Loving all this excellent astronomy weather

[strongmanmike]

Hmmm? New Moon too.....:mad2:

Mike

[Startrek]

Mike,
Only another 3 to 4 months of suffering and frustration to go
La Niña is suppose to be neutral by then ( we hope )
Plenty of re processing to do so you don’t go crazy

M.

[Boozlefoot]

Bah! Humbug! Bah! Bloody weather..............

I felt privileged to get 2-1/2 hrs clear sky a few nights ago, but alas the seeing was utter garbage. I keep promising to utilise the resulting spare time wisely by tidying up the obs and organising/cataloguing/maintaining gear..........nah!

And to make matters worse because its so wet the earthworms are committing Hari Kiri by wiggling up the ramp and under the door to escape the deluge - only to find a rather uncompromising painted floor and a dehumidifier going like the clappers.

[glend]

The stars are not going anywhere, just wait it out.

[Crater101]

I agree with what Glen has said, but it's frustrating nonetheless. I've had about four clear nights in the last three months, with maybe a couple of clear hours thrown in here and there. It's a bit hard to set up when not only can you not see the stars, but the concrete pad you normally set up on is two inches underwater, and everywhere else in the yard the ground is so soft it's hard to level the tripod & mount. :rain:

[LonelySpoon]

Dome sprung another leak, all over battery box& cables- not connected.

I've got a 6 burner BBQ cover over the whole lot, with pack of dehumidifier in there.

Dome humidity 98%.

Slugs instead of earthworms. 129mm so far this month.

I'm over it. At least we aren't getting generally flooded like some poor b'stds (although local bridge went under this morning).

May take up radio astronomy- I've got an old Foxtel dish somewhere...

Neville
Admiral of LSO, may go down with the ship.

[Questor]

Sorry folks, I've recently made the decision to start getting back into observing, so the weather decided to stop me from even trying anything with just my camera ��

[xelasnave]

Well I am happy as with all this spare time I can again look to following an active social life except as the rain continues I can't get out the drive but that won't matter as the flood waters will cut off access to even the closest village... so I thought take a few photos thru the microscope but the funny thing was that in the three containers of water I set aside to have little world's grow I found only three little animals ...I guess even they have decided to go someplace else...but I have been able to practice guitar and happy to say that I really can't get much better however my playing is such that it is hard even for me to listen to...so what do you do..we all know you start looking at another scope...and with time on your hands one comes dangerously close to completing the order...I really think one of those new Askar 130 units would be the go..there is one in stock..I guess one should hurry before someone grabs it...mmm but where to put it...mmm another observatory obviously...lets get some blank paper and develop a few ideas...
Heck I would rent a camper and go somewhere..let's look at the map...mmm maybe think of renting a plane as it seems Australia is clouded out...anyways must go..I have to empty the rain gauge.

alex

[Ryderscope]

Yes, well it is good time to catch up on all those projects that have been waiting in the wings. I’m lucky to have one data set captured early in the year so that will keep me occupied briefly. Then there is a micro observatory that I keep pondering about for a second pier I’ve set up at home. I may just get around to doing something about that. In the mean time, we shall just wait :rain:

[Crater101]

I think we're all over it, and like yourself, I live near creek crossings where the fords have gone underwater deeply more in the past 18 months than in the previous 12 years.


But you make a good point. We can wait, and sooner or later, there will be clear skies. While we all get frustrated over what we can't do, let's spare a thought for those folks who've been flooded out. I bet the frustration they experience far outweighs anything that we feel.

[strongmanmike]

:lol:...nooo, get to the lifeboat! :driving:

Mike

[strongmanmike]

I can't see you ever getting bored Alex, your gamut of life activities is certainly abundant and filled with interest...no matter the state of the weather :thumbsup:

Mike

[xelasnave]

Well you need to use negatives to advantage..I contacted the assistant and said look with this weather if we don't get these other two wheels on today goodness knows when the rain will ease...so he agreed and came and doing exactly what I directed we now have a roof that rolls by pushing with one hand...anyways that was finished an hour ago and I have already calculated back lash in the EAF units and set the focus for both guide scopes ,...but the zwo mini only hung on by a wiska so I rang up and changed my order .... needed more cash but that's now done..

