IISAC2008 Reports!

[h0ughy]

it is cloudy, hot and this is the only shots I got - -it is still going i have other things to attend to at the moment

[Octane]

David,

That is AWESOME!

Exposure details?

Regards,
Humayun

[Jen]

:eyepop: wow thats a cool pic
well im guessing there will be a few drinks happening then if the clouds are about cheers :thumbsup:

[Ric]

Great image Houghy, hope those skies stay cloud free.

Cheers

[bones]

How's it going up there? I've been laying low lately but I couldn't make it this year - too much on at the moment. As for the latest here, we've had nothing but clouds, showers, and more clouds. I hope the viewings better up there. The last time I checked the forecast aint looking much better here till Wednesday. I hope to catch up with some at the Pony Club in December. Ciao 4 now.

[Matty P]

Got back from Lostock today. I only spent 2 days there and was unfortunately clouded out both nights.

On Thursday the clouds cleared up at around midnight and stayed clear for only 2 hours. I didn't have my scope setup at the time but I know a couple of people started imaging then. Mike (iceman) got a lovely image of the Horsehead nebula. :D

Overall, I had a really great time and it was great putting faces to names. Definitely looking forward to the camp next year.

:thumbsup:

[hector]

Houghy how many images make up your startrail? Have you stitched them into a movie???? I am glade you got some observing in. Hope you all had fun
Andrew

[gary]

It was great to see you all at Lostock again yesterday and we look
forward to seeing you again soon.

Special thanks to Mike and all the volunteers for all the organization and
hard work they put into the event.

Though we lucked-out with the weather, everyone seemed to be having a great
time socializing. I know we did!

For those of you who made extraordinarily long journeys to be there, as far as from
Victoria and the Northern Territory, well done and we hope your returned trips
brought you home safely.

Once again, great to see you all and we had a lot of laughs chin-wagging with you!

Best regards

Gary & Mai
Mt. Kuring-Gai NSW

[Tilt]

Agreed :thumbsup:

I had a great time even though I didn't get any observing done (clouds/drizzle/showers), it was still well worth the trip up from Canberra to meet up with others.

Roll on IISAC2009.

Michael

[Tilt]

IISAC2008. Patiently waiting for the clouds to clear.

[Omaroo]

Just a quick thanks to the organisers of IISAC 2008. I had a great time, met old friends and lots of new people. Faces to names was the order of the day :)

We only managed 2 and a bit hours of clear sky for the whole stay, so the Tak stayed indoors most of the time, but the camera found this new constellation - I'm looking for a name for it. :thumbsup:

Monte, Karen, Maria, Dave, Leanne, Mark, Zane, Guy, Ian, Kevin, Mike, Mike, Andrew, Doug, Enrique, Rob and others visiting the imaging area - thanks for the company and your friendliness. :hi:

A cloudy and wet field at IISAC.

[GTB_an_Owl]

Well - the Owl is back on his normal roost
knackered as usual after one of these events
pity about the weather, but managed to see quite a few "Toohey's Brown Dwarfs" with the help of the neighbors.
i still had a memorable time - as you should do - for it is not called a "Party" for nothing

thanks to my neighbors who put up with me - thoroughly enjoyed your company and the assistance rendered in construction and de-construction of "The Pavillion" - so far a "PRIVATE" highlight of the trip - but i am sure will reach the masses

my apologies to the Central Coast crew who i didn't get enough time to socialise with as we normaly would do - hope you all got home ok

i think i was about 2nd last to leave - only Jacob behind me - hope you didn't get stuck in there again like last year Jacob

thanks to Mike and crew for the organising and running of the event again, and i look forward to attending again next year

geoff

[h0ughy]

about 34 2 minute shots iso 800 pentax k10D - and see the zip file in the same post for the movie

fun - no :sadeyes: killed scope and mount

[iceman]

I got home about 1pm, and everything is now unpacked and back in its usual home. Great to see Kate and the kids again after being away for 3 nights.

