Help me plan astro trip from Spain to Australia

[PeterWar]

Greetings from the northern hemisphere Aussies! ;)

I've been in the wonderfull hobby of Astronomy for about 5 years now, for these years I've been enjoying the wonders of the northern hemisphere, I live in northern Catalonia, in a relatively low light poluted area of the skies far away from the lights of Barcelona.

The thing is, ever since I started cultivating my hobby I've always wanted to visit the southern skies.

As it happens, this October I'll be fullfilling my wish, as I have to attend a business meeting in Sydney on October 26th.

I'll be booking the plane trips soon, all I know is that I need to be in Rome attending a symposion on October 15th, in Sydney on the 26th and back to Barcelona on the 28th and that I'm eager to see your beautiful skies.

I've checked the moon calendar for October (http://www.moonconnection.com/moon-october-2016.phtml) and while not ideal, I think my best shot at stargazing will be the 23rd and 24th.

Any recommendations about where to go? special destinations? guided tours for experienced astronomers with good astronomy equipment? I obviously won't be carrying the XX14g with me so would be nice to have access to local equipment.

Also, how about local astronomy clubs? and astronomy in the dessert? please let me know what would you do if you where in my shoes! :thumbsup:

[gary]

Hi Pere,

If possible, I would delay my return flight home and if there were any
spaces available try and attend the OzSky "Southern Spring" Star Safari
which is held October 28th 2016 to November 4th 2016 in the Southern
Highlands, a few hours drive south of Sydney.

This event is designed specifically to allow northern hemisphere observers
such as yourself the opportunity to view from deep southern skies using
large aperture telescopes, including a 30-inch.

See http://ozsky.org/spring/index.asp

[PeterWar]

Hi Gary,

Thank you very much for your input, although it looks like the event is sold out already, can't really commit to the waiting list without knowing if I can take a longer holiday. Looks terrific though!! it would be a perfect fit if it was a week earlier.

[dannat]

ideally you would travel inland of the great dividing range, while the distance from the east cost varies roughly 100-150km inland there are flatter plains, usually less cloud & clearer still nights, light pollution is also much less away rom our large coastal cities
will you have a hire car, or how are you to get around?

[AstralTraveller]

The trouble with Sydney of course is that it is Australia's light pollution capital. The glow can be discerned hundreds of km away. Perhaps it would be better to fly into another city, do your observing from near there, and then only fly to Sydney for your meeting. I'm not sure what options you have but anywhere (except perhaps Melbourne) is better than Sydney.

BTW. As a long time observer of local weather I now know that there will be storms and floods on the 23rd and 24th October. ;)

[clive milne]

I would suggest delaying your flight home and work on the premise that there is guaranteed to be a gathering at more than one dark sky site somewhere in the country on the new moon weekend.
Wait until the weather forecast is available and catch a flight to the best (clear option)
Flights in this country are generally speaking, not that expensive - like around a hundred Euro - and can be booked with short notice.
http://www.webjet.com.au
I am sure you will have no trouble finding someone happy to give you a lift if you keep in contact here on this forum.

Be aware that when you are browsing for flights online, that companies (like webjet) use cookies to track your browsing history. The price will be higher the second time you make an enquiry, and higher again on the third.... if you delete your cookies, the price will come back down. They do it to get you to panic buy.

The skies down here are spectacular and well worth the extra effort.

best
~c

[clive milne]

Pere,

Some other things to consider:
In the rural areas, mobile coverage can be a bit patchy or simply non-existent depending on which carrier you are using. If you are going to use your own phone company here, be SURE that they roam on the Telstra network... outside of the cities, it is the ONLY network you will want to be on. One option to consider is to buy a pre-paid sim to put in your phone.
Whilst Telstra has by far the best Network, they subcontract their customer service out to Hades... and charge you a premium for it. Boost is the only company that uses the full Telstra network, has good customer service and is much cheaper for the same product.

For 25 Euro, you will get unlimited international calls, unlimited texts and as much data as you could conceivably use... this might be better than using your own network here.

fwiw) When I tether my laptop from my (Boost) phone, the data transfer speeds are consistently twice as fast as I ever see on my naked DSL, and more reliable.

