Snake Valley Astronomy Camp - March 2008

[ballaratdragons]

Booking are now open for the SVAA's
6th Snake Valley Astronomy Camp

4 NIGHTS OF DARK SKY!!!!!!

Date: 7th - 11th March

Where: Snake Valley Camp, Snake Valley, western Victoria.

Accommodation: 12 Bunkhouses & HEAPS of camping space.

Bunkhouses range from 2 berth to 8 berth.
Camping is right on the observing field!

Guest Speaker: Well known Planetary/Solar Imager Paul Haese - Planetary/Solar Imaging: Capture and Processing

Once again we have been able to keep the Camp fees extremely low.

Bunkhouses (per person)
2 nights $30.00
3 nights $45.00
4 nights $59.00

Campsite (per person)
2 nights $28.00
3 nights $42.00
4 nights $55.00

Children under 5 y.o. – FREE

Power is available on the Observing Field.

In your post, please confirm the following:

1. definite booking?
2. how many in your group?
3. how many nights?
4. Bunkhouse or campsite?

Thank you
Ken James
SVAA

[rumples riot]

Obviously Ken I will be going. LOL

Put me down for a campsite this time as I want to take a tent.

[Louwai]

I'm in Ken.
Camp site for Fri & Sat nights only.

I'll also sponsor the event again with a donation of 2 drinking water filter units + 5yrs supply of replacement filters for each unit.
Retail value approx $600ea.

Cheers, Bryan

[ballaratdragons]

Onya Paul :thumbsup:

Thank you Bryan :) :thumbsup:

[Exfso]

Campsite for me Ken.

[mill]

Ken set aside a clean and good campsite for me please.
1 tent for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
1 person and the feast :) (jummy).

[Rob_K]

Looking forward to it, Ken!

At this stage:
1 person (me!)
Bunkhouse
Fri & Sat night (7th & 8th)

Thanks!

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Pedro :thumbsup:
See quote below :)

[Exfso]

Sorry Ken, 3 nights, Friday, Saturday and Sunday, campsite ...

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Pedro :thumbsup:

See you soon :)

[night-vision]

Count me in again Ken,
Camping Friday and Saturday nights.

Cheers

[niko]

Ken,

Angelina and I are in - bunkhouse all nights & feast. At this stage just the 2 of us but might also bring 2 kids - will confirm closer to the time.

cheers

niko

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Mick, Nick and Angelina.

Booked in :thumbsup:

[danielsun]

I'm there!!!:)
Kensun, can you please book me in a bunkhouse for the 4 nights and also if the Saturday night feast is on.;)

Cheers Daniel.

[ballaratdragons]

Excellent, Daniel.

Come on folks, lots of room left :thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

Time is getting closer. Better get those bookings in :thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

Still plenty of Bunkhouses and Camping Space left.

Time is getting close :thumbsup:

[Starkler]

Have you got the power company sorted yet Ken? :lol:

[erick]

Ouch! :rofl:

[ballaratdragons]

They will be :thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

So far we have:

Me
Ron
Margaret
Paul (Rumples)
Bryan (Louwai)
Peter (exsfo)
Tim (tnott)
Rob (RobK)
Martin (mill)
Phil (PhilW)
Mick (night-vision)
Nick (niko)
Angelina
Daniel (danielsun)
Peter (peterbat) and family
Eric (erick)

Plus local SVAA members.

Plenty of room, so come join the rest of us :thumbsup:

[Exfso]

Ken, you have me twice mate. Pedro / Exfso

[ballaratdragons]

Ahhhh, different names in different Forums :lol:

Fixed :thumbsup:

[peterbat]

Hi Ken,
This is a definite booking for 2 adults and 2 kids (8 and 10) for Friday and Saturday night.
Can we please get one of the 4 bed bunkhouses to ourselves?

Looking forward to the dark skies, and the Saturday evening banquet, which I missed at the last one.... :(

Peter

[magado]

I have tried to make conversation but nothing happens.Dont worry I love reading all the letters and comments etc. Will be going to the astro camp at snake valley 7to11 march 2008. magado

[ballaratdragons]

Excellent Peter. You are booked in :thumbsup:

See you very soon :)



Yep, already got you booked in :thumbsup: Hopefully see you and Ron next club night too (Feb 8th) :)

[ballaratdragons]

Only 4 1/2 Weeks To Go Folks!

Book Now!!!!!

:thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

I have been informed by the CFA ladies that they have a minimum quota for catering.

We still have not reached that quota yet, and as such, if we do not reach the CFA catering quota, there will be no Saturday Night Feast.