Excellent star trail shot Dave! And I love the IISAC red light torch shot, Chris :)

I'll write more tonight or tomorrow morning.

[AlexN]

Yeah, that IISAC shot is great... I had considered doing this at Barambah dark sky camp... But can you imagine writing B A R A M B A H with a torch... and trying to get it all straight... :)

Nice work Chris...

[cookie8]

Back home safely from the IISAC. The weather god hasn't been kind this time round. Only 3 hours of clear sky all up(during 2 of which I was asleep :mad2:). However still have a good time retreating to the country;socialising and meeting people especially putting faces( and age) to their names.:) The talks were great too! Here is a photo from this am which pretty much sums up what the weather's has been like.

[Big Dave]

Had a good time meeting everyone up there, shame about the weather but worth the trip from Melbourne anyway. 'Imaging hill' was a lot of fun and enjoyed the chats around Cris's camp.

Staying at Goulburn tonight - the trip is slower home because of the extra weight gained on the last night! ;)

Thanks again to Mike and the organisers (and the sponsors!) and hope next year is as much fun, but with a little more viewing.

Cheers,
Big Dave, Leanne and lucky Jamie....

:):):):):):):):):):)

[h0ughy]

great shots chris - LOL i am sitting at the front of the subaru waiting and sulking because i couldnt image because of the scope, not long after that I got out the pentax and did the star trails. the funny thing is i actually saw the red light moving up on the hill;) if you look at the movie you will see the movement you guys were up to

[Omaroo]

hehe :thumbsup: Lucky Jamie indeed Dave :)

Score:

1 x York Optical 80ED with 10:1 and rings

1 x DMK single-shot colour CCD camera

1 x Fruit Platter courtesy of the local firies.

The luckiest family there! LOL! Great to see - couldn't have happened to a nicer family! :party2:

Safe trip home guys!

[sheeny]

I too have made it home safe and well.

I must say, that despite the weather I enjoyed it very much.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

It was great to catch up with people again, and to put a few more faces to the names.:)

I got the scope set up on Thursday night, but ran out of stars:rolleyes:... so it stayed under tarp the rest of the weekend. The waterhole was beautiful as always, especially with the spa!;) I must thank all those people who helped build the rock wall:thumbsup:.

Saturday was cooler and kept a lot of people out of the water, but it was good conditions for exploring and doing some (terrestrial) photography. I've attached a quick pano of the view from my camp site.

It was all good fun. Looking forward to next year;).

Al.

[Omaroo]

Wow! The movie shows it for sure! LOL!!! Well captured!!!!!

Really sorry to hear about the carnage David. News spread up the hill to the imaging area and we all felt really bad for you. What an 'orrible thing to happen. Is anything going to take minimal effort to set right?

:sadeyes:

[Omaroo]

LOL! I thought that the sluice was set up by the locals - not you guys!

We do that on our place to keep carp from swimming upstream. The trout can make it through but the carp can't fight the current. It's quite a common sight right up and down the Murrumbidgee near us.

[ausastronomer]

Due to family issues I could only get there on Saturday, but it was great to catch up with some familiar faces, many of whom I hadn't seen since IISAC 2007, over 18 months ago.

I am looking forward to IISAC 2009 and hopefully the weather Gods smile on us next year.

Cheers,
John B

[h0ughy]

not sure - took it to northern instruments and they said they had no expertise to correct the triplet:sadeyes::sadeyes: So will be asking around the traps on monday - may even take it to sydney tomorrow? as for the eq5pro - that is now on its way to Bintel melbourne

[h0ughy]

Gary thank you for the serial connectors I got them from Alan this afternoon:thumbsup: I did miss catching up with you and Mai

[tornado33]

What happened??? was some gear damaged on the trip up there?
Scott

[RB]

Well what a wonderful time we had at Lostock !
I got home around lunch time to a big reception from my family, which I missed terribly but then had to get stuck straight back into work after being away for so long.
I'll have to post photos tomorrow when I get some time but for now I really just want to thank everyone for the wonderful company.

