Most memorable Astro experience?

[AndyG]

Having lurked this forum for a few months now, a picture is starting to form around the people here, 99% I will probably never meet (unfortunately).

So another question is well worth asking: What is your most memorable, satisfying or even exciting time in this hobby?

I'm not sure how long I've been at this myself - it must be less than a year by now. Jupiter was at Zenith by my kid's bedtime when I started. But my best experience happened just tonight.

My old man had his 67th B'day this weekend. Whilst my parents have always been together, and lived under one roof, we've very rarely got along with him. Only now that he's getting older and sicker, are the fights becoming a rarity. Last year we bought a scope for my Mum's 70th, and until very recently it went unused. Tonight I showed my old man how to use it (to the best of my "green" knowledge"), and I havent seen him this enthused in a very long time.

My Folks' house is a dark site, so it was all handed to us on a silver platter. Anything a C5 could see, we could see. The old man was blown away, and the sight of something new brought forth a flurry of questions and discussions - a level of conversation we've rarely had. Many thanks to wise IIS posts, (and Sky Safari) for filling in all the blanks :)

He now plans to pull this scope out any time he can, and I think he's found the first new thing in his life in a long time. So, All things considered, this has been the best time in my brief stint of amatuer astro.

Others care to share their's?

[croweater]

One memorable experience for me was on a trip to Canberra in about 1988 with my wife and son. I was a little interested in space and read that there was an observatory near a club of some sort. We went to check it out and were surprised to find you had to walk through a pokie club of some sort to get in. Well in we went to a dome where a uni student named Attila :eyepop: was just shutting the door and leaving. He said it had clouded out and he was closing for the night but he unlocked the door again and took us in to show us the telescope. It was a C14 and he explained how it worked ect. Then we went to leave and my son looked up through a skylight I think and piped "I can see a star." Sure enough there was a break in the clouds and Attila said "oh that's Sirius-oh no it's not it's Jupiter!". So he said come on back and he unlocked the door and took us back in. For the next 30mins or so we had our first look at Jupiter which was stunning to us. Then the clouds closed up again and out we went again. I've often wondered where Attila ended up and will always be grateful for the effort he put in. I think he said the C14 was to be replaced with a 16 inch donated by a Japanese businessman. Anyway that's one of many positive experiences to do with astronomy that I've had, Cheers Richard

[DJT]

Last year I was observing with a Dob at our weekend place when a young Indian couple dropped by and asked if it would be ok if their parents who were on a visit could drop in and take a gander.

I spent an hour guiding them through some of the usual suspects, NGC104, a couple of nebs, I think Jupiter was up etc, and the following morning I had a deep and meaningful with the father looking at how we could get a Dob over to his guru in his village who knows the sky well but has never looked through a telescope.

Am hoping the old guy achieved what he set out to do but I suppose if I am answering the question posed by Andy, then this would be it.

[Wavytone]

Watching a solar eclipse in soon after sunrise Jan 1981 from on top of Mt Wellington, with a sea of cloud at our feet covering the rest of Tas. Just surreal.

Watching Jupiter as two chunks of comet Shoemaker-Levy collided with it, on a couple of nights. It pretty much finished any arguments about what happened to the dinosaurs, combined with the discovery of the impact site on earth.

[jwheel69]

Aug 21, 2017 Total Solar Eclipse and my visit to Australia in Aug. 2015 where I saw celestial objects that are not visible from the northern hemisphere.

[N1]

4 December 2002 (https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2002Dec04T.GIF)

Observed from just south of Roxby Downs. It was absurdly, insanely spectacular. 28 seconds of eternity, forever etched in my mind.

Can't wait for the repeat (https://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEplot/SEplot2001/SE2030Nov25T.GIF) :P

[wavelandscott]

Too many to name but two bubble to the top...

First look at Saturn in my own 8 inch dobsonian reflector...Wow!