The Money raised by the Saturday Night Feast goes to the CFA so we can have better equipment on our Fire Trucks.

Come on folks. Not only do you get to enjoy 4 nights are beautiful dark sky, you get to help the CFA.

There is heaps of camping space and some bunkhouses still available.

[niko]

I'll eat 2 dinners if it helps!

;)

[peterbat]

Sorry Ken, we've had to cancel. I'll pm you with the details.
Looking forward to the next one :mad2:
Peter

[Hagar]

Hi Ken, Looks like I will bae able to make it. I will be on my own and will be camping for the 4 nights. I will be at the feast if it is a goer.

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Doug :thumbsup:

Booked in :)

I don't care if we don't get enough bookings, I am ordering the feast anyway. It is too good to miss out on. If we lose a bit of $$$ I don't care. At least the CFA will get their money, and those that attend will have a great feast.

[Starkler]

Ken count me at this stage as a maybe :)

[rumples riot]

Ken if we have a lack of numbers why not just bill us more for the feast, that way the ladies still get the money they need and we still get a value meal?

[Stephen65]

Ken please put me down as a probable for Friday and Sat nights in a bunkhouse and the feast.

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks for the suggestion Paul, but I like to keep the camp cheap for all. The CFA ladies will get their money :thumbsup:

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Geoff.

Maybe which nights?
Maybe Bunkhouse or Camping?
Maybe Saturday Night Feast?

[ballaratdragons]

A probable booking has been noted :thumbsup:

[EzyStyles]

arh gees, till next time guys, going away that long weekend... :(

[danielsun]

Hi Ken ,I'm also happy to pay extra to get the feast going if need be.;)

[Rob_K]

Ditto....

[Hagar]

It's my wedding aniversary and I am going ALONE. Definitely no brownie points for me.

[goober]

I'll be there Saturday and Sunday nights. Mrs. Goober may attend, if I can coax her out of the off site accommodation :)

[Rob_K]

Great news Doug - it'll be good to meet you!

Cheers -

[goober]

Absolutely, Rob! We can set up next to each other and giggle at the monster scopes!

[Rob_K]

Good idea Doug! We'll set up a Cannon-Free-Zone! ;)

Cheers -

[desler]

Hey all,

As a non member of the SVAA, Is there any chance of popping up and camping on Saturday night.

We've never camped before or been to a dark sky site but have just began acquiring various camping items. We would greatly enjoy the chance to come along, meet some of you and learn a little!

Can someone provide some info to a newbie as to how this all works.


Darren :)

[mill]

But afcourse Darren everyone is welcome :)
Payment is easy and not much.
You can also come to the saturday night feast if you want.
You have to provide your own food coffee etc for the days you camp.
The kitchen has all the utensils and pans.
Be happy to see you.
Cheers Martin
Ps just confirm the saturday night feast if you want to be there.
And go here for some more info: http://snake-valley-astro.000webhost.info/welcome.html

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Darren, all relevant info sent in PM :thumbsup:

[goober]

Darren,

I'm in your shoes - I've never been, so I'll be blundering about not knowing what I'm doing too. I think don't drive in with your headlights on is the main no-no :)

[erick]

Just note, if your shoes are wet, it's not dew, you've just walked into the lake in the dark! :D

[Stephen65]

Driving out with them on after everyone has got nicely dark-adapted is frowned upon too! After a few hours in darkness car headlights are so bright they hurt.

[ballaratdragons]

ALL BUNKHOUSES ARE NOW BOOKED OUT

Plenty Of Campsites Still Available :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Louwai]

Ken, I'm going to have to cancel Sat night. :mad2:

But still will be there Friday night. :) I'm leaving work at midday so after I get home & load the car I should get there around 5ish.

I'm happy to pay for the Sat night camping & feast as I'm cancelling only a few days before.

[h0ughy]

good luck with the weather and the camp Ken

[Louwai]

Ken, Being lazy & not looking thru all of the posts, Can you please tell me the street address of the camp site & possibly the GPS co-ords.

I have a couple of visitors heading up on friday night & just want to give them good directions.

Bryan

[erick]

Bryan

About 3km south of the Snake Valley main drag, on the road to Linton.

37 deg 38 min 25 sec S
143 deg 35 min 22 sec E

Snake Valley is 20 min drive SW of Ballarat.

Map to find SV is on this page:- http://snake-valley-astro.000webhost.info/location.html

Ignore the club site map - Camp is not there.

Edit:- found some maps (attached)

[PhilW]

Last time I drove there, Ken's crew had put some very helpful signs along Carngham Rd as well.