I was so looking forward to meeting friends from the forum that I hadn't met in person before.
It was a pleasure to meet Chris (Omaroo), Monte, Al Sheeny, Fred (Bassnut), madwayne, JohnG, Doug (Hagar), Vincent (cookie8), Matty P, and many many others.

And of course all my regular group of friends that just make the star party an exception event for me each time (too many to name but you know who you are !) :P

Lastly a big thank you to Mike for all the effort he puts in to organising the event and to the sponsors and guest speakers, Rev Bob Evens, Simon O'Toole, Gary Kopff & John Bambury.

Can't wait for IISAC 09 !!!

:2thumbs:

[seeker372011]

was there only for one night and despite the weather, glad I made it just to catch up with people

oh and at 4 am this morning it cleared up and the Pleaides sparkled in the sky -as they must have when old Tennyson waxed lyrical about this cluster-swear I could see nebulosity

all too soon it got light though
Narayan

[Astrod00d]

What a great time we had at IISAC 2008! Many thanks to Mike and all the others who put so much effort into bringing together such a great event.

It was a pleasure to put a face to the names of so many people. Still more to catch up with though... Looking forward to IISAC 2009!:)

Attached is the only image I managed to get this weekend - a single 5-minute sub of the Horsehead and Flame. A bit noisy but hey what can you do with 5 minutes? :lol:

Cheers,

Rob

[h0ughy]

well during the balancing routune when setting up. the 127ED, the 80mm guide scope and the finder scope and diagonal fell off the head of the mount - landed heavily on the ground destroying the finder scope and the 2" dielectric diagonal, dinted the tripod legs. the moonlight focuser was damaged as well. the scope currently sees double and needs collimation. i think I can live with the focuser - though the option of sending it back to be repaired is on the agenda. too add to this the eq5 pro that I lent Alan packed it in witha horrible grinding noise. that is off to Roger Davis in Melbourne to fix for me hopefully?:sadeyes::sadeyes::sadeye s::sadeyes:

[Deeno]

Hey All!!

Amanda and I had just the best time at what was our 2nd IIASC and third ever star party.
Always great to catch up with everyone and see what they actually look like in daylight!
And what a privilege it is to meet and put faces to some of the fascinating and interesting characters who lurk within the pages of IceInSpace.

Thanks Mike and to all involved who organized the weekend...

See ya next year
Deeno

[Omaroo]

That's a great start you got there Rob - nicely framed and if it's uncropped, a great FOV. :thumbsup:

[Matty P]

For only one 5 minute sub Rob it looks fantastic. :thumbsup:

I forgot to mention that it was great meeting up with everyone and I will definitely get around more next time to meet others at IISAC 09. :)

A big thanks to Mike and everyone else involved to make this camp run smoothly.

See you all next year.

[spacezebra]

Hi all

What great five days! As always it was excellent to catch up with fellow Iceinspacers.

We are a little tired at the moment and will post more later.

Cheers Petra d.

[acropolite]

Sounds like a great time was had by all, sorry to hear about the misfortune with your gear Dave, I wish I had been able to attend, maybe next time....:sadeyes:

[gaa_ian]

I had a great time and just made it to Syd Airport, literally at the last minute,
Next time I will allow 5.5 hrs to get to the AP !
Enjoyed the great company there and my son is already asking about next year.
It was a bonus to get an hour of viewing on the last morning too.
Thanks Mike and all the people who made this event possible.

[madwayne]

It sure was a great event and so nice to meet a heap of the wonderful people that make Ice in Space what it is. Was the weather bad? I didn't even notice it.

Houghy, good luck with getting your kit back in order. It sure put a dampener on our weekend to hear about your misfortune.