Public transport in this country is something you would NOT want to rely on outside of the cities. If you are considering a hire car - read the fine print. The prices they advertise do not include insurance... be prepared for a rude shock if you roll up to the depot without first asking how much that is going to add to the experience. Don't even think about hiring a vehicle from Wicked campers... stay well clear.

Most visitors to this country under estimate just how vast it is.
The two cities which are closest together are Melbourne and Sydney... The road trip is about the same as driving from Barcelona to Granada.

Sydney to Perth via Cairns and Darwin is eleven times further... about the same as Barcelona to Mumbai, India by road.

ergo: air travel between cities is the best option.

Ohh... and one other thing. whilst you are out in the country... watch out for the drop bears, and don't go swimming if there are Bunyips in the water.

[N1]

It is in Spain too. Madrid-Toledo via Vladivostok isn't exactly a day trip on the ground either :lol:;)
Interesting bit re web jet, didn't know that...probably best to go to the cheapest airline page directly.

[clive milne]

Yeah, well... we did have a gentleman from Texas here last year who figured he could do an even longer journey by hire car.. . it was a good idea right up until it was pointed out to him that what he was planning was a road trip in excess of 12,000km.... and a week to do it in, including sight seeing.

[N1]

I'd love to do that one day, but with a bit more time than a week . Most of it would happen under pristine skies :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
I did fly into Darwin once on my way back from EU, drove a rental to Tenant Ck, watched an Annular Solar Eclipse, drove on to Alice, caught a plane to Sydney, all within a day and a half. :screwy:

[clive milne]

That's a genuinely impressive effort!

I used to live in the north west... it is an inconceivably brutal country in the summer months.

[N1]

Actually I just remembered I did stay the night in Alice, so make that 2 days and a bit. Still...a lot of driving but what a great journey and one heck of an astro trip!

[The Mekon]

[QUOTE]
Clive , I take issue with this comment. Trains and buses can be used very successfully with a bit of planning. Recently we had a visitor form the Faroe Islands ( Andrias - or Am on this forum) who successfully travelled from Sydney, to Southern Highlands, then to Yass and Canberra where I picked him up to take him to Cooma. Later he returned from Cooma to Canberra and Lithgow all by public transport. and attended the SPSP.

We need more people to use the public transport system in this country.

[N1]

[QUOTE=The Mekon;1265100]

+1

[AstralTraveller]

[QUOTE=The Mekon;1265100]

And as our local ABC radio host says: ABAB - always bring a book. :thumbsup:

[Pinwheel]

Another trap with hire cars here is in the fine print your NOT covered for road care or insurance if you drive off the bitumen. A mate of mine found this out the hard way when he turned on to a dirt road & hit a small rock putting a hole in the oil sump. They had to push the car back to the road before they could get help.

[clive milne]

Another tip:
With respect to changing money.. don't do it at the exchange kiosk in the airport when you get here... their rates would make Shylock blush with embarrassment.

[OzEclipse]

Pere,

Canberra is a major airport hub, has rental cars available from the airport and you can stay in the city in reasonably priced accommodation or even youth hostals and then drive out to the edge of the city to reasonably dark skies if you look away from the city in < 30 mins, and very dark skies in 1 hr (80km). Traffic is light and navigation is easy compared to Sydney or Melbourne so you can concentrate on keeping your car to the left :)

October is the worst time of year for observing the famous southern hemisphere objects that you are probably hoping to see. The rich Crux Carina region is at it's worst position between sunset and midnight. Eta Carina just reaches 35 degrees altitude before twilight. The magellenic clouds are well placed at this time.

There are also farm stays available in dark skies 1-2 hrs drive from Canberra. No telescopes at these places, just dark skies.

http://www.grovecreekobservatory.org/ has telescopes. They don't give many details about their access terms for visitors. Contact them and ask.

Best of luck

Joe

[AstralTraveller]

Yep, Canberra is a good option, though there is a major source of hot air just south of the lake :P.

