Blue Mountains - 28/12/13. Last hurrah for 2013

[AG Hybrid]

OK - Thread title changed.

Blue Mountains - A meet up most likely Hargraves Lookout since no news on Katoomba Airfield access for the 28th or even the 29th of December, 2013.

Its after Christmas and Boxing day so that festive non-sense should be handled by then :P

Last hurrah of 2013. Weather conditions should be more mild this time of year so it should be good.

Weather permitting. See you there.:thumbsup:

[rogerco]

17.3% moon until 11:30pm, forecast partly cloudy, 7deg, light winds, I might come up for a short while to take a few astro-landscapes. See how the clouds look.

[AG Hybrid]

Judging by the overwhelming number of responses I guess we will skip this month then.

[AstroJason]

Hey Adrian, I meant to reply sooner but yeah I can't make it this weekend. Its a shame because I really want to be under a dark sky again. Not sure but we could probably try tee something up for the weekend of 28th/29th December?

[Camelopardalis]

As much as I'd like to get out under the stars I think I'm going to have to pass this weekend :sadeyes:

I'd be up for end of the month though...hopefully my body clock will have reset by then :D

[MortonH]

Can't make it either, unfortunately.

[Steffen]

Just FYI, WSAAG is holding observing nights at Linden this Saturday *and* Friday night. Guests are always welcome, I think the charge is $5 or so. You may even get a view through the 30" Dob... :)

I can't make Saturday night, but may up there on Friday.

Cheers
Steffen.

[Wavytone]

Sorry, no can do... committed to an xmas party (one of many).

FWIW the forecast is quite promising.

[AG Hybrid]

This will work for me. Most of the christmas/boxing day stuff should be done by the 28th/29th. One last hurrah before the new year aye?

What say you people? What say you?!

[Wavytone]

Yup I can do that date, also first weekend in January - weather permitting :)

[MortonH]

Sounds good to me.

[killswitch]

Cant make it this weekend either... End of month sounds good though.

[AstroJason]

Woohoo one last hurrah before New Year sounds good! Fingers crossed for some nice weather.

[Camelopardalis]

Sounds like a plan :thumbsup:

[malau]

Are there any chance can make it this week instead?

Geminid Meteor Shower 13-14 December 2013



http://astroblogger.blogspot.com.au/

[AG Hybrid]

The moon will be 80%+ Pointless driving out to a dark sky site for that.

[AstroJason]

Hey guys, sorry but I can't make this now. Hope the weather is great for you all. Looking forward to the Jan meet already!

[MortonH]

I won't make it either :(

[Camelopardalis]

Here's hoping for good weather :D

[lacad01]

If the weather's ok I might make the trek up

[Wavytone]

All set to go...

[AG Hybrid]

Forecasts are looking really good for tomorrow night.

[lacad01]

Double booked so can't make it, hope you guys get clear skies...

[Camelopardalis]

Sweeeet! Now I've just got to decide which scope to bring :lol:

[MortonH]

Of course it looks great - I can't go! :mad2:

[AG Hybrid]

Don't worry. We will tell you all about it on Sunday morning.

[Camelopardalis]

:rofl:

[Camelopardalis]

Seriously, with the weather looking so promising I'm not sure what would be best to bring :question: there's room for more than one if I pack carefully :lol:

[MortonH]

Just take the ZS71 ;)

[Wavytone]

Darn... I'm no go - extended family dinner takes precedence...

[AG Hybrid]

Maybe bring your C-11 Dunk. I think Ill just take my 4" this time. I've only taken it out once this year.

[Camelopardalis]

:lol: the sad thing is I think I've taken it almost every session so far, but not taken the lens cap off :mad2: it's seen photons in the garden here though, such a great little scope for a quick look, although it normally ends up a longer look :D

[Camelopardalis]

Yeah I think you're right Adrian :D the 11 would have ended up being the default choice, last in the cupboard, first out :lol: although the 8 is feeling distinctly sorry for itself at this point :D

Look forward to seeing your AR :)

I should add that I've got a very mild case of the lurgi so I probably won't be up for an all nighter :sadeyes:

[AG Hybrid]

No Worries.

The weather conditions are looking so good - at least according to 7 timer I think I'll bring the 12" after all.

[Camelopardalis]

Just looked at skippysky...it's showing a seeing of 9 for 23:00 :D and 8 at 02:00, 80% transparency throughout.