Anyways fitted in a short spin in the red toy car so it was a good day.

Alex

[xelasnave]

I have been spending a lot of time following lectures on molecular biology which is fascinating.. it's like the complexity of a galaxy can be found in a single little cell..we are so lucky to have access to such knowledge and from world leaders in the field.
Alex

[Rod-AR127]

I'm off too a bortle 2/1 site in Vic on Thursday, leaving all the astro gear at home and taking my raincoat and drinking hat.
It's even 80% plus cloud coverage here in Perth.
I can see a hangover in the future.

[h0ughy]

All of this Weather is your fault mike

[strongmanmike]

Ah huh! Great Scott! you are on to something there Rod! :eyepop: :drink:



..Hmmm?...yeeees..I hadn't thought of that :confuse3: ...sorry :sadeyes:

Mike

[rustigsmed]

:sadeyes:

perhaps we should look at doing a hubble data processing-off. who can oversharpen and oversaturate the most wins. I'm sure marc wouldn't mind maximising some topaz-action for fun either.

[RB]

:lol:

Marc's a closet topaz user me thinks....
He hangs out for those topaz discount codes.

:lol: :scared3:

[multiweb]

Hey... that discussion was confidential. Damn moderators. :P

[RB]

Ohhh, sorry, it was supposed to be a PM to Russell.

:face: :lol:

[dikman]

I didn't expect to still have the wood heater going this late in the year.:rolleyes: As it's so wet today I spent time looking at some youtube vids on NINA, then downloaded it plus a couple of other related apps, and then spent hours trying to get the thing working! I got it talking to my CCD camera but still haven't figured out why it won't see my Canon camera. Finally got it talking to the Skywatcher mount, silly me thought I just had to plug things in and away it would go.
I can't get it to get info from Stellarium either. Maybe I should just stick to visual.:lol:

[LonelySpoon]

I have all my apps on the start bar, with NINA last in the line:

skywatcher mount, dome, DdC, weather, focuser PHD2, then NINA.

Once they load up (mount takes longest- I had to give it maximum retries and times) I get NINA to 'Connect All' from the little power button on bottom left.

By then, the clouds have rolled back in and I shut down and go to bed...:(

Neville,
Admiral of LSO

[strongmanmike]

:rofl:......:question: not funny.....sorry :sadeyes:

[dikman]

That's a good idea, Admiral.:thumbsup: I've never had much use for the start bar before so that never occurred to me.

[LonelySpoon]

You can laugh, cheeky-you're above those very same clouds!:mad2:

Neville

[Rod-AR127]

That hangover has finally passed.
Clouds to the horizon in every direction, has not stopped raining.
I have been able to use the binoculars but only for spotting sheep. Waiting for one to supernova.

[strongmanmike]

This is BS...of course!...committed to my nieces Halloween party, 100 invitees, she has been working on it for some time, amazing looking house and garden, wife really looking forward to it....predicted to be clear as a bell up at Eagleview tonight !!! :scared::scared::scared:

Can't F'n win.....

Mike

[Ryderscope]

Another problem with this weather is leaving our facilities idle and then finding that we have unwelcome visitors when next we visit. It's only been a couple of weeks since I checked in the observatory and when I did so a large and healthy looking rat emerged from under the telescope cover and escaped over the walls of the obs. I do have a bait station in the obs but clearly this is not enough. Sheesh!

Upon inspection we find the power cable to the computer is chewed through to the bare wires, rodent poo everywhere and holes in the scope cover and a cloth cover I put over the computer gear. Needless to say the next few hours were spent dismantling everything, cleaning up and replacing cables.

However, I now have a very nice clean and organised observatory. If only it would clear :rolleyes:

[mura_gadi]

and now for the snow in November...

[Boozlefoot]

Was sent a text by another member last night, great doings to dial in the new scope....................then another text 20 minutes later - rain.

Can the mods start another forum for Nephology, or a competition for photo's of same. Or alternatively put up a pic each week so we can offer our impressions of what it looks like?

I sometimes conjure the image of hundreds of frustrated astronomers running amok down city main streets, armed with counterweight shafts and barbed wire adorned guide scopes, all whilst making loud and raucous Steve Urkel noises.