The other was my first visit to South Pacific Star Party...growing up in the USA the sky and the whole event were just wonderfully memorable. The people, the sky...again Wow!

[GrahamL]

The night at astrofest some years ago , Ron spotted something unusual and unkown in the nightsky ,remnants of a rocket launch it turned out .
To have something so unexpected and unique to happen in front of a group of people with a bunch of telescopes pointing up was pretty special .
Then seeng it in a 20 " scope hurtling through the night ,,well nice :)

[deanm]

2012 Transit of Venus: camped overnight with a C6 on cliffs above the Murray River to avoid Adelaide cloud.
Worked a treat & almost surreal as it ended, realising the next one isn't until 2117.
Not many folk alive today will live long enough to see that one....
Dean

[darrellx]

I think it would come down to three for me.

Halley's Comet - my first experience at a dark site and the first time I took a serious photo, on film

The first time I saw Saturn through a telescope.

Transit of Venus. I setup two telescopes in a vacant lot across the road from my place. During the course of the day, I had probably 15-18 people pull up and ask what I was doing. Everyone then asked if they could have a look. At one point I had a queue.

All wonderful experiences.

[LewisM]

34 years ago back when the Sunshine Coast was fairly dark : seeing the Andromeda Galaxy and the Orion Nebula for the first time with my 60mm Tasco.

I used to climb on our roof with that telescope (we had a flat centre section) with my Ridpath and Tirion atlas. Got me above the melaleucas.

[Shiraz]

me too on a clifftop between Berri and Renmark - tried to imagine how Jeremiah Horrocks must have felt when he saw the same thing in 1639. Used a really basic achro on a stepper driven mount to get the atmosphere right and the experience was unforgettable.

[doppler]

Mine was traveling to Murraybridge to get past the rain to get a look at the total lunar eclipse of April 1986, then to be treated to Halley's comet at it's naked eye best during totality.

[FlashDrive]

Around 1991 ... purchased my first ' 8" inch f/7 Dob ' from York Optical Brisbane.... made from ' Sono Tube ' ...thick cardboard in those days

Looked at ' Omega Centauri ' for the 1st time :eyepop: .... using 1.25 eyepieces.

The step up to the DOB had me captivated beyond words... I wanted more.... I then realized what I had been missing....the rest is history.

Prior to that I was using a Tasco 76mm reflector using .965 ' H ' type eyepieces. .....

Col...

[astroron]

There are a number of occasions that spring to mind,from seeing Comet Halley and SN1987A in my 60mm refractor, seeing NGC 253 in a 19.5"scope
The transit of Venus Twice and of course the spy satellite separation at camp Duckadang a few years ago as mentioned by Graham in post #8
But for shear excitement I cannot go past Comet D/1993 F2) Shoemaker Levy-9 on July 16/17 1994.
I heard on the ABC radio that Greg Bock had seen a piece taken out of Jupiter in his 72" scope:eyepop: (obviously focal length):lol:
I rushed outside and set up my 20cm Celestron SCT, and gave out the most excited yell I have ever made in all my time in Astronomy.
I watched over the nearly one month both Day and night the impacts and their developments and demise.
Such an exciting thing to realize that one is watching something that had only happened 33 minutes before I was seeing it.
There are others that deserve a mention,but I don't want to bore you. :lol:

[Atmos]

The first night I used my FC100DL up at Yass (when I bought it) and saw Mars as it was closing in on opposition. That was the first night I’d ever seen Mars as anything more than a red fuzzy blob (my main scope before that was a 10” LX200 that I don’t believe had the word “acclimation” in its vocabulary. Seeing the polar ice caps and large scale detail. Was the first night I’d seen the GRS on Jupiter and the first night I’d ever properly got a clean split (non fuzzy) with the Cassini Division.

The second was a few months back seeing Carina through a 32” scope, looked like a Hubble image!

[LewisM]

The Messier galaxy marathon I did in my first VC200L years ago was memorable too.

