Perth Guys

[TrevorW]

Skies look like they may be clear tonight although we have the full moon

no clouds in the sky first time in over 3 weeks I'll be out if it stays this way

:bowdown:

[Brianon]

Hi Trevor , Had some great viewing Saturday night in Perth.
Superb view of Jupiter. Looked at the Moon:eyepop::doh:
forgot a Moon filter .Tried a Burgess Tmb 3.2 I got off a bloke
very,very nice.

Cheers Brian

[MikeyB]

There's excellent viewing of the very active sunspot 1024 complex today. It's the best one I've seen through my PST in a long, long time.

[MrB]

%$@&*^ moon!

[leinad]

Couldn't agree more :thumbsup: The area is very bright and stands out beautifully.

[scarper]

I tried last night but gave up....will try again tonight, I have been itching to try the polar alignment software alignmaster before the trial runs out :)

[TrevorW]

All the best everyone those bloody clouds have come back

[marki]

I did not post earlier as I thought it might be too good to be true. There's a few clouds about but it might be ok. Not much you can do about the moon though.

Mark

[Baddad]

Hi Mr B, :)

:lol::lol::lol: Yes that is your feeling. I do have a different one.

My son was over from Arizona. I pointed the scope at the moon. Andrew was facinated. Wow was the word repeated several times.

We are both off to Perth to attend my daughter's wedding soon.

Cheers Marty

[Gallifreyboy]

Am currently holding Trevor personally responsible for jinxing the viewing, so many clouds can't even see the moon.:doh: His bold claim of clear skies:screwy: . He probably isn't responsible for the Dockers losing but if I find a post he wrote claiming their certain victory......

[Glenhuon]

Got a couple of hours last night, trying out the MPCC. Looked like it might be OK tonight until 4pm, then the clouds rolled in again. Can't even see the moon tonight. Expecting rain by lunchtime tomorrow. Ah well, it is winter and the full moon is upon us. Ce La Vie! :)

Bill

[TrevorW]

Hey I was praying too the GODS so blame them !!!!

(No one can help the Dockers)

:P

[seanliddelow]

I hope its clear on the 18th of July because I am going to an astronomy night at Bakers Hill

[Gallifreyboy]

Any long range predictions Trevor? ;)

[TrevorW]

Clear for the 18th

Just asked Mr Newman

[seanliddelow]

Does anyone in this thread belong in ASWA?

[bobson]

No mate, ASWA is for kids, the real man go to Golden Grove with AGWA :)

[capella]

AGWA? are they still operating? :lol: Sean you did the right thing joining ASWA, 60th anniversary next year and going from strength to strength.

Steve.

[Glenhuon]

Gee, no wonder I stay clear of Astro Societies, (apart from the Bunbury one, quite enjoyed my time there). All I want to do is astronomy, the personalities and politics are a worse pain in the neck than a Dob with a straight through finder. :lol:

Bill

[bobson]

Yep, AGWA is having John Goldsmith as guest speaker tonight.

Golden Grove is very nice, secure, quiet, elec. power, tea room and toilet.
What more could you want for $25 bucks per year? Monthy meetings and guest speakers. Not bad IMO

I think its good to have more than one club, so people can choose what they like.

cheers

bob

[MrB]

:2thumbs:

[seanliddelow]

Aswa was involved in tracking the sputniks and the big light seen by the astronaut john glenn when he passed over perth was an ASWA homemade light:thumbsup:

[marki]

.:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

[bobson]

WOW, I heard there is tension between AGWA and ASWA members, if I knew I wouldn't add oil on fire :(

Talking about personalities and politics.

Thats it, I am moving to Bumbury to join there :)

[seanliddelow]

I think AGWA should have their own website

[scarper]

I offered in an email to do one and host it on my site but never heard anything back :(

Maybe I will mention it again

[mswhin63]

I am interested in the Astronomy side of things, I couldn't join AGWA because it way too far away from where I live. I not sure how AGWA runs but quite happy with ASWA.

I actually like the organisation way of demonstrating at schools and other useful event. I am sure if I lived North of the River it would be likely i would have joined AGWA.