[xelasnave]

I have been very lucky..three clear nights but as I stayed up all night the first night I was unable to do night two and night three near killed me...
However last night (night three) for the first time I had all three scopes running and finally everything worked..my only problem is organising the data ..it is a mess.
Had new computer running and the tablet monitoring via the security camera.
But so good to have data to sort out.

Alex

[Startrek]

Tonight looks very good around Sydney
Clear skies all night , descending 10% waxing moon early on , light westerly, low humidity , no dew and seeing should be OK , fingers crossed

Enjoy if your out observing or imaging tonight

[Ryderscope]

Looking clear in Bathurst so far. Here's hoping :stargaze:

[Questor]

Still very cloudy here in SE suburbs of Melbourne

[Boozlefoot]

Ah yes.......last night was just a tease........as I've previously said, the seeing here tonight will be just utter garbage, total rubbish!

[xelasnave]

Another good night here maybe

alex

[Startrek]

Last night was a bummer, cloud rolled in at 10.30pm,waited an hour ,still patchy, p…..ed off , so went to bed
Only managed an hour on a glob
La Niña bugger off !!!!

[Saturnine]

As I was setting up last night the cloud rolling in almost had me giving up. Left the gear outside while I watched some tv for amusement, while checking regularly on the clouds. Around midnight it cleared and was that way for the rest of the night until the pre-dawn. Seeing was less than what was hoped for, as usual.

[Dave882]

Been ok for playing peekaboo with the planets between clouds but still the seeings poor. I’ve had a few hours after midnight on 2 nights similar to Jeff- only to have one of my attempts at ngc1365 ruined by an obnoxious Christmas beetle…3 flipping hours worth of data!!! :confused2:

[strongmanmike]

Went up to mow some lawns yesterday, aaah sigh ... what a wonderfully frustrating bathroom view I have, a magnificent yet dormant observatory, waiting patiently for a proper first light... can't even poo without being reminded of the frustration :rolleyes: :lol:

:scared: :mad2:

Snow is on the radar for later this week too!

Mike

[Rod-AR127]

Well my 5 day astro holiday is nearly over, so glad l only brought binoculars with me.
Nothing but clouds apart from yesterday during the day which was quite nice, sunny and warm.
Drove to Nillahcootie dam which was overflowing about 1ft over the wall then across to Lake Eildon which is letting about 30,000 mega litres a day out and its still filling up by 1cm a day. They only have 11cm more before 100% and the spillway will get wet.
The Goulburn is just crazy, low lying places are going to be wet for weeks to come.
Even walking across the sheep paddock on the side of the hill the is water flowing across the ground a few cm deep because the ground is so saturated, and it's everywhere.
Back to sunny Perth tomorrow to a coved positive house. I should have stayed at work.
At least l got to sit and listen to the Rufous Whistlers (birds) in the garden, amazing song list.

[LonelySpoon]

Broke 3 records here yesterday:
lowest air pressure 981mb
highest rain rate 64mm/h
Highest monthly rain 192mm

Plus most disgruntled astronomer.

Have grave doubts about pier integrity now: had to bury a dead sheep, and below 200mm the ground was like wet cement/melted ice-cream.
I 'glued' my huge concrete pier to a large rock base but I may have to add a tilt meter to it!

Neville
Admiral of LSO

[strongmanmike]

Holy Cow Admiral! Sounds like you may be ok though :thumbsup: Sheesh, that'd be right :rolleyes:, when (if?) I finally get to image, my pier will look like that famous tower in Pisa...Maama Mia! :eyepop: :lol:...mine is in pretty firm and rocky ground though..:question: :prey:

Mike

[Paul Haese]

There is more coming your way Mike. We are getting hail today and of course the wet stuff which comes with the grey stuff.

[dikman]

I'm up in the Adelaide Hills, not to far below Mt. Lofty (the highest point), so pretty high (for Adelaide), I give you this for context. Yesterday I had to dig a hole to bury one of our cats and got down about 3 1/2 ft, well into the clay layer, and hit the water table!! In the past I've gone down over 15 ft. without hitting any water, I guess the ground is pretty saturated.