Congratulations to Mike and the team for giving up their time, knowledge and expertise to make this event run like clockwork.

And finally to Big Dave and family, particularly Little Jamie, congratulations on scooping the pool in the prize draws.

Great time had by all and see you next year, and to the Pony Club crew hopefully I can get up there one of these nights. Might have to be when RB isn't around, he wafts some strange smells when the sun goes down :rofl:.

Best regards and hopefully some clear skies.

Wayne

[h0ughy]

thanks for your condolences Wayne:thumbsup:

[RB]

Oh you're a funny funny guy ! (literally ! LOL) :lol:

[C.A.L.]

Thanks Mike, and to everyone who helped out. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet some fantastic people from virtually almost all corners of Australia. I’ll definitely be back next year.

Hope you all got home safe!

Cheers,
Cathi

Here are some cool people cooling off in the swimming hole…

[GTB_an_Owl]

thats a very nice photo Cathi :whistle:

geoff

[Rick Petrie]

First time at Lostock for Lyn and I and will definitely be coming back for more. Great to meet up with some of the personalities from IIS and soak in the atmosphere of such a scenic country hideaway (how's the serenity?) and see the potential for nice skies.(albeit only a few hours exposure this time)
Congratulations to Mike and all who put the function together. :thumbsup:
Bring on 2009.
Cheers
Rickapoody:)

[gmbfilter]

Great shot Cathi.

Had a great time at my first star party looking for the next one
Special to Mike it was brilliant.
Special thanks also to peterau for helping set up mount and the loan of his heq5pro!

Deeno, toes on left foot still tingle, should I worry?

[xstream]

Anna and I arrived home about an hour ago need to finish unpacking and organise everything so we can head down to Melb. tomorrow. (It's safe and ready Dave, I'll give it to Roger on Wednesday :thumbsup:) We'll post some pics and more later today or tonight.
Sure was a great 5 days regardless of the weather!

[shredder]

Well we had a great time in spite of the weather. Didnt quite get to meet as many of you as I would have likes, but it was nice just to get out and get some fresh air.

Also managed this fantastic shot of the infamous "Snake Nebula". As you can see the colours came through fantasticly... very vidid dark patches, and highlight areas...

Bet you didnt know this fellow was lurking ...

[Dennis]

Hi Dave

So sorry to hear about the accident – it must have been quite a shock at the time. No doubt you must have looked on with disbelief, much as I did when a German tourist ran into our car at the Green Mountains camp site in Lamington National Park.:(

Our Subaru was parked in the designated parking bay, the only car there, when a German tourist and his mates drove in on the peripheral ring road. It seems that at the last minute, he decided to pull into the parking bay park next to us, hit his brakes, skidded 5 metres on the gravel then hit the front passenger side of our Subaru.:(

I was sitting quietly at our tent (on the drivers side) when I heard the scrunching of gravel followed by a dull thud as he hit. I initially though “I must be dreaming, that did not just happen”.

The empty space around our car was almost the size of an Olympic swimming pool.
Our car was backed right into the designated parking bay, the only vehicle there.
There were no other vehicles in the vicinity.
There were no obstructions; the camp site is a huge, open space.
The skies were blue; the sun was shining.
He couldn’t have done a better job even if there had been a homing beacon on our vehicle and he was being automatically guided towards it.
The grazing pademelons shook their heads in disbelief.

There were 3 young tourists and the driver got out his insurance certificate immediately and I took his details, still in a state of disbelief. I took a photo of the skid marks and they look like the smoking trail of a guided missile that had locked onto the Subaru.:shrug:

There was some cosmetic damage to the side of the front bumper and he may also have hit the front wheel, so we reported it to the insurance company and now await the tedious investigation and repair process.

What kept me from really going off at the guy was that I figured as daft as it does look, accidents do happen and although it appeared that he intentionally drove into our vehicle, the only car within 100 meters, in a huge open space, I’m sure he didn’t really mean to do so. No body was hurt although they looked quite shocked as they got out of their car.

