Mercury Transit of the Sun - 9th November 2006

[h0ughy]

I ask this question because our society (Newcastle Astronomical Society) is supporting a public viewing event for the transit of Mercury in November. We are planning a big event and even trying to get a local radio station to be there live for the event as well (we were lucky enough to have the local ABC radio broadcast live for the transit of Venus). But we will be balancing public viewing with Astronomy and data collection, timing for the first contact etc, and hope to take images every couple of minutes to make up a mini movie of the transit with date and time etc. I am having the day off for the event in order to achieve this goal.

So what is your society doing to promote Astronomy to the masses?

[Lee]

I'm planning to be at the beach on Stockton.... figured it would be a nice low horizon.... :D

[xstream]

I think you'll find the date is Thursday 9th November Dave. :)

Our Society (Astronomical Society of Albury Wodonga) is doing something similar at QE2 Square in the main street of Albury.

A few of us won't be there unfortunately as we'll be on our way to Little Desert but I'm sure the others will hold a good viewing.

[h0ughy]

Remember to waive at us occasionally;) :lol: same horizon at Nobbies

[h0ughy]

EDIT : John is correct and have made adjustments to suit

[janoskiss]

I'll be at work, offering my colleagues a look through the scope I'll have set up in one of our carparks, weather permitting. ;) Finally going to get me a solar filter, prolly for the Mak, but maybe the 8" Dob.

I'm still scared at the thought of looking at the Sun through a non-solar scope though, but I'll have to have a look at how these filters attach to the scope and how secure they are.

[Lee]

My JMB filter for the ED80 secures very firmly - in fact it can be a struggle to pull it off the tube, more chance actually of the dew shield falling off.....

[h0ughy]

I use cloth tape to secure it after fitting, just to be sure:thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

On the 9th we will be doing nothing out of the ordinary. But on the 11th we are holding a Solar Viewing day at the Snake Valley 'Rally in the Valley'. 2 days too late :(

[iceman]

I'll be out with the dob + solar filter + DMK. Hope it's clear!

What time of day is it on the east coast?

PS: Renaming the thread so it can be found easier by those searching :)

[Mr Bob]

Anyone got a supplier for Baader solar film (or similar) in OZ (none here in NZ), havent been able to find any on the links from this site. Or has anyone got an offcut for a 6" newt they wanna sell? tia

[h0ughy]

Now it makes my first post look stupid, not that thats hard to do. the first sentence was to flow from the heading:P . Curse you Moderator Mike:rofl:

AS FOR THE TIME - just after sunrise until about 11am, thats not taking daylight savings into account either

[h0ughy]

sirus optics? York optical? maybeAOE?:shrug:

[janoskiss]

Here is one, Mr Bob:
http://www.aoe.com.au/solarobserving.html

[ving]

not sure what MAS is doing but they will do something :)
i dont know what i am doing tho... hopefully imaging it :)

[jjjnettie]

I'm going down to Brissie and will setup on the beachfront at Brighton. Watching the sun rise over Moreton Island will make it even more special.

[Astroman]

I might be watching the transit from a Hospital labour ward while my wife givs birth to our son. Funny watching the birth video then video of the transit,then cutting the cord, then the transit, then the baby rugged up, then the transit hehehe.

[h0ughy]

Well we know you wont be viewing this from the hospital now?:whistle: ;)

[h0ughy]

where NAS will be viewing from, nobbies forshore area newcastle..............

[iceman]

I'll be there with h0ughy!

[h0ughy]

good I need someone to show one where the sun is!:D who else is sort of local that wants to come along? You could be a radio star, you could see a star, and Like Mike the LPOD Star!!!!:rofl: any takers;)

[sheeny]

Love to be here hOughy, but I don't think I'm quite local enough!

I'm planning the take the day off to view, but I haven't decided on an accessible location with a good easterly horizon yet...

Al.

[h0ughy]

http://www.spaceweather.com/mercury/index.php imaging competition on spaceweather

[sheeny]

The long range weather forecast for Oberon is for Cloud on the 9th!:(

I hope that improves!

Al.

[netwolf]

Houghy
Will this be visible in Sydney Suburbs? The document you attached seem to indicate Eastern Australia is out of the zone.