Comets and eclipses haven’t really ever grabbed me. I watched Haley’s as a young guy but it didn’t leave me in rapture. Nebula and Galaxies are what do it for me. Planetary a little, lunar very little.

[el_draco]

... but we've been watching you... we are always watching... that's why we have telescopes :P

Ehem,
Most memorable experience.

Observing:
- Saturn for the first time, or
- NGC 2070 through a 29" newt

In general; its a toss up:
- Meeting Clyde Tombaugh
- Standing inside the 200" Hale telescope or the AAT

sigh....

[rrussell1962]

Well Rom, both of your "In general" moments leave me speechless! As for mine:- Like Lewis, the views with my 60mm refractor as a kid opened up a whole new universe to me. A lot of paper rounds went into that telescope and nothing I have owned since has given me quite the same joy as that telescope and Patrick Moore's the Amateur Astronomer did, which does make me wonder why I have spent so much money since! Apart from that, 2 transits of Venus and a view of Jupiter a couple of years ago. Seeing here on the outer western suburbs of Brisbane is not the best, but that night with the 18 inch Obsession and the LVW 3.5mm I ran out of eyepieces. Jupiter looked like a painted golf ball as it disappeared beneath the neighbours palm trees.

[GrahamL]

Pointing out Comet mcnaught to a few people at a lookout as it showed up in the fading afternoon light , wow said one that looks just like a jet
plane , he was right and i was about 10 degrees and five minutes out ,,memorable in that i shut my mouth and said nothing more :lol:

[ZeroID]

Several occasions as we all do but one that sticks out.
A group of us locals up on Mt Albert looking for Comet McNaught. in the early evening. I kept hunting the low west sky in the twilight when a youngster standing off to one side said 'There it is..' Turned about 15 * and saw the most glorious long tailed sight in the twilight I have ever seen. Took a few photos later but this was before I found IIS and the slippery slope of AP.

[brian nordstrom]

:eyepop: Like Ron , Shoemaker Levy-9 in my 60mm f15 refractor on the first night and then following the marks as they changed over the weeks in our clubs C14 , awesome .

Just to see something happening and changing with your own eyes in real ( -33 min of course ) time is rare in astronomy .

Becoming co- rediscoverer of Waschman Schmann 3rd as it re-appared at mag 3 in Scorpious in about 1984 ? after being lost for about 80 years was pretty special as well , its periodical at about 6 years from memory .

Brian.

[iborg]

I'll through in two that matter to me -

Showing Saturn to my Dad - blew his socks off. Like a marble in a plate.

The other, my better half and I went up to Lake Mungo, no moon, just the universe to light our way as we walked. She had never been under a sky anything even vaguely like that.

Philip

[AndyG]

Look, Officer... I can explain that truckload of amonium nitrate. It's for my tomato patch... honest.. :)

[multiweb]

Seeing the tarentula in the scope at Crago for the first time.

[h0ughy]

yep concur completely plus for me Queensland Astrofest it cannot get any better. my transit of venus the first time was a live broadcast event on the foreshore in Newcastle then the second one was chasing clear skies to Nyngan with Mr Sidonio:thumbsup:, but Saturn was a head turner for me through a 12" telescope when i was a wee laddy:D. but a hot evening to see comet Mcnaught was extremely awesome

[tlgerdes]

My most memorable times under the stars are not for publication in forums such as these :rofl:

[Saturnine]

There have been many memorable astronomical sights for me over the years, too many to list here but the standout(s) were both naked eye, though binos' and scopes were involved as well during the events.
The first was the 2002 solar eclipse from Ceduna, with my kids and ex partner, unfortunately the kids were too young to remember much. Seeing that black hole in the sky with the surrounding corona is something everyone needs to see in their lifetimes , it's something that words can't begin to do justice to.
The other mind blowing event was Comet McNaught in 2008 from Saddleback Mt. near Kiama. Watching the comet and its tail appearing in the heavens in the deepening twilight was awesome. Sharing the scene with some fellow club members and the general public who came up to take in the spectacle made the evening more enjoyable.