I reported it to the Park Wardens and one of them said that a few weeks ago a guy had hit him, then got out of the car with a big tyre lever and threatened him! At least the German driver fessed up.

Cheers

Dennis

[h0ughy]

thanks John - I have rang ahead.

I dropped (not literally) the 127ED into astro optical today, so I am hoping it will be ready within a few weeks - a good excuse to go to sydney and collect then to go back to the Pony club and test out:shrug:

[strongmanmike]

Here are a few photos from IISAC

We had a great time dispite the weather :thumbsup: even if it wasn't too astronomical :sadeyes:...lots of drinking though :D

http://www.pbase.com/strongmanmike2002/iisac_2008

Hope next year gives better weather.

Mike

[h0ughy]

ouch!! i hope it can be fixed

[h0ughy]

i have some video to give you Mike;)

[GTB_an_Owl]

did i hear that right ? - testing at the pony club ?

have to make sure we get the grass manicured and the floor swept then :whistle:

geoff

[GTB_an_Owl]

and it should be the xmas party nite as well Dave

geoff

[strongmanmike]

awwww..com'on, post a little trailer of the event on IIS - bet there are some interesting and funny bits? :lol:

Mike

[RB]

I'll bring some mattresses so we can lay them around Houghy's mount.

:scared3:

[Jen]

Sounds like you all had a great weekend :thumbsup:
Sorry to hear about your misfortune though Dave ((hugs))

[iceman]

Nice photos Mike!

[h0ughy]

yep an anti gravitational field would be nice:lol:

[h0ughy]

as you should for royalty:rofl::whistle:

[h0ughy]

might have to youtube them - never done that :shrug:

[spacezebra]

Some pics from IISAC08....

What are Geoff and John doing.....?


49625 49626 49627 49628 49629 49630



Cheers Petra d.

[RB]

LOL nice captures Petra. ;) :whistle:

Didn't they read the warning label that the tent is childproof? :doh:

[spacezebra]

More Pics

A man and his van

49633 49634

and deals done out of the boot of a car!

49635 49636

Cheers Petra d.

[Hagar]

Great event but one hell of a long trip. Thanks to Mike and all the volunteers for make the weekend worth the trip. Next time Mike, put in an order for clear skies. You must have connections. "mikesalway.com"

[sheeny]

A sequence of 3 shots of Ian and Luke (did I get that right?) skipping stones...

Sports mode let me capture the sequence at short notice but the continuous focus wasn't a good option (since focus changed as I panned)...:P hence the photos aren't that good but it's always good to see a dad and his son sharing some quality time.:thumbsup: Skipping stones is important!

Al.

[Omaroo]

A shot of me & gear, chomping dinner down waiting for the clouds to clear by Dig Dave. Thanks Dave :)

[GTB_an_Owl]

John and i were working up a thirst Petra

so i could get rid of all those "brown dwarfs" that i found in my trailer :whistle: :cheers:

geoff

[Jen]

Some nice pics coming in but hey im waiting for the funny stories who was the drunkest did anyone trip over there tent or go skinny dipping :D did anyone sleep in somone elses tent :lol::lol::lol: did u all watch the sun come up c'mon guys there has gotta be some stories to tell while the clouds were around :lol:;):thumbsup:

[GTB_an_Owl]

and by the look on Dave (h0ughy) in those shots Petra - a very good deal

what did he offload to YOUR Dave then ? :whistle:

[erick]

Building a 10m truss?

[Dennis]

Ha – now that looks even funnier than those at the Qld Astrofest 2008 who were trying to get a dunny tent back into its original cover!