[night-vision]

Sorry Ken I'm going to have to cancel, let me know if I owe you any money for booking a camp spot for two days.

Cheers

[ballaratdragons]

No Mick, no cancellation fee.

Just a pity you'll miss it.

[night-vision]

I know dark sky's for a couple of nights, I was going to try and defend my win of last years weight toss too. :)

[Rob_K]

Here's some data generated for Snake Valley over the weekend (Eastern Daylight Saving Time of course, UT +11):

SATELLITES:

Iridium flares:

7 Mar: mag –8, 8:13:58pm, 48˚ alt at 186˚ (S), Iridium 31
8 Mar: mag –3, 8:07:49pm, 50˚ alt at 185˚ (S), Iridium 33
9 Mar: mag –8, 5:59:10am, 50˚ alt at 323˚ (NW), Iridium 22
10 Mar: mag –3, 5:43:07am, 49˚ alt at 322˚ (NW), Iridium 25

ISS passes:

9 Mar: mag 0.4, 13˚ alt SSE, 9:31pm (short path, disappears at this time)
10 Mar: mag 0.4, 17˚ alt SSW, 9:52pm (very short path, disappears at this time)


PLANETS: (NB - details for night of 8/9 March):

Evening planets:

Mars, 26˚ alt at 9:00pm, getting lower. Sets at 1:00am (flat horizon)
Saturn, 17˚ alt at 9:00pm, rises to maximum of about 40˚ at around 12:50am

Morning planets:

Jupiter rises at about 2:15am, reaching about 42˚ alt at 6:00am;
Mercury rises at about 5:05am, reaching just under 10˚ alt at 6:00am;
Venus rises at about 5:20am, reaching about 7˚ alt at 6:00am.

MOON:

New Moon: Saturday 8 Mar, 4:14am

7/8 (New Moon)
8/9 (Not visible – sets with sun)
9/10 At sunset (7:50pm), the 1.8 day old moon will be well to the north of the sun, but only 6.5˚ vertically above it. Hence very difficult to see, even if a flat W horizon was available at SV.


Sources: Heavens Above & Starry Night.

Can hardly wait!! :D

Cheers -

[goober]

Thanks Rob. I just checked the forecast - mid 30's and "fine" for Ballarat for Saturday/Sunday.

[erick]

Aaarrrgh! Don't say it - I've been resisting lest it tempt the anti-astronomy gods!

[Stephen65]

My leave pass came through, I can go from probable to definite Ken

[ballaratdragons]

Thanks Stephen, you are booked in. :thumbsup:

[Rob_K]

A big thanks to Ken, Darren & the rest of the SVAA for putting on another great astro camp! :thumbsup: Thoroughly enjoyed my two nights there, and only sorry I couldn't stay the distance!

Here's a few photos from the camp: Sat night feast, and a few shots around the observing field.

Cheers -

[goober]

Great shots, Rob.

A photo of all the laser pointers firing at the SCP would be great too. I'm sure the Sigma Octanids are launching their retaliation strike force right now!

[danielsun]

What a top weekend!!!! As well as great weather and excellent skies for astronomy it was also great to see all the faces again and some new ones.
Thanks heaps to Ken and Darren for there usual efforts in organising such a great event, and Darren for all his huge technical and computer help in getting my laptop sorted and a big thanks to Pete (Pedro) also for his help and everyone else for making it such a great weekend!!
The Saturday night feast was yummy, days were warm and skies were clear with a great crowd!!
For a good weekend you cannot ask for much more.

Cheers Daniel.

[Hagar]

A fantastic weekend, a real pitty it is my first and have missed the others. A great bunch of like minded people who were more than happy to mingle and share equipment. I really would like to thank Ken for his work to put on the weekend. Everything he promissed and a bit more.

[desler]

Our first camp and star party, what a blast. Ken the consumate host and like minded people to share their exerience and expertiese.

Thanks Hagar, for the tutorial on Registax that you gave to me and Margaret on Saturday, a real eye opener into your impressive imaging talents.

Erick, who enthralled my wife with his dark sky observations and provided his valuable seeing time in conducting tours of his camp and equipment. I really liked the home made / adapted products and his introduction to Binocular astronomy.

Ken, for the Toucam tips and the overall friendly and encouraging welcome. We will be back!

and finally Darren, no the other one! who kept me entertained with his modified 12 inch dob and extensive knowledge base.

As for the seeing, after the clouds had past, I was literally beside myself. I spent a fair bit of the evening just staring up. I really couldn't put into words the difference a dark sky makes!

To everyone else we got to meet and spend some time with, Breanna and I both say thanks for a great weekend.

Darren :D