[RAJAH235]

Well, for moi, there are a few but I'll keep it short...

My 1st T'scope was the lowly Tasco 114 way back when, but it was enough for me to see the black impact left by
the "G" segment of Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 as it crashed into Jupiter.

A few years ago, can't remember exactly when, but around Christmas time I witnessed an "Earth grazer" of what appeared to be about the size of a car.
(Always hard to tell the size.)
Anyway, this asteroid started off in the West & progressed right across the sky
& disappeared into the East.
It was a dull red but shed lots of green & red hot debris as it traversed the sky for a total of about 120 degrees.
I even called the local ABC radio about it during one of Prof Fred Watsons interviews a few days later.
The 2 caravan park visitors I was showing a few things to & who were slightly under the weather, were astounded to actually see this object hurtle through the upper atmosphere.

The 2nd is & probably more memorable is, as Jeff ^, stated...the tremendous view that was "Comet McNaught"
as we waited for it to emerge, back in 2007 at Saddleback Mt.
An absolutely unforgettable experience for us, AA's & all the visitors who came to see it.
Truly gobsmacked by the view.

The 1st image was taken by Joe, the 2nd by Neil, both members of the W.A.A.C.ers & show the glow from Berry & Nowra in the distance.

Regards, Laurie..

[sil]

2012 transit of venus. months of preparation and testing/trial runs. worrying over weather forecasts. two weeks of solid cloud cover prior to the day, waking early to look outside and see stars (no clouds!). My viewing site was behind my home adjacent to a major road. Got to photograph the entire event (even through the clouds that drifted in towards the end). watching and realising this transit event in the cycle was last seen by James Cook before "discovering" Australia as an afterthought was an almost spiritual experience. And I was all alone, I wanted to run out into traffic and drag people out of their cars to take a look. I then read Chasing Venus, and realised I had gone through many similar trials and tribulations and emotional roller coaster in my journey to catch the transit.

Seeing Jupiter or Saturn through an eyepiece still thrills me, but the transit was a strong experience for me, far beyond all others.

[Allan]

Too many astronomical sights to pick one. So I’ll choose the night I spent observing with Al Nagler. It was just him and I, and I was driving a 32” dob so we could test the new DeLite eyepieces. There were only 3 in existence and we had all 3 there to compare against a bunch of Ethos. It was such a thrill, I had goose bumps. Like playing a round of golf with Tiger.

[Peter Ward]

1) Showing my (very) young son Halley's Comet through the eyepiece of my new C-8 in 1986 (I sincerely hope he will see it once more )

2)The 2001 Leonid meteor storm seen from the flight deck of a 767, while en-route SIN-SYD (I was one of the flight crew). Most of Australia (below 30,000 feet) was being rained on. The meteor shower was simply awesome....easily 3000 per hour.

3) 2003 Total Solar Eclipse Antarctic Qantas charter flight. Set some records that day..Australia's longest duration "domestic flight". I was one of the flight crew (co-pilot + astronomy buff ) for this charter flight. Kudos to Dr Glenn Schneider and his eclipse software. We flew under the shadow of the moon to the second. We absolutely nailed it. My best day at work ever.

4)2006 total solar eclipse from the Sahara desert. Who would have guessed? It rained in the Sahara the night before!!

But...the following morning... conditions were perfect ..crystal clear skies (rain= no dust!).

[Paul Haese]

Hmm, so many really good ones. Not in any order but these are the best:



1994 Shoemaker Levy 9 impacts on Jupiter. Incredible to watch.
Imaging and seeing the Venus transit 2012.
Seeing a Russian rocket re-enter over Adelaide about 5-6 years ago. It covered the entire sky. It made Skylab look like a smudge. About 5 people from our society saw it and a couple of guys that used to visit here also saw it.
My first total solar eclipse - 2002 Ceduna eclipse.
Actually seeing 9/10 seeing whilst imaging Jupiter.
Comet West in 1976 (my first comet), not the best but certainly memorable.
My first visible aurora (cycle 24). I had surprisingly never seen one before, despite having the opportunity to see one.