[strongmanmike]

Yeah I know, expecting snow actually, it's forecast by the BoM...probably won't be much...but in November! :eyepop:

Mike

[Boozlefoot]

And in sunny Windeyer, we cracked the previous record of 307.2mm (1918) with 310.2mm at my obs (calibrated) for October 2022.

And we're over 25mm for the first day of Nov.

Our long term October average is 33.9mm over 4.7 rain days. I don't think I've seen 4.7 days of sun for 4 months! :cloudy:

[mura_gadi]

Snow on the Brindies this morning... and the cloud forecast for the eclipse pretty much sums up the viewing here recently...

[Ryderscope]

2 degrees, blowing a gale and wet in Bathurst this morning. Most amazing :cloudy::windy: I know it will stop one day, won’t it?

[AstroViking]

I had clear skies down here last night, so rushed and setup all the gear. (After at least a month of clouds and rain, even seeing the stars was a welcome event.)

Everything was running smoothly, the sequence had just kicked off and I asked "Why is it refocusing?". I then looked up to see nothing but clouds in pretty much all of the sky, and the direction they were moving gave me reason to believe that the show was over for the night. So I packed everything away again.

When my girlfriend got home about half an hour later she said "Why aren't you outside doing astro? It's clear as anything out there."

Curse the clouds...

[Crater101]

I had a similar experience...clouds rolled in, rained on and off from about 5.00pm. About 9.30pm I stuck my head outside and it was clear! Grabbed the mount and was just starting to set up when the fog rolled in! :confused:

[strongmanmike]

Aaaalmost once again...aaaalmost :rolleyes:

Cleared up beautifully last night around 9pm with no wind and thought woohoo, in fact sent a jubilant text to the missus to let her know of my anticipatory excitement :jump2:

Opened up the observatory, some teething fiddling around with getting it all prepared and started but all ready, woohoo :D Now, the Moon was almost full so, no galaxies sadly, so drove to the LMC, lots in there! looked at a couple of targets beifly, settled on one, framed it nicely, created setup files, sequences, focused, woohoo seeing good, again! :party:, guiding perfect :cool: etc a few test exposures to decide on sub length and ta taaaa! Here we gooooo...about to start the first sequence, yeah baby!...."Bong!" guide star lost...look out of dome, cloud rolling in...and I mean "in" ie we are inside the clouds when they roll in :lol: oh for goodness sake! :(

Anyway gave it a bit of time and nup wouldn't go away...sooo F-it!...packed up closed down went to bed around midnight....

Story of many of our lives in this neck of the woods these days I guess..?

So, I've had two sneak peaks at how good it might be one day up here....third time lucky maybe..? :rolleyes:

Mike

[croweater]

You are not up high enough Mike. You'll have to move to Chile :) , or Hawaii.
Cheers, Richard

[Startrek]

Mike,
Patience is a virtue or is it ?
Don’t worry when you score a perfect clear night you can brag about it for months when we all see your mind blowing image
Sydney town last night was a cracker , I was out til 3.30am on Orion
My guiding was as tight as it’s ever been with the EQ6-R mount 0.48 total with Dec and Ra smooth , there was a bit of dew around in the early hours but my mirrors hung in there thankfully

Cheers
Martin

[strongmanmike]

I've run that option past my wife a couple of times, both times she just stared at me and walked away.... :shrug: :lol:



Well both short episodes of imaging done so far at Eagleview have been quite exciting, the sharpness of the data coming down on both nights, all be it brief, looked on screen to be equal to, or better than, the very best nights I experienced at my former observatory north of Canberra..:prey: :prey2: so that's kinda promising, and only increases the La Nina frustration, especially this time of year in the southern hemisphere, when all those glorious galaxies in Sculptor, Fornax and Eridanus etc are so well placed...arrrggg :tasdevil:

So glad you got lucky though :thumbsup: :)

Mike

[alan meehan]

The last few weeks have been a good time to pull my Eq6 mount appart and give it a good service clean regrease new bearing its now running better than its ever been we all need clear skies,i think theres a song in that

[LonelySpoon]

Didn't the Beatles do one?
:rockband:
"All you need is
clear sky and humidity below 85%"

or something...