Regards

[h0ughy]

mate If I can see it I think Sydney can;) look carefully at the attachment

[netwolf]

Doh!, i understand it now, White is All transit visible.
Regards

[wavelandscott]

I'm booked to take Thing 1 and Thing 2 (my boys Cam and Tom) to the Sydney Observatory for the big event...for those booked they are offering viewing and a bit of "Brekky"...should be good!

My wife did the sign up so I'm not sure of the cost and availability remaining.

You can check out their website for more details (sorry I don't seem to have the link handy on this computer)

[astro_nutt]

I got permission to hold a viewing from the sports oval of the local Primary School which has a great clear view towards the East...give the kids something to see before hitting the crayons and books!!

[Outbackmanyep]

Im doing a public viewing here in Walcha, put an ad in the local advocate as the paper doesnt come out till wednesday!
I also have some school teachers coming out with a handful of students too!
Should be good if this rain goes away! we've had 13.5mm overnight, dunno how much we have had today but its been steady!

Cheers!
Chris

[h0ughy]

top stuff. dont forget to post some images of it

[h0ughy]

this is not looking good for thursday guys in Newcastle. There is rain predicted all week:sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :sad: :cloudy: :windy: :doh: :mad2: :prey: . even though te event is booked in on the foreshore if it is raining I might try my hand at driving inland to get some clear skies, probably a maximum of 3-4 hours drive, might mean i miss the sunrise but get the ending, although depending on the conditions, radar, satellite cloud reports and ringing the local pubs up and over the range. this of course is a last ditch effort to get to see the event. that is my C plan, my b plan is to wait and image through the cloud breaks (if there are any) and have a chat. I really want the a plan to go off without a hitch...............:whistle: ;) :D . no one, absolutely no one is to buy anything this week, is that clear guys;) :P we are being punished for be over zealous, keen and our wives must have a voodoo weather system stashed in the wardrobe?:help: :screwy:

[gaa_ian]

I too am doing a public viewing here in Nhulunbuy.
I hope to get a number of students along from local schools too !

[iceman]

I know what you mean h0ughy, not looking good so far!

[h0ughy]

might even inquire as to the availability and cost to hire a plane/pilot to fly out from rutherford to say dubbo/coona thats a D plan!:whistle:

[iceman]

ROFL that's serious h0ughy! :)

By the way, it looks like Mercury will indeed meet the current sunspot crop on Thursday, as indicated by the nice animation by Greg Piepol posted on spaceweather: http://www.spaceweather.com/swpod2006/05nov06/piepol.gif

Definitely don't want to miss this!

[ving]

with a forecast of rain, rain and more rain my time would be best spent in bed sleeping :(

i'll get up to see if its clear anyhow but it doesnt look good :(

[h0ughy]

very dear option:eyepop: sounded great until i started to inquire.:whistle:

[ving]

*cough*

[Omaroo]

hmm... just tried ALL the astro shops in Sydney and everyone has miraculously run out of either glass filters for the ETX-60 or has run out of film.....

Grrrr..... my fault I guess, I should have organised it earlier.:sadeyes:

[ving]

you need 60mm chris?
i might have some thousand oaks film left... i'll look tonight if you want.

[Omaroo]

You would David? :D What can I say but thank you? :thumbsup: No matter if you don't, but I'd be very grateful!

Cheers
Chris

[ving]

i'll get back on here tonight after i have a look :)

[CoombellKid]

Taking the day off too, even the missus has to get a lift to town lol

I checked a couple of mornings ago and o'l Sol clears the tree line
in the east here 10min prior to tranist time. So it'll be up early wif
hot coffee and hav a look at Saturn now it's starting to get
up there. I'll have the 8" with baader film and PST setup ready.
Thought about imaging it, but I'll leave that up to you lot and
enjoy the Transit. Hopefully the sunspot group should near the
limb would be quiet a look seeing Mercury transit a flare... hmmmm
maybe I should get the camera ready.

regards, CS sunny days

Rob

[CoombellKid]

We have been having afternoon storms up here. We've had 4-5 inches
of rain over the last week and a half, which is great!!!! tank has water.
But I am hoping it stays with the same recipe which has been clear
of a morning!!! but it dont look promising. Actually it been crap all year
up here have had maybe a half dozen so so nights.