The best out of all of the above, would be my first total solar eclipse. It resulted in us seeing a further 2 and planning to see more when time and money permit.

[Rob_K]

Lots of memorable highlights here too, including:

* Seeing a bright greenish bolide streak across the outer Melbourne suburban skies as a teenager (had a profound impact on my lifelong interest in astronomy, believe it or not!);
* First time seeing Saturn through the eyepiece (it's all REAL!);
* Seeing Halley's Comet in 1986 (sense of history);
* Comet McNaught in 2007 (staggeringly beautiful);
* Total Solar Eclipse 2010 (my first, seen from shipboard in the Tuamotu Archipelago in French Polynesia - no need to say more!);
* Transit of Venus in 2012 (sense of history; rare event, not always occurring in one's lifetime);
* Seeing the "bolide of a lifetime" while delivering an after-dinner star talk in a remote area of the Kimberley in 2017, and sharing the experience with 20-odd guests! Unbelievably brilliant, like a flare on steroids;
* Discovering Nova Muscae 2018 (growing excitement as it passed check after check, and taking the low-res spectrum which confirmed its identity!).

But as far as a magical, unexpected, memorable astronomical experience, I'd have to go for one dark night in the early 2000s when I was camped out at a remote place called Haunted Stream in the mountains of Gippsland, doing surveys of historic sites.

No telescope or anything, but the sky was awesome - the Milky Way was so bright and mutely coloured brownish-green. The dark lanes were clear and showed an web-like intricacy the like of which I'd never seen before or since. Like that fine detail you see in widefield photographs. The night after was ostensibly the same but it was just a superb dark night, business as usual! I've spent a lot of my life in remote and dark places - deserts, mountains and even islands and I've never seen anything even beginning to match that one perfect night. Gotta be the highlight! ;) :D

Cheers -

[skysurfer]

Doing 52 years in Astronomy, some of my highlights:

* 9 May 1970 Transit of Mercury
* 24 April 1986 Total Lunar Eclipse and Comet Halley high in the sky (Byron Bay NSW)
* 18 March 1988 Total solar eclipse in Palembang, Sumatra
* April 1989 Visit to ESO in Chile and nice dark skies in San Pedro de Atacama
* 8 June 2004 Transit of Venus
* Jan 2000 Pitch dark skies during night Greyhound bus stops along Stuart Highway (NT)
* Feb 2016 Fomalhaut in the zenith on midday only 22 deg from Sun with 11cm scope (South Africa)
* Feb 2016 Star party at real dark location Leeuwenboschfontein Western Cape
* 25 Mar 2016 Thin Venus crescent on day of inferior conjunction
* 9 May 2016 Transit of Mercury

[speach]

my very first view of Saturn, it was through an old tasco 70mm (?) very cheap and very nasty. But Saturn was amazing, can see why Galileo through it was a planet with ears.

[inline_online]

Oh boy, 23 years in Astronomy with many many highlights.

The first that comes to mind was back in the early days. I had my 10" Meade Starfinder set up in my surburban backyard and was looking for the Helix Nebula. I know...crazy!!!
Well I found it after a lot of searching and was so excited I ran inside and called my mate Grant...at about 3am:lol: His parents were not impressed.

These days I focus 100% on outreach. My most memorable outreach experience was at Princess Margaret Hospital for Children in Perth. I had a small scope set up and was showing the kids Saturn, Moon, Jewel Box etc. A young boy came up to me as i was packing up and said that he'd been there for six weeks and this was the best thing that had happened to him so far. I'll never forget that.