Another newbie.

[shoalman]

Hi folks
I'm a semi-retired RN with some travel aspirations and a new telescope. I settled on a Celestron 6SE & I'm taking it in my newly converted camper on a road trip through northern Victoria to Canberra. Hoping for clear skies to get acquainted with the new hobby and will no doubt be asking advice along the way. I've already picked up a few things browsing the forums. Thanks to you all for sharing your expertise.

[Allan_L]

Hi Geoff,
Welcome to IceInSpace :welcome:

Congratulations on your new telescope and good luck with your dark sky travels.

You probably already know this, but I would recommend getting a copy of the latest (Camps 9) free camping publication - with photos preferably for me.
As you want to avoid the well lit traditional Caravan Parks and opt for the unlit Free Camping sites available if you can. Most of these are out of town a bit and normally grey nomads are in bed fairly early just as the sky starts getting interested.

Other recommendation is, of course, take good quality cold weather gear, snow clothing or better still a Freezer Suit. (available on this site HERE (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=156656) :thumbsup:

BTW take some good binos and a comfortable chair for a wider field experience.
Enjoy

[Nebulous]

Hi Geoff,

Welcome, and all the best with your trip. Camping and gradually exploring the night skies sounds like an extremely satisfying combination. :thumbsup:

Cheers,

Chris

[Sconesbie]

Welcome Geoff.

Camping generally means dark skies too.


Regards
Scott

[Wavytone]

Hi Geoff, sounds like a nice trip !

Just be careful not to freeze your eyeball to the eyepiece in the cold - its quite painful and you have to wait till it melts free !

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Hi Geoff and :welcome: to IIS , thats a dream come true camping , travelling and astronomy so please keep us informed as to your adventures eg. photos of you stopovers and scope set up .

Looking forward to seeing more of your travels and yes stay warm , as said before nothing kills enthusiasm like being cold in the middle of the night stargazing .

ps. The C6's are a very nice scope and it will show you plenty .

Brian.

[AEAJR]

An astronomy road trip? Sounds great!

I look forward to reading the journal of your travels and your observations.

[shoalman]

Thanks for your replies. Just got back from a week long trip down the Fleurieu Peninsula to get a feel for the van. Great daytime scenery but unfortunately cloudy nights so not much stargazing yet. Im heading to Northern Victoria in a few weeks and yes, I'll keep warm and take some binoculars. I'll keep you informed.

[cadman342001]

Welcome Geoff, look forward to seeing / hearing about your travels/travails !

I'm feeling cold up here in Cairns at the mo (and I'm a Pom) so Lord knows how you must feel down there :D

Andy

[shoalman]

Thanks Andy,
Surprisingly warm down here at present, only lit our first fire this evening and that was more for the ambience than the heat. A lot of cloud around, but expecting it to be clear by the weekend. Perhaps more to report then.