Cheers

Dennis

[GTB_an_Owl]

Dennis - those were pics from thursday
wait till you see fridays effort - if some horrible person is game to publish them :evil2:

geoff

[GTB_an_Owl]

oh! - and we had a dunny tent experience - but no-one was quick enough to get it on film

just let me say that it was someone who should have had practice at it at Qld :whistle: but took an awful long time to get it back in the bag

geoff

[h0ughy]

wisdom and advice - -what you don't believe that - OK i was showing him some nice gadgets;)

[h0ughy]

:rofl:

[RB]

Jen this is a family forum, if you want to know what goes on you must attend IISAC. :lol:

BTW Mike Salway did make Mr February on the calender this year and he was showing everyone the page. :whistle: :lol:

[h0ughy]

i think i was MR August;)

[RB]

:doh: Yes indeed, Houghy was Mr August !!!

Jen you have to attend the next one, LOL I'm sick of all these males in the calender. :rofl:

[sheeny]

I don't think it was that sort of party:whistle::lol:...

I think it was Friday night (I think:shrug:). I was really tired for some reason and went to bed straight after dinner. We had a little tarp strung up on the western end of the palatial entertainment area. I had some truoble getting to sleep (or so I thought!) due to the wind... it sounded ferocious outside, and I was concerned for the safety of my scope and stuff...

Then I was awoken by this horrendous noise! I think I actually said something like "What the ... was that?" as I woke up. My initial thoughts were a tornado ripping through the campsite, then a run away vehicle running over a scope:eyepop:

It turned out to be Deeno opening the sliding door on his van...:rofl:

Later the sound of the wild winds outside got the better of me and I got up and realised they weren't that bad:whistle:. It was just that little tarp flapping in the breeze... so that was pulled down and packed up and I ended up visiting Deeno, Geoff, Fred and RB next door for a 3 hour chat...:)

Al.

[Jen]

:lol::lol::lol:
lol RB ok if Mike was Mr February who was Mr June cause there is something there that is very small or was it just very cold LMAO :rofl::rofl::rofl:
ok i hear Mr January is pretty hot im there next year :lol::thumbsup::P
:D

[Jen]

OH bugger :doh: well im not coming next year then :lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
:wink2::evil2::evil:

:D

[iceman]

Well now i've got a bit of time to organise my thoughts a bit more after winding down from IISAC2008..

Where to start!? It was a lot of fun.. In my opinion, star parties should be first and foremost about fun - about meeting likeminded people, about socialising, about making new friends, and reacquanting with old friends that you might only see once or twice a year at a star party.

For me, IISAC2008 achieved that.

Yes, clear skies would've been nice. We were certainly blessed with clear skies (and a fantastic comet) in 2007 and 2006. But I don't think it put a downer on the event - at least not too much :) After all, it's the hobby we choose - we're always at the mercy of the weather, and when you run an event like this you have to set the date and then hope for clear skies!

Being an online community, IceInSpace has members spread far and wide across the country and across the world. There are local groups that get together for observing nights, or that get together at their local astronomical society meets - but once a year it's fantastic to get a large group from the IceInSpace community together with a single purpose, a common goal and a love for all things astronomy.

I arrived early on Thursday morning and met a few who had arrived on Wednesday to help set things up, including John and Anna, Al and Lyn, h0ughy and the family, and Dave and Petra. It had been raining all day Wednesday so everything was pretty soggy but it fined up to a nice day and dried things out. The afternoon got fairly busy as people started arriving. The guys who came to setup the marquee were running late after having a blowout on the freeway, and the slightly sloping ground played havoc with the canvas in the runners. They certainly earnt their delivery fee that day.
I hadn't set up my scope because of the likelihood of rain but as the afternoon wore on it was clear that the rain wasn't a threat anymore so I took some time out from behind the registration desk to setup my tent, setup the scope and socialise. Thanks to David for manning the desk for me!