Not sure it's looked that good since I've been here :D :D

[AG Hybrid]

We might have a couple of new people as well. I hope the conditions stay true. Should prove to be a cracker of a night.

[Camelopardalis]

Sweeeet :D

[rogerco]

Sorry can't find it, where are you meeting? I might come along for a bit to take some astro landscapes.

[AG Hybrid]

Hargraves Lookout. I'll be leaving home at about 6 PM. Should get their around 7:30. Just in time for the sunset at about 8 PM

[killswitch]

Sounds good. Im gonna eat at the burger joint at Blackheath first, should get there before sunset.

[rogerco]

Sorry, something has come up and I have to stay home, looks like I will just have to make do with Woodford skies after all. Have fun seeing out the old year.

[Steffen]

Just arrived at Hargraves LO, not a bad spot by the look of it. See you all soon.

Cheers
Steffen.

[rogerco]

Hope you had a good time. I setup at home (too much Xmas cake had given me a poor stomach). Mixed results, started Ok with a ten minute guided shot of Orion but the focus wasn't quite right. Then tried to get the guide camera a bit sharper. Well that was the end of that, combination of poor seeing and what appears to be poor collimation of the guide scope put paid to any further work.

Orion was a single ten minutes ED80 with QHY8 quick process, no flats and just basic levels in Nebulosity.
Setup photo shows the back end of the ED80 with the QHY8 the guider is the new Orion 70mm with a QHY5L-II mono with T thread spacers

[Camelopardalis]

Lovely shot Roger!

The conditions at Hargrave's were pretty great until some time after 1am when the wind would buffet the scope from time to time.

The Orion Nebula was pretty special last night visually, and above all I think I preferred the view without filter, so much detail and contrast. Jupiter was the best I've ever seen once it had risen above the murk. Nice texture in the polar regions, jaggedness/swirliness in the equatorial bands, and then the red spot graced us with a transit, and the swirls fore and aft. Beautiful.

Then I swept through Carina with my little Zenithstar and the 40mm (about 10.5x!) which was awash with stars, clusters and nebulae :D had to dial up the magnification a bit (about 17x) to see more detail in the Carina nebula and nearby clusters, before finally locating Omega Centauri which was just a big fuzzy patch in that scope ;)

A fitting tribute to - for me at least - some fantastic sessions this year under the southern sky - thanks for putting up with me guys :thumbsup:

[rogerco]

I tried looking at the cross eta region about 1:30 but by then thin cloud was coming over it and couldn't see anything other than the main stars of the cross.

Glad to hear the trip to Hargrave's was worth it.

Happy new year.

[AG Hybrid]

Yep,
Pretty good night till the wind hit at about 1 AM. Probably the best view of Jupiter I have ever seen. Conditions were great, clear skies and a warm light breeze until the gusts hit. Seeing was superb even when the wind hit. The predicted 9/10 seeing was accurate.

Saw some new targets to the north. A few new galaxies in Cetus and a handful of interacting galaxies. All-in-all a good night.

The Nova in Centaurus was easy naked eye at midnight too. Pretty cool to check out.

[Camelopardalis]

Forgot about the Nova :sadeyes:

Taking in the SMC and the sausage of the LMC in one FOV in the ZS71 was pretty cool too :D

[Steffen]

Yes, what a night! A fitting finale to 2013. And did you see that big, red crescent Moon rising on the way home?

Cheers
Steffen.

[killswitch]

It was a good night to end the year. Nice and clear.

On the way home i stopped by the Three Sisters and as i was walking back to my car there was a massive fireball! It went for a good couple of seconds, it exploded and broke up into pieces.

Also attached is the quick star trails i did (200 frames)



Yes i couldnt stop looking at it on the way home. It looked much bigger than usual and the crescent was perfect.

[Camelopardalis]

Yeah the Mucky Moon was distinctly less so by the time I got home :D highlighted how much the road weaves and winds. The thick mucky carpet over Sydney was a shock to the system after all that lovely mountain air, I had to put the air conditioning on again :lol:

Btw great pic Ed!

[AG Hybrid]

Ha! That valley below looks really illuminated with long exposure. Of course when your there its like a black sea of darkness.

[Wavytone]

Sigh...

I was thinking of you guys all through dinner - the evening looked so good down in Sydney even my wife suggested coming up just for a look afterwards but 4 hours drive wasn't exactly appealing.

Aah well... at least the weather has been kind at last.