[Kunama]

Yes Canberra Area is rather handy to reasonably dark skies.
( The hot air sources south of the lake are not native to Canberra, they invade from areas all round Australia much to the locals' chagrin)

October 23/24 is not the best time for many of the southern gems but a great time for 47Tuc, Tarantula, SMC, LMC and a few Messiers....

Pere, feel free to contact me if you end up staying somewhere near Canberra,
I am happy to take my 18" scope out if the skies are clear......:hi:

[PeterWar]

Guys I feeld overwhelmed by this warm welcoming. Thank you so very much for the tips you've been providing so far, I'm taking them into consideration as I prepare for the trip.

Also, taking a plane trip is not going to be an issue, what place would you go in order to maximize the odds of clear skies in Australia?

[OzEclipse]

Pere
The North west of Western Australia is clearest at this time of year. The map is average 3pm cloud conditions for October.

Joe

[PeterWar]

Are there any guided tours in the north west?

[PeterWar]

Just wanted to post a quick update, my final itinerary is:

Cairns from October 20 to October 22nd

Uluru (Ayers Rock): October 22rd to October 24th

Sydney: October 25th to October 27th

I expect to do the observing in Uluru the night of the 23rd and 24th and would like a little of advice, I've heard there are dangerous animals in the Australian desert, my plan is to just lay down with some good binoculars and observe the night sky (unless I can find some good astronomy guide and equipment for rent in Uluru).

What would you do to make the best of those two nights in Uluru?

Thank you!

[skysurfer]

You are confused with Africa (particularly East and South). Kangaroos / koalas are completely different from the 'Big 5" occurring in Africa and rather harmless.

Some spiders might be tricky, but that is everywhere in the (sub)tropics, so wear closed shoes and long pants during night outdoors.

[doppler]

Hi, just a couple of links that might be of help.

In Cairns http://www.nightskysecrets.com.au/

And for Uluru https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/experiences/detail/outback-sky-journeys

Cheers Rick

[OICURMT]

Cairns: Do yourself a favor and concentrate on daytime things to do in Cairns... the Daintree and Breat Barrier Reef are a must and if you spend too much time at night stargazing you'll regret sleeping in... ha ha

If you are going on a tour, you'll be limited to what you can do at Uluru.

There is a dinner event (https://www.ayersrockresort.com.au/experiences/detail/sounds-of-silence) near Uluru that's passable, though I can tell you that the people who run the event are astro-novices and make mistakes pointing things out... great meal though. They had three SCT's setup for use.

If you are flying into Alice Springs and are driving (versus flying directly into Uluru), then you should visit the Henbury Craters. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henbury_Meteorites_Conservation_Res erve)

Gotta say that my time in Central Australia was some of the best, camera and bino's in hand. The skies at Henbury and Mereenie were the darkest I've seen since being a kid in Perú.

Monday to Wednesday in Sydney will be tough, as the city is the financial center for Australia and people work-work-work... O.o

Have fun on your trip, hope you get an eye-full! :D
OIC!

[OICURMT]

The only thing you need worry about are snakes... and even then, you'll probably never see one as all reptiles are rather shy.

After 12 years here, I've seen maybe half a dozen in my backyard (eastern brown), maybe a dozen snakes in the Cooper Basin.

As for kangaroos, believe it or not, they are dangerous, but only if they lay their paws on you as a way to balance before they kick... chance of that happening? I'd say slightly less than zero if you don't let one approach... :thumbsup:

As for Koala's, they can be mean during mating season and their claws!!!

OIC!

[barx1963]

Out at Uluru, there` are not many trees so those vicious drop bears cannot get high enough to cause any issues (only kidding! drop bears are largely fictional!!) Seriously, snakes would be the only issue and they are found all over, and are mostly found in the parts of Australia which are not desert, there are probably hundreds of tiger snakes within a couple of kms of where I am typing this, they would be quite sparse out there and are usually inactive at night.
If planning on lying on the ground, ants are more likely to be a nuisance, painful, but not deadly.

Malcolm