Good luck all

regards,CS sunny days

Rob

[h0ughy]

OK, the aircraft hire for the whole day is $1429 for a 6 seater aircraft to go as far as dubbo or coonabarabran from Cessnock and ample room for gear and such, 4 people or 5 could go (that would make it under $400, what is a memory really worth:screwy: ), and one scope (dob) being strapped in one seat. since the eq6 packs down in bits I could take the two mounts and 4 scopes - C8 ED80 MC5 and the PST;) :P add batteries and a few power leads and could get 240v at the airport:whistle: , but somehow I find this hard to justify:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :D (no takers thats why);) :lol: :whistle:

did I mention it only takes an hour to get there............

[Outbackmanyep]

Fair Dinkum!!
I couldnt believe the forecast from saturday night on Austar weather channel! They said Monday fine, tuesday fine and wednesday rain and thursday fine...the following day the forecast was Monday fine, tuesday rain, wednesday late thunderstorms, and thursday scattered showers....

I think the astrophoto gods hate us for some reason! :cloudy:

[Outbackmanyep]

Okies! Will try to.....if this rain goes away and precipitates somewhere else!
I wasn't gonna do a public viewing cos my last two (two events i planned last year for Mars) were also washed out!
This time i had a mild interest and thought "why not!?" .....seems like i keep jinxing it!

LOL :rolleyes:

PS....we've had nearly 3 inches of rain over the weekend....might pull out my model yachts and seek out a dam! Maybe i'll get a clear sky and no wind then! :lol:

[matt]

Check your forecasts again lads and ladettes.

We've now got FINE AND SUNNY for Canberra for Thursday.

Hopefully that's the same everywhere.

Gotta love a Bureau Backflip

Oh Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhh!

[ving]

you there chris? i have enough for about a 10-11cm diameter circle. is that enough?

[Omaroo]

Thanks again David :)

See the new post on the subject!

[h0ughy]

Well our society rated a mention on page 3 of the Newcastle Morning herald today with the article attached. I have also been approached by two radio stations to do an on air interview regarding the event. Well we are getting some good exposure for our Society, hopefully it will result in increasing our clubs membership and awareness in the community…. Also weird morning this morning, it started clear with a hint of cloud on the horizon then within an hour of sunrise it was fully clouded over as the sun heated up the atmosphere. Now its just wall to wall cloud. Fingers crossed for Thursday!

[h0ughy]

I was going back through some stuff to give some media in Newcastle and I found something I forgot about, taken the 7th may 2003 this was some of my very first astrophotography. (not much has improved since then..;) :rofl: ) ahh the memories of rushing up to strezlecki lookout and quickly setting up the scope after work........ gee glad I am taking the whole day off on thursday:whistle:

[RB]

That's so cool Dave, it's nice to see the old images and remember.

:)

[iceman]

hmm, I reckon it will be fine right after the transit.. or maybe we'll only miss the beginning of it..



Which direction is the clear coming from? If we go north, will it take longer to be clear? Maybe we should drive West.

Dave/Andrew, What do we do!?!? :doh:

[venus]

I heard that a member of the Newcastle Astronomical Society of Australia (NASA;) will be 'on air' at 9.40am 2NUR FM this morning Wednesday 8.11.06
to give a talk on the 'transit of Mercury' with a viewing being held on the Nobbys foreshore, but I think you all know about that?
Good Luck with the talk David!

[CoombellKid]

We had 50mm of rain over night, complete with an amazing lightening show.
It cleared up just before sunrise.

G'Luck with the interview David

regards,CS sunny days

Rob

[RB]

We cry.......:sad:

[Dennis]

The BOM forecast (http://www.bom.gov.au/weather/qld/qld-forecast-map.shtml)for SE Qld indicates that anywhere around Brisbane and within 4 hours from Brisbane, is going to have rain and thunderstorms for Thursday. Charleville, some 7 to 8 hours west, shows as fine for Thursday.

Oh well, I guess I'll enjoy others enjoying the transit and will get to hopefully see some nice photos and animations.