The sun set with relatively clear skies - enough to start drift aligning. I was able to get it pretty much as accurate as I have patience for before the clouds came back again. I was keen to image the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) and I did see it naked eye befor ethe clouds came, but when it came time to image it, clouds spoiled my plans. It was clouded over for the next 2-3 hours so I spent some time down on the camping field with some friends and some alcohol. Geoff, as he always does, predicted clear skies at midnight - and at 11:30pm when the sky was almost clear we were beginning to get excited. By 12am the sky was crystal clear and the alcohol quickly wore off as I walked back up to my scope (why did I choose the top of the hill!!) and prepared to start imaging.

Orion was rising nicely now and after capturing M42/M43 the week before, this time I set out to capture the flame and horsehead nebula as I had borrowed Chris Wakeman's modded 350D. I was capturing the first photons after about 20 minutes and setup a run that would image to about 4:30am. Unfortunately the clouds came back around 2am and cut the run short, but I was able to get 42 minutes of great data (image here). Apparently it did clear again between 3 and 4 but was a bit patchy. I was just happy to get the data I did, as we weren't sure if that was going to be the only clear skies of the star party (turns out it practically was).

Friday was another great day. Very hot and very windy. I did some processing of the data from the night before, spent some time in the lovely swimming hole, which was just the right temperature (not too hot, not too cold). Luckily the marquee was tied down very securely, because it almost blew away a few times with those gusty winds. Geoff (Owl) had a horrible time trying to secure his stall down on the camping field :)
Simon O'Toole's talk on extra-solar planets was most fascinating - it's a subject i'm very interested in and he explained it all very well, at a level that everyone could understand the process, the methods and the outcomes for the research he's undertaking at the AAT.

Friday night was cloudy for the most part, with teasing sucker holes which closed up just as quickly as they came. I personally had an awesome night sitting around the "camp fire" (a red light) with John and Anna, Rod and his kids, Dave and Petra, Geoff, Simon O'Toole, Mike Sidonio, Bob Evans, Jakob, and more. It was just a great time chatting, laughing, laughing some more, telling stories and learning more about each other.

Saturday was cloudy and about 15 degrees cooler than Friday, so the water hole didn't get much of a workout. A fairly relaxing morning was followed by the afternoon activities including the lucky door prize, group photo (inside the marquee, thanks to the rain!), the talk by John Bambury and Gary Kopff (during dinner), and followed by Bob Evans talk and slideshow into the night (it was cloudy!).

More sitting around the camp-fire on Saturday night, with chocolate, chips and conversation. I headed to bed at around midnight and was woken on a cold Sunday morning by Vincent (cookie8) making noise around his scope. I thought he was packing up to go home, but luckily Ian (gaa_ian) walked by and spoke to him about clear skies - so out I popped, into the freezer suit and took in 30 minutes of nice clear skies before morning twilight came all too soon. Orion overhead and Eta Carinae in the South was a lovely sight. Apparently it cleared around 4am, but all too late for most people.

The site was cleaned and ready to go by around 10ish on Sunday morning, and I finally got out of there around 10:30am. Like the previous 2 years, the first 15 minutes of the drive home was a very emotional time - a huge sigh of relief, a huge weight lifted, and a quiet time of reflection on the all the goings on of the previous 3-4 days.

I arrived home at around 1pm, happy to see Kate and the kids after 3 nights being away from home.

My head-space is already occupied with some initial planning for IISAC2009 - what to do differently, what to do the same, how to run it better, how to organise it better, when to have it etc. I'm already excited about the opportunities that the next 12 months will bring.

Thanks to everyone who helped make IISAC2008 a success, including the organising committee, the guest speakers, the vendors and sponsors, the Gresford/Lostock Rural Fire Brigade and to everyone who came along and brought their high spirits, in-spite of the low weather.

I look forward to more great fun next year!

Below is the group photo taken on the Saturday afternoon in the marquee.

Here's the 1200px wide shot:
IISAC2008 (http://www.mikesalway.com.au/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-809)

[h0ughy]

nice repot Mike - looks like I missed out on heaps. I wished I could have stayed?