Neville

[mura_gadi]

I was going for Ella Fitzgerald...

Dark skies
Smiling at me
Nothing but dark skies
Do I see

[strongmanmike]

I'm waiting for Jimmy Cliff's prophesy - I Can See Clearly Now (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KSuB4t3q_dA) those lyrics cause a deep longing of the way it should be...:sadeyes: :sad:

Mike

[Crater101]

How about The Who - I can see for miles. :cool:

[AstroViking]

Did anyone else take advantage of the clear skies last night?

I was out with the gear and everything was working fine until the meridian flip (Oooh! First one ever. Much excitement!) put my guide scope into the moon light and it all turned to crap after that...

So I still have a few bugs to work out before I'll be happy with everything, but hey, that's the way this hobby works, right? :P:D

Now to do all the processing and to see what comes out the other end of the sausage factory.

Cheers,
V

[Hans Tucker]

Well Melbourne weather has yet again given the proverbial middle finger for an Astronomical event, so I guess the Lunar Eclipse will be missed here. The irony is that tomorrow night is reported to be clear.

We just had rain, hail and flooding of biblical proportion .. ok .. I am being melodramatic, but you do need a canoe to traverse the water over the road. Time to consider moving back to Perth ... or sell all the Astro gear.

[AstroViking]

Perhaps not, Hans, perhaps not...

CloudFreeNight has this promising forecast for 21:00 tonight...

[Ryderscope]

Well at least it was clear in the Central West of NSW last night and made for great viewing of the lunar eclipse. No photography from me last night as I wanted to just enjoy the visual spectacle. Sometimes I feel that one just needs to get out from behind the lens and enjoy the view :stargaze: I did have a look at the eclipsed moon near totality through my 15 x 70 binoculars which was quite special. The darkened moon could be seen floating in space against a backdrop of stars which normally wouldn’t be visible due to the brightness of the full moon. It was really quite eerie how it looked to be just hanging there in space. I left the session feeling very pleased with myself :D

[LonelySpoon]

Fantastic night last night for me, at long last!

Went to the obs just after the eclipse started, spent time taking camera photos to share with the kids, 80km away in clouded-out Canberra.

Got the dome rotating in sync with the scope, although it went haywire and I had to go back to manual. At least I can get it to go 'home' by itself. This was the first time I've got that far.

Got NINA AF going gang-busters on the ZWO and ED80 refractor. Again, a first, with HFR of 2.3 and compliance of 9.7. Another first!

I got a lot of so-far unprocessed shots of Moon & Jupiter, then moved over to M42 and again, lovely imaging available for me to muck up:lol:.

Then I thought, The Horsey isn't far away, so had a shot at it. By now it was 2.00am and I was cold and tired, but it came out of the background in two 120s mono shots with the CE filter.

First time for that, too!

During the evening the dew came up, the cables got tangles and stopped the scope, the QHY cameras (OSC imager and mono guider) kept getting into arguments, Celestron focuser would drop out, dome slaving failed and I got cold.

Best night I've had for years!:party::party::party:

Neville Ex-admiral of LSO

[strongmanmike]

Loved reading that Admiral, read it twice actually, just to savour imagining being there with you, look fowardt to seeing your mucked up results :) I noted my CCTV camera at Eagleview was icing over, so, it must have been clear up there too :doh: I must install my Occulus Pro ASAP, so I can check the cky properly...lazy ******* I am...

Mike

[Boozlefoot]

Oh goody! Bucketing down again, and 100mm predicted next 24hrs. At last, an end to this extraordinarily incessant 4 day run of partial sunshine! :cloudy:

[mura_gadi]

Wet weather out to February now from the looks...

BoM Long term forecast -

December to February rainfall is likely (greater than 60% chance) to be above median for large parts of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and eastern Tasmania. Northern Queensland has at least twice the average chance of unusually high rainfall. Below median rainfall is likely for large parts of Western Australia and the western Top End.

[Rod-AR127]

I blame harmonic drives.
All I've been hearing is harmonic drives this, harmonic drives that.
I've had my SWSa GTi for about 2 months and l can't remember the last time l used it.
Still cloudy her in the west.