Cheers

Dennis

[venus]

Awesome astro interview H0ughy!
Now if everyone 'fans' the clouds away will have 'transit';)

[venus]

The Moon travels at 3680ks pet hour and I was wondering how fast Mercury travels, does anyone here have an idea? I haven't had any luck finding the info online.
Also with a helium-sodium atmosphere is it likely that astronomers may witness atmospheric flashes while observing Mercury?

[ving]

48km/s

[venus]

gee that's quicker than our Moon?

[ving]

the quickest planet there is!
takes 80 odd days to orbit the sun :)

[venus]

yes true 88 to be exact and some fierce wind activety too

[venus]

I'm hanging out for this one.......
http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/canon_transits/movies/a26982532.gif
there is, or rather will be, a simultaneous transit of Mercury and Venus visible from the Earth. It will happen in the year 69163, on the 26th of July (assuming the calendar hasn't been changed to re-synchronise trivialities like the Earth's rotation and orbit with grander matters such as the planets in their orbits, which is not the way to bet--astronomers will prefer to identify this as the event of Julian day 26982533 [barycentric dynamical time].)

ohps found info here....
http://www.fourmilab.ch/documents/canon_transits/

[h0ughy]

CRappy weather forcast for tomorrow on the coast here, the ABC has pulled the plug on their live broadcast. So I rang dubbo tourism centre - 80%clear, merriwa Tourism centre- full cloud, singleton tourism - full cloud. looks like I will be going west of the ranges, 4 hour drive, I wont get the 1st and second contacts but definitely get the last of the transit, and the sunspot.

[rmcpb]

Yeh, its great to get some of the wet stuff but its only hanging around now. Can't it clear for 6 hours tomorrow and then come back in with a downpour??

Not an unreasonable request I would suggest ;)

[h0ughy]

SO Rob is it cloudy in the blue mountains now?

[ving]

the sun is trying to break thru here but its not quite working. i did see a forecast for clearish weather but i cant find it anymore :(

[h0ughy]

check out the size of that new sunspot, click left or go to soho!!!!!!!!!!!!!! man thats huge

[gaa_ian]

Well, I for one will have a busy morning.
I have about 50 students coming for the viewing in the morning.
From year 5 to year 9, glad I have a few club helpers !

[CoombellKid]

For those looking like being clouded under (LIKE ME!!!!)
I thought I would forward this info

live webcasts of the transit from:

Japan:
http://mercury.kochi-ct.jp/

Kitt Peak:
http://www.exploratorium.edu/transit/

Hawaii:
http://astroday.net/MercTransit06.html

NASA:
http://sunearthday.nasa.gov/2007/events/mercurytransit.php

G'Luck everybody

regards,CS sunny days

Rob

[seeker372011]

looks miserable outside, may have to rely on the webcast :(

[h0ughy]

b rain, B clouds, sucker holes the size of texas, by the time you think about getting set up a shower comes through. Mike and ANdrew will be here soon so off we go to spend a morning chatting and waiting. probably come back here............................... .............

[jjjnettie]

Clouds to the east so I'll miss the start.
I'm taking the scope to the school to show the kiddlywinks, so fingers crossed I'll catch the Grand Finale.

[Astroman]

Clear as a bell here, :D although there is alittle high cloud about, but not enough to spoil it

Sorry to hear about the cloud from the better advantage points.

[CoombellKid]

I think I'll be waiting for the next one, in 13 years. We're clouded in so
bad here, if I swung a broom over my head I could probably hit the buggers.

regards,CS sunny days

Rob

[ving]

wonder how long it'd take to get to WA? ;)

got up at 5:30... 100% cloud. right now theres a little suckerhole drifting around, but not near the sun. have to choof off to work soon but i'll take my filter along.
would it be visible with zero magnification?
:(

[Ric]

It's a lovely clear day in Canberra, cant see a cloud anywhere and I'm stuck at work printing rosters.

Bummer :mad2:

[Lee]

Total utter muck in Newcastle.... as usual.

