21st SPSP ( never missed one ! ) . Hoping for great skies and the usual good company and catching up with old friends. 3RF 12" binos to play with...

[The Mekon]

Just checked the weather outlook, and dew heaters are sure to be needed no matter where you are in NSW this weekend. Last night at home was so wet I gave up after one and a half hours.

[eddiedunlop]

Tom,
If you can, drop in to Mt Tomah botanic gardens. It's on the Bells Line of Road near Lithgow. It's a beautiful place and has a great range of Aussie flora.
Martin

[h0ughy]

hope that they are having a good time - i wished i was there

[multiweb]

It was great to catch up with a few people under pristine skies. Three clear nights straight. Very nice. :thumbsup:

[gary]

Fabulous star party again this year!

Special thanks to all the movers and shakers at ASNSW that work so hard to make
this happen.

Thank you to the Scouts for the catering.

Thanks to our guest speakers.

Great to meet up with everybody. Special thanks to Rodney Doig for sharing the
views on the 24" SDM on Friday night. Particularly enjoyed the views of
Longmore 5, Shapley 1 and other PN we viewed. The view of the Dumbbell at the
end of the night were exceptional.

Thank you to Roger for assisting me with the sky tours we provided with the
3RF 25" Obsession on Saturday night. You would have got a good workout
going up the ladder so many times and assisting people at the eyepiece.

Great to chat with so many of you!

Special best wishes to Barry Gerdes. It was wonderful to see you.

Best Regards

Gary Kopff
Managing Director
Wildcard Innovations Pty. Ltd.
20 Kilmory Place, Mount Kuring-Gai
NSW. 2080. Australia
Phone +61-2-9457-9049
Phone +61-2-9457-9593
sales@wildcard-innovations.com.au
http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au

[The Mekon]

Gary,

Yes it was a great star party. I must thank you for assisting me in improving the pointing of my 18" SDM. You are a true gentleman, and your Argo Navis is terrific. Hope to see you all next year.

John

[gary]

John,

Thank you very much and it was a pleasure.

Best Regards

Gary

[Irish stargazer]

I only managed to stay for the friday night due to worsening flu symptoms but had a great night. Really appreciated the open fire dying embers in the kitchen at 6am after a cold night in a tent.:)
Got some decent shots with the 7D and Polarie which I am happy with.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7318/8727265011_89fee9c850_h.jpg

[MortonH]

Cracking shot, John! Single exposure or stacked?

[Irish stargazer]

Hi Morton

It's is a single frame shot of 60 seconds with noise reduction on with the 50mm F1.4 wide open at ISO 1600

[StraightWall]

Mates,

Most awesome star party I've ever been to! My first S. Hemisphere astro experience and my first Australia visit exceeded expectations by an order of magnitude.

Viewing some of your main showpieces (e.g. Tarantula, Omega C., Centaurus A) through big glass, I felt utterly blown away, like decades ago when I saw Saturn's rings for the first time (actually, even more so than that). Naked eye-wise, saw the Magellanic Clouds, the Coal Sack, and the Emu for the first time.

Had some free time prior to SPSP. Narayan suggested visiting Magellan Observatory. I checked out their website, looked great, called them immediately, and found out they are no longer open. Major bummer! It would have been worth the detour.

I spent 3 days doing day hikes in the Blue Mtns out of Blackheath and Katoomba. Very, very nice. Spectacular. Quiet. Good workout! Sorry, Martin, I couldn't make it to Mt. Tomah - hopefully will on the next trip down under.

Was at SPSP on Friday (what a night!) and Saturday.


Mark (Marc?) and Brian at The House, with your impressive imaging rigs: it was excellent to hang out with you and see you toil away capturing photons, in an office with the best view on the planet. You inspired me to seriously consider pursuing imaging. If I take the plunge, I will have you two to thank. Am reading Starizona's "Guide to CCD imaging" from beginning to end, currently. Any suggestions for other reading, to help get launched?

Kim, thanks for showing the sun through your H-alpha scope. Hope you got some good shots with your AstroTrac?

Brian (beautiful 18" homebuilt Dob) and Rodney (from Orange, with 24" Holy s*** Dob) - thanks for sharing some prime southern deep sky objects. Those views were probably the most impressive visual astronomy sights I've ever seen. Will never forget! (Rodney also offered much informative info about deadly Aussie reptiles and amphibians! Makes me wonder: exactly what species of snake is Serpens?)

Ben from Penrith, thanks for that galaxy safari in Coma and Virgo.

Rodney and Mark with your ~100mm 'Fracs doing imaging: thanks for letting me hang out and for answering my questions!

Cooks for Saturday's barbeque - that was delicious, savory stuff! Can't believe you were able to make that in a bush kitchen for hundreds of astro geeks.

I sincerely hope I can make it back to SPSP in future years and hang out with the ASNSW again. This July, I'll be going to the Golden State Star Party, held in some of California's darkest skies. Hopefully it'll be impressive; probably will be.

But, there's nothing like that stretch of southern Milky Way from Sagittarius to Canis Major (unless maybe you are viewing from a planet located somewhere within 47 Tuc?) I miss it already. One of y'all said that when you travelled to the USA, you looked up at the northern sky and wondered, Where did all the stars go? Back at home now, as I gaze up, I'm wondering the same thing (our Spring sky is notoriously bright star-poor, but still...)

Kindest regards,

Tom Schutz
38N 122W
(under the San Francisco Bay Area light dome)