[RB]

There's also a thread which I've posted with some photos of some of the attendees.
If you'd like to see them you can view the pics here:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?p=377939#post377939

:)

[Jen]

:clap::clap: nice report Mike i love the group photo :thumbsup:

[circumpolar]

Nice shot(s).
Yes Ian & Luke is correct.
I had a few goes at skipping stones but had to retire early due to a minor hyperextention of my arm .:doh:I often over do it. :screwy:

[sheeny]

Yeah, I know the problem... been known to do it trying to skip stones >12" diameter...:rolleyes::whistle:

:lol:

Al.

[gaa_ian]

Hey Al
Thanks for the shots mate !
Luke and I certainly had some quality time together at IISAC.
It is the first time we have gone to an event like this, just the two of us.
He had a ball too, plenty of kids to hang out with as well.
Luke has already asked if we can come back next year :thumbsup:

[xstream]

The aftermath of cyclone "Lostock" :lol:

[xstream]

"Camp Lostock"

[Jen]

That cyclone made a big mess :lol::lol::lol:

[Big Dave]

Ian,
Enjoyed your talk at issac. One question though; That little portable (almost indestructible) DOB you were talking about, what brand / make is it?

As people may have seen I am selling the York ED80 door prize and want to swap to one of these (more suitable) for the little man to play with as he grows up.

Thanks in Advance,
Big Dave

:help:

[Kevnool]

I see the esky survived the aftermath :lol: cheers Kev.

[GTB_an_Owl]

yes, the esky was in no danger of being blown away Kev

it was suitably weighted down with block ice and "brown dwarfs" ;)

geoff

[gaa_ian]

Hi Dave
The scope that is in my presentation is a "Edmund Scientific" Astroscan.
They are a very tough little scope, made of ABS plastic and with a fixed mirror.
Not available in Oz as far as I know.
Your will have to go direct to edmond Scientific
Cheers
Ian

[sungrazer]

What a great time Maria and I had. Thanks to all in the imaging area and the wildlife for making the weekend special. - (we saw quite a large echidna down by the river - didnt take the camera though)

Great venue, great food and great company. What more could you ask for (ok cloudlesss nights) but for me the cloud meant more chatting about equipment, advice and getting to the talks so I was pretty happy about that.

Thanks Mike - a great weekend.

[brendanv]

Hey all.,
I'm so new to all of this. :help:

I'm Brendan and i'm 56 by the way.... just a baby, born Sept 8 1952.

I am the proud owner of a Celestron 6SE and an Advanced mount and a Nikon D90 Camera with the appropriate body mount for the scope. I also have a NexImage 'camera'

I have a Toshiba laptop that is state of the art and running Starry Night. I have setup the laptop to control the telemetry of the scope.

I want to get into astral photography and i really need a kick to get going.... problem is i'm new to all of this, i have most of the gear, and i'm like a schoolkid wondering which balloon to pop first.

I'm waiting on a GPS unit specifically for the go-to mount to arrive from the States.

I also have a SkyScout and a SkyScout Connect, and the weather has been rotten over the last four weeks.

I think that I hold the record for the only person to break the droubt by purchasing a telescope and causing it to rain. :P.

I will be glad to be able to offer any help whereever possible, once i get over this itch to get going.

:eyepop:I hope you dont think this next bit is a 'commercial' for myself... :eyepop:

I'm an IT consultant specialising in networks for small business, as well as building pc's, faultfinding, virus removal, domain hosting, email provision etc at a reasonable price.

So, I hope this gives you an idea as to what makes me 'tick'

Cheers,

Brendan

[iceman]

Hi Brendan, :welcome: to IceInSpace and thanks for making your first post!

You posted in the IISAC2008 reports thread, whereas it probably belongs in the beginners start here thread?
But that's ok - it can take a little getting used to working out how forums/threads/posts work.

I look forward to seeing your progression into astrophotography.