[spudrick]

Started here pretty cloudy but sunrise broke through the clouds..:D
Started singing to myself "Here comes the sun.di di di di...di"
Looked great especially the large sunspot above.
Weather is improving and clearing completely now

[OneOfOne]

Got up this morning to yet another typical beautiful sunny Melbourne morning(:lol: ) and set the PST up in the backyard just before leaving for work. I put the XW-7 in the scope so I could get a nice closeup and fill the whole view with the Sun. Immediately I could see little Mercury already a fair way inside the Sun, 7:00, a small prominence off to the edge and a sunspot also nearby, about 3 or 4 times Mercury's size. Went inside to see if my wife wanted to have a look, she is a bit stuffed up at the moment with a cold. Eventually I was able to convince her to come outside and have a look.

I am now at work and have the PST set up behind me. I hope to go outside a couple of times to have a look and show it to anyone at work who is interested.

When I went to bed last night I didn't expect to see anything until after 11:30....they said "morning drizzle, clearing to a fine and sunny afternoon for the races".

[Omaroo]

I live a 15 minute walk from Ving's, and like he says there's 95% cloud cover.... and the holes are all in the wrong spot. I was considering throwing the little ETX-60 mit new solar gadget into it's backpack and taking it to work with me for a chance of a viewing later on. I've voted to stay put at home instead and see if I can't set the lappy up and at least capture it if I see some sun before 11:00ish.

Dang! :shrug:

[gaa_ian]

Clear as a bell here in Gove NT
Mercury is an impressive sight contrasted against the huge sunspot climbing over the suns limb !

[rmcpb]

130% cloud here :(

[Omaroo]

Whereabouts up there are you Rob?

[swannies1983]

Hi guys. I'm enjoying the transit here in Adelaide (no clouds at all!) Looks like we are passed mid transit at this stage. Very few sunspots to compare Mercury with apart from a nice couple on the solar limb. Have taken a few projection photos as I don't have a solar filter. Mercury a bit too small to see in these pictures. Makes you realise how good the Venus transit really was!!

[Omaroo]

YAY! I got a 1-minute break through the cloud. The little ETX-60 picked up Mercury beautifully against the background of orange. The current sun spot is huge, and whilst the cloud scrolled across the view prior to clearing I confused it with Mercury. The actual target is substantially smaller than the spot but still obvious nevertheless.

At least I saw it. Now the clouds are back again and look like staying for a while.

:thumbsup:

[ving]

aarrgghh!
i knew i should have chucked a sickie today!

did you get a picture with the toucam chris? :prey:

cloud and more cloud at rockdale (work).

[Omaroo]

It's actually threatening to pour David, so I'm a little afraid of setting up the tablet out there. If I'm lucky it'll clear once more before it's over. I just saw it again and Mercury is now about dead centre.

I'll try!:)

[ving]

gah! i am missing it all!!!!!

good luck chris :)

[Ric]

It was looking very good for Canberra observers this morning, I would think that everyone would have seen contact 1 & 2.
There are a lot of big patches of cloud around now though, I hope it's not spoiling the party for anyone around this area

Cheers

[spudrick]

Melbourne has turned on the best weather now clear and blue skies horizon to horizon (after a bit of a dismal start)..
Looking great note the 2 fainter spots on the exit limb (wish i had a camera setup :( )

[Mombat]

Melbourne has indeed turned it on with beautiful blue skies horizon to horizon, and with my final YR 12 exam finished yesterday i have plenty of time to muck around.

I've converted my living room into my own pesonal Solar viewing room with the curtains taped shut around around a pair of binoculars projecting a gorgeous view of the sun onto the floor of the house.

I fell for the sunspot being mercury at first too, i've never had a chance to do this before. I'm going to make sure i see the venus transit in 2012!!

[Starkler]

I just hurriedly made a full aperture filter from baader film sandwiched between two sheets of cardboard from Monday nights pizza box taped to my 130mm newt . (Dont try this at home kids ;) )

The large sunspot looks great also :thumbsup:

[matt]

about 11am

[wavelandscott]

As others have mentioned...clouds and more clouds in Sydney.

I did get up and take the kiddies to the Sydney Observatory...nice set up and presentations except mother nature would not cooperate...