[strongmanmike]

:lol:....may as well laugh...:sadeyes:

Mike

[Boozlefoot]

Good news Mike! We only had 48mm, but the wind here now has blown my dog off his chain! Whinge and win!

[Crater101]

I'll see that and raise you...


I had to leave home quite early this morning. The attached image (from a camera 'phone, and illuminated by my lights) shows the space where the ford across the creek should be. If you look carefully at the far side of the waters edge, you'll see two rectangular shiny points. Those are the backs of the speed zone signs, that are almost two metres high...


The previous evening before the storm hit you could have walked across the ford and not gotten your feet wet! What the image cannot show is the sheer speed with which the water was moving.


It's not much different to that now as I type. I can't imagine how much rain we had last night...

[strongmanmike]

Bah!!, a trickle, just take a long run up and slam through it! Wooooosh! she be right mate....:lol:

No, no just kidding don't do that :eyepop:

Mike

[xelasnave]

I was very lucky last night as it was perfect.

Clear and dark no wind which was a huge surprise.

Everything worked perfectly and I was up all night and finally turned on the genny at 4 am so I could go thru the data from all three scopes...unfortunately by this time I was sortta fainting, presumably a negative effect from my meds, so I only did some ruff stacking in both Deep Sky Stacker and Astro Pixel Processor to get a feel for the returns on the effort...but I was losing control and starving so I turned off the genny and fell asleep..I only woke up a little while ago had four frozen sausages and a frozen coke and no signs of fainting at all now but I am going to try and get more sleep as it may be good tonight.

Alex

[Crater101]

Considering that it turned about a 30 minute trip into one that was well over an hour, I won't say the thought didn't cross my mind; but no - I've seen too many people come unstuck over the years.


And what's the weather like while I'm stuck at home this evening? Low overcast, of course...

:cloudy:

[strongmanmike]

Show off! :rolleyes:...you are a fighter Alex, Ill give you that!...and I hope you cooked the sausages and defrosted the coke before consuming them :scared2: :question: :lol:

Mike

[xelasnave]

The sausages were cooked but my little fridge freezes stuff rather fast...I am usually much better set up but been occupied so no pizza etc on hand.

Well I have pulled up rather well and it is another perfect night tonight with all three scopes running but I plan a two hour nap now and will have something to eat when I wake up ...I have the security cameras set up so I can feel comfortable being able to check on things while in bed...

Alex

[strongmanmike]

Ah good on ya La Nina, now you have been so kind as to deliver some snow this morning up at Eagleview, mid November, oh joooy... tooo the Wooorld, La Nina iiis come!....bloody La Nina, someone should blow La Nina's up! (Ted Bullpit C1983) :rolleyes:

A good chance of some clear skies up there Thurs and Fri at this stage...can only hope, I'll be waiting with my beast grrrrr, ready to pounce! :mad2:

Mike

[mura_gadi]

Its like bloody Melbourne here this morning...

10am, Hail
11am Snow
12pm Strong Sunshine

[strongmanmike]

Yeah crazy, at least it keeps things interesting...:sadeyes:

Mike

[Ryderscope]

The Clear Outside app is showing some signs of promise for the Bathurst area later tonight. Moon rise not until 02:05am.

Maybe - yes/no?

[strongmanmike]

Good luck mate :thumbsup:

For me up at Tinderry its Thursday night, thing is of course, different models say different things and that in itself drives me bloody spare... :rolleyes: :bashcomp:...luckily its a lovely place to go, so although that aspect is wearing a bit thin as a consolation for not being able to do astro...theeere is always stuff to do around the property during the day...which Saturday should be nice and sunny for...great.

Of course, if I spent a not insignificant amount more and made it (reliably, ie. its about a 70km drive away if anything goes wrong) fully remote, via the internet and setup my all sky camera, I could of course take advantage of many of the shorter clear periods that do occur up there, even in this current La Nina affected pattern in the SE of Oz...maybe necessity is the mother of invention (or makes one a thrill seeker and prepared to actually pose the question to the wife :scared2:), or something like that...:question:

Sigh....I fear I will just keep complaining about it, hoping that will make me feel better...:sadeyes: until an El Nino occurs and every night is clear again... :lol:

Mike

[mura_gadi]

can't beat a good live feed of weather satellites imo, you can make your own views on what's in store... esp. if you get sometime in on the visual display and what is actually is happening in your area to help correlate data to actual.

particulates and RH at various heights is a must imo.