Watched a bit of the transit via a feed from Haiwaii at the observatory...nothing here locally...so sad...sadder still for my kids who I just dropped off at school (they thought they could stay out for the whole thing but with clouds I figured they might as well be in class).

At least I'm taking the whole day off from work!

[Mombat]

A beautiful picture here from SOHO of the transit

http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/realtime/javagif/gifs_small/20061108_2224_mdi_igr.gif

[matt]

Some serious solar activity happening.

There have been a few very large "belches" in the last few days. Playing havoc with satellites etc

And this is meant to be a quiet time for the sun!

[[1ponders]]

For those who missed it here's a very quick and dirty, pretty much unprocessed.

[seeker372011]

well at least I saw it -for one nano second between the clouds !!just then

[matt]

Nice image Paul.

Mercury is a very sharp little disc:thumbsup:

[ving]

ducked outside about 15 mins ago and there was a tiny suckerhole drifting towards the sun!!! i went back in and got my stuff and raced back out agian to find the suckerhole had closed... THEN IT RAINED ON ME! :(

someone out there really hates me :P

[sheeny]

Thanks Paul and all you guys who've posted pics!:thumbsup:

I've just brought my PST and myself back in from the rain... well, to avoid the rain;) .

Just spent the last half hour or so (no time to look at watches!) peeking through sucker holes, and I've got to say... I love my PST!:thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: What a great little scope!

Hope you doing well elsehere!

Al.

[Ric]

Hi Paul,
great looking image, as Matt said, Mercury stands out very sharply.
I'll look forward to your further processed images

cheers

[sheeny]

Well that's that then!

A sucker hole came over while I was inside... a nice bright one... I raced outside grabing the PST as I went... setup up and it's all over...

The weather starting to fine up here now! Wouldn't you know it? I'm glad I got to see what I did though!

Al.

[matt]

Hey Al

I've really got to do some thinking about one of those PSTs

All I hear is good things:thumbsup:

[ving]

where are allthe pst images!!!

[matt]

Yeah

We want some PST images!!!!!

[ving]

:lol: you tell em matty! :P

[matt]

I shouted that request over your shoulder Ving.... as you led the chorus:D

[casstony]

The bad thing about PST's is that they potentially lead you down a very expensive upgrade path. Although they show a whole new world of detail, I can see that there is a whole lot more disk detail that could be seen with a more expensive instrument. I think it woul be very bad for me to look through a bigger and better scope - a bit like looking though Naglers when you own plossls.

[Chrissyo]

Nice pic Paul! You must have been very lucky at Nambour! Everytime I looked out the window here in Mooloolah there was nothing but cloud!

Looking forward to everyones pictures! :D

[[1ponders]]

Thanks Chris. I've managed to get 13 avies, still working through them atm, converting them from raw and then sorting out the rubbish. Missed the start and finish though. Guess ya can't have everything :P

[ving]

hey chrissy, been watching the news. you ok with those floods n' stuff on the sunshine coast?

[Outbackmanyep]

Hi all!

Well its nice and grey and windy here in Walcha! Got to my site at 4:30am......overcast and windy as hell! Spent all morning pacing around the windsock at the aerodrome, then finally some breaks came...very small ones....and i had less than 10 seconds in the breaks in the clouds to line up and focus...then wait for another break to take the pic, sometimes the breaks came 30 mins or so apart...BUT I GOT ONE GOOD SHOT! hehe :thumbsup:
Not too sure if it was exactly focussed but it was as close as i could get! have to wait till the film gets developed!
I had low level fast moving cloud and a bank of high stuff!
The wind was i estimated around 10-15 knots!
The worst part was that about a mile away ( the other end of the runway ) there was sunshine and bliss but i knew if had packed my gear up and went there it'd be goooooooone......i got my pic about 10am......the low level cloud went and left the grey rainy stuff! lol
5 people turned up from the public viewing point of view but 4 turned up after id packed my gear up and the other one was fixing the mower for the airstrip and decided to see what was going on! :rolleyes:

All that work and i got one photo!
Just hope it turns out!

Thats my 2 cents!:D

[h0ughy]

it rained heavily, then someone cut out a hole in the sky on the eastern horizon and got a very quick view of the sunrise and after 2nd contact. Seems as though in the rush and media interviews this dimwit forgot to put a memory card int he camera. RB has the images of the twit that did that.:rofl: :rofl: :whistle:

mix of pentax *ist DS shots and canon350D (NB the pentax did the sun in this one);)

[Chrissyo]

It wasn't too bad in my area - all we really got at home was a lot of rain, not much lightning or thunder really and just some tiny pebble sized hail (you could hardly notice the hail). I managed to sleep through most of it (had a big night tuesday night :P so I think I missed the worst of it. The power went off apparently though cause when I woke up all the clocks were reset.

I dunno how the rest of the sunny coast is going cause I havn't gone out yet today (been watching those darn clouds!).

[h0ughy]

well cast of thousands, including Mike and his Groupies...........:whistle: ;) :P

Note the spectrograph. (i will get the images off later of the spectral lines from Dennis Z)

[h0ughy]

well it was a challenge I can say that... the best part was the group effort from Mike, Andrew and myself for getting the 3rd and 4th contact of the transit. Mike will post images of that later I suspect but I found Mikes secret weapon on how he images... and you guys think he uses that DMK thingy, no way:rofl:

oh and also the portable fan we brought along to get the sucker holes:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :whistle:



EEEKK look at the dust moats , note need to clean lenses and sensor

[matt]

OK...

who are the "Ironmen" with the shirts off in the pic?

Can't be too long before there's a "Men of IIS" calendar:rofl:

[iceman]

What a frustrating morning..

Cloudy until about 8:30am, got a few afocal shots through the expensive 32mm GSO plossl after that.. tried the DMK for a while but the focal length was too long for the conditions.. LOTS of wind shaking the scope about madly. Trust houghy to lead us to the 2nd windiest spot in newcastle (and the cloudiest, today).

Clouded out for another hour or so, then some nice breaks for a while before having high hazy cloud for the remainder. We got a nice sucker hole right for 3rd and 4th contact, which I got some avi's of using my DMK in h0ughy's 5" mak on his EQ6. Man I want an EQ mount. So much easier to press a button to get it in position. Much more stable too thanks to the short scope on it.

Great company with Andrew, h0ughy and others from NAS. Sun and wind burnt, very tired but at least we saw it and got some images. For a while there I thought we would miss the whole thing.

Came over wall to wall cloud again shortly after it finished.. so it could've been worse!

Will post images later, once I get a chance to go through the junk and find the good stuff.

[h0ughy]

:rofl: :rofl: :rofl:


one gentleman is the famous George, I have no idea who the other guys were. George in all his splendour;) :D

[h0ughy]

not my fault, who said they were coming:P , if it is any better Mike the Visual sat image shows cloud to the ranges:P ;) :whistle:

Now where else could you have spent the moring with a better looking bunch of misfits:rofl:

[iceman]

Was nice to do some "sidewalk astronomy" too, as a lot of members of the public came over to see what all the fuss was about.

It received a lot of coverage on the local radio but due to the early morning weather a lot of people didn't show.

[h0ughy]

I must tell this story, I was with Mike and Andrew as the sun was rising and there was a break in the clouds so I was using the Pentax to get the first shots, ABC radio rang me and wanted an interview right there and then. I politely declined and said I had some imaging to do get me in 20 minutes time. True to their word they called back and I had my 2 minutes of fame with the local ABC.

I also spoke for a little while with KOFM for 5 minutes at 10 to 6, so it ended up a busy morning to start for me.

To their credit Mike and Andrew didn't pull faces or make farting noises while I was speaking:rofl: :thumbsup:

[cahullian]

hey Andrew how is anyone meant to know who you are when you turn up without the freezer suit??

Nice one fellas glad to hear your day wasn't totally ruined by the Irish weather I love so much here in Newy

Gazz

[iceman]

Here's a few images to get started..

1. What we saw a lot of
2. h0ughy and his scope
3. RB in front of a real scope :P
4. My scope
5. Imaging through h0ughy's 5" mak

[iceman]

I've posted some Mercury images in the Mercury Transit (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=163863#post163863) thread.