[Ryderscope]

Hmmm, your forecast is looking ok so keeping fingers crossed for Thursday. I'm sure that the time will come when the full automation will happen and you will be able to enjoy the benefits of remote imaging. In the meantime, Eagleview has been a great project and I for one have been enjoying all of the pics.

[xelasnave]

It is clearing here so maybe later..but honestly I can't think straight because of irregular sleep and not much of it so a dud night would be ok..two nights in a row..I can feel the effect and I find myself just staring at something in a brain dead way...
But if it's clear I will be out there..never miss a chance...
Alex

[mura_gadi]

Alex, you've only got one life brother, take care of it...

[RB]

And Steve, you have a pants full of pebbles, be careful, don't go swimming.

:D

[Boozlefoot]

Clear as in Windeyer, West right down to your way. Yes!

[mura_gadi]

ok, so as a smoker of one of the better things about Canberra I am indeed a hypocritical S### ... but man, I can nail staring off into the distance!

[xelasnave]

Unfortunately it is not clearing.
I take care of myself plus I am indestructable...so no worries.
Alex

[strongmanmike]

Thanks Roddles, all good fun, even with all the whinging and whining :)

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Finally got some decent clear sky time last night, woohoo! Bout time! and it was DARK :D was great standing on the dome deck and looking at the 180 deg spread of the Milky Way hugging the horizon right around from Orion in the East, through Crux in the South and right around to Sagittarius in the West, looked amazing! It (well "I") was a bit slower than I would have liked, given the frustrated patience displayed in the last few months :rolleyes: and with some technical difficulties thrown in, of course :rolleyes:... but in the end I managed to gather 3 hrs of excellent data before the clouds rolled in around 2am, I was stocked :D. Best thing was, the seeing was fabulous again, that's three imaging sessions now, the first two were micro sessions really but all have revealed good seeing and last night was the best so far, very happy :cheers: It so far appears to be a good site, seeing wise, phew! after the many visual sessions enjoyed with my 12" Dob plus these three imaging sessions now, it would appear that the altitude does make a difference :prey: so far haven't experienced one night of bad or even average seeing really :shrug: (touch wood) :thumbsup:...just need La Nina to F-Off and it'll be hammer and tongs :)

Hope to get more data soon of course...fingers crossed...

Mike

[xelasnave]

Great news Mike ..it has been very enjoyable following you on your journey.
I am looking forward to your images.
Alex

[Ryderscope]

Excellent news Mike. Nothing like a beautiful clear night to lift the spirts I say :stargaze:

[strongmanmike]

Thanks guys :thumbsup: it was wonderful walking around the new dome while the gear inside finally got to do an actual sequence :scared: :lol: and as each 10min sub came down they just kept getting sharper, I think 0.84"/pix might not be a fine enough image scale any more, to get the best out of the seeing up here :shrug: can't believe it :prey2:

Mike

[Dave882]

Great to hear you’ve finally had some clear sky!! Guess you might just have to build another dome to house that CDK24 then :P

[Startrek]

Great news Mike
Makes all the hard work , effort and of course expense worthwhile when you score some good clear nights
Had a fantastic 1st year with my Dome in 2021 , 2022 has been abysmal, I’ve only imaged out the Dome 3 times all year , most of my time spent in Sydney
Getting back down the South Coast for new year and most of January
Fingers crossed La Niña is buggered off by then
Clear Skies
Martin

[LonelySpoon]

Thought about you last night Mike, as I settled in for my session.

It was such a good sky the thought was "surely THIS TIME for Mike!"

It was a great sky right across from you to me, apparently.


Looking forward to the shots now.

Neville
LSO

[xelasnave]

I openned up last night and was able to do some 120 second exposures which is a first for a long time. There was wind but clearly it has been moisture causing seeing problems here for months. Even at 30 seconds things were jumping all over the place in the past....Nevertheless a fog rolled in a midnight which given how my last all nighters just about destroyed me was a good thing as I closed up and went to bed...

Alex