[h0ughy]

man my face, neck, ears and hands are sun burnt, badly. I forgot to put on sunscreen, i left in the dark, it rained and I forgot to cover up. Everything else was!

[iceman]

Same h0ughy.. I was packing sunscreen last night, but my wife told me I couldn't take it because she needed it for Eliza before preschool today!! :) So I can blame her for my sore red arms, neck and face!

[ving]

AAAARRRGGGGHHHH!!!!
:doh:
the sun is out and its crystal clear!!!!:mad2:
its enough to make a grown man cry!:(

why oh why wasnt it like this this morning???? :sadeyes:

:poke:

[Dennis]

You Sir, are nothing but a Media Tart! Now can I have your autograph oh Famous One. :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Cheers

Dennis

[h0ughy]

:scared: :whistle: :lol:

[RB]

Make a bet ???
You just didn't hear us !


I know - it felt really wierd.......:(

[acropolite]

Looks like it was a fun event, makes me wish I lived in Newcastle, perhaps h0ughy could write a how to on attracting media attention...:P

[RB]

A couple of shots of the company I was with........:D

[h0ughy]

mike look like Nero putting some gladiator to death in the Colosseum, I just look like a dork:P ;)

but note there is blue sky behind mike

[GTB_an_Owl]

I was going to say the same such thing Gaz

very disappointed with the garb 'RB'

I kept looking in all the pics for you

geoff

[gaa_ian]

We had a good viewing up here, clear skies & lots of interested School kids.
Here's our set up, it was certainly worth the effort !

[astro_nutt]

And another great viewing held here in Melb..clear skies plus many interested schoolkids and teachers!!..couldn't ask for a better day!!
Cheers!!

[stephenmcnelley]

That looks a very tidy set up there gaa-ian, its great that you could bring the event to the kids, they must have loved it.
I bet that the table's top in the image was solid marble or something?

[gaa_ian]

Genuine Imitation Plastic Marble :lol:
Yes, it was good to see the kids getting interested.
Especially the Primary kids.

[mickoking]

Had a good look at the transit this morning before TAFE. The morning was fairly clear, the cloud didn't come until well after the transit finished :thumbsup:

Used my trusty 80mm short tube for solar projection.

[h0ughy]

OK didn't get too much better in the C8, just processed some shots, lets just say I have a memento of a windblown overcast and turbulent day with great mates!!!!!!!!!:P :D

[Dennis]

Wow H0ughy - those are excellent images, you must be very pleased with them, given the conditions (not to mention the company :whistle: ).

Cheers

Dennis

[h0ughy]

LOl you can see how cloudy it was for the 3rd and4th contact. Mike got the magic shots with his web cam thingy:poke: then the cloud really closed the sucker hole over. I was luckey to get what I did;)

[stephenmcnelley]

I wish the weather had been better for you and so many others that were geared up for the event along the east coast, around here we had a perfect weather window between 6.40 - 10.25am, and no idea what we were doing it seems, a bit of a waste of sky and slightly embarassing really but oh well..

Mercury is super sharp looking in those two images:thumbsup:

[RB]

If you think they're good, you should've seen the ones that got away.
We had to remind "The Hough" to put his memory card in his camera (after he took 14 images without the card)!

Now that was a 'Kodak' moment.

:camera:

But what sort of mate would I be if I posted that on a public forum!

:scared3:

[[1ponders]]

:lol:

[h0ughy]

I already admitted to that one:P :P :P :P :P so there.:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: though I am amazed you didnt geta picture of it:D :P

quote:::::::::::>

OK here are the early results from Newcastle

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

it rained heavily, then someone cut out a hole in the sky on the eastern horizon and got a very quick view of the sunrise and after 2nd contact. Seems as though in the rush and media interviews this dimwit forgot to put a memory card int he camera. RB has the images of the twit that did that.

mix of pentax *ist DS shots and canon350D (NB the pentax did the sun in this one)

[RB]

My camera was out of batteries....... :doh:

:ashamed:

[h0ughy]

why didnt you ask, I think the 350D are the same as the 20d arent they(or am I as ususal wrong)? I have or had 5 spare batteries fully charged ready to go, you know just in case:P ;)

[venus]

and some great shots to show for it;)