Perth's urban sprawl. Actually I going down to Busselton this weekend anything interesting going on in Bunbury? :)

[mswhin63]

He just retired :shrug:

[bobson]

AGWA does have their own website:

http://www.agwa.com.au

But, beware, it will open only if you are member of AGWA, otherwise it will give you an error or even open as some Bolivian liquer website :scared:. It uses special software not available anywhere in the world to recognize who is member and who is not :P. The guy who made this website works for secret service.
Its made that way so ASWA members can't bother us with their politics :):rofl: :rofl:

[seanliddelow]

:rofl:your joking
Why do aswa and agwa hate eachover? If they merged we will form an awesome club.:thumbsup:

[MrB]

Resistance is futile

[bobson]

I have no idea why, I joined AGWA approx. 6 months ago. But noticed here there is a lot of tension between two clubs. Since this rain is not going to stop for a while I thought to stir things up a bit, no hard feeling :)

cheers

bob

[mswhin63]

Going way off thread now best leave it out. Look forward to the 18th July myself, hopefully to try out my new Bino's if they get here on time. :)

[seanliddelow]

Are the binos 7x50?

[mswhin63]

20 x 80, also purchaced a monopod with small legs.

[bobson]

I have 20x90 AOE binoculars, bought Velbone tripod for it. You will love views with big binos.

bob

[TrevorW]

Guys you better be out tonight, crystal clear at the moment, but we now need to teach the locals not to light wood fires

[MrB]

There's always something..... not going to have time tonight :(

[rogerg]

Hmm, yes.. clear. Thought I'd see what the observatory was like but can't be bothered opening it up :( I did find I left the heater on from last week though :( :( that'll add a tone to the power bill. :doh:

[MrB]

:eyepop:
How many Watts is the heater?

[rogerg]

2400 :whistle:

And just a little cheapy.. I'm very lucky it didn't burn down the observatory over the last few days :whistle:

At least the observatory is nice and dry now, it had been quite damp after a couple of months of no use and wet weather.

:( :( :(

[MrB]

Ouch, with the new prices (~18.5c/kWh) thats about $10 a day!

[rogerg]

ouch! Probably about 4 days, $40.

Well I just closed off the open half, opened the roof and it's gone from 20 degrees to 6.5 degrees in 5 minutes. If that isn't thermal shock for the telescope I don't know what is! It's still dropping but must be near ambient now.

[rogerg]

Well it certainly is a good night for astronomy tonight in Perth. 5 degrees here at the moment, and quite stable. I've been imaging the trio of galaxies at NGC 6769 in Pavo. First galaxy images captured in over 3 months.

While out here I've heard a team of scouts playing a flag game in one of the surrounding hills/valleys, can hear their loud speaker. Lucky them! 5.5 degreez and crawling around in the dark! Oh I remember those days. Cringe!

Anyhow, best I be getting some sleep, AND turning off the heater.

[MrB]

Tonight is looking pretty good too, dunno if I'll get a chance enjoy it tho, got a few chores to do.

[rogerg]

Yeah, nice night again.

At this stage I'm forcing myself to stay indoors. Think I'm getting a cold, and my 30th birthday is only a few days away which I'd rather not be sick for :( :( :( :(

[TrevorW]

Only 30 you poor baby !!!! Happy Birthday anyway

[Glenhuon]

Had a go at M4 and Eta last night, best its been for a long time. Looking forward to the bhatinov masks arriving, still not quite getting sharp focus using DSLR focus. M4 looks OK but focus must have shifted when I swung over to Eta. Looking good for tonight so far, better pick a target or two.

Bill

[TrevorW]

All the best Bill

[seanliddelow]

The rain and the clouds are moving in this afternoon and they are going to hang around for a week.

[MrB]

Yeah that would be right, 2 good nights and I don't have the time, now I have the time......

Anyway.... Happy birthday Roger!

[Gallifreyboy]

Bugger, I've been away for the last week of the school holidays and fly back tomorrow....:rolleyes:

[Glenhuon]

Ah well, the best laid plans an all that. Clouds rolled in by 7 pm and its been raining for a couple of hours now. Just as well I stocked up with DVD's today.

Bill

[mswhin63]

Perth stock up for the next 2 weeks I think.

[MrB]

Haha, yeah I have dozens of DVD's to watch, and a 1 foot high stack of magazines I've bought but not read yet.:eyepop:

[Glenhuon]

Got 6 of the old Carry On movies for $5 each, should keep me amused for a while and still working through ST Enterprise. :) My Bhatinov Masks arrived today, wonder when I'll get to try them out.:shrug:
Strongman Mikes ones, look good.

Bill

[seanliddelow]

I have had a lot of hail here with lots of storms. I dont think it will stop raining until next tuesday.

[MrB]

Huh? It's lovely weather... why aren't you out there enjoying it?



No Sun and no Astronomy make Simon something something...... (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yGJGTjV2WE)

[seanliddelow]

Looks like we aint gonna see the jupiter spot until next week:mad2:
I dont even have a telescope yet:mad2:

No dob make sean something something.....

[TrevorW]

Weather is beautiful if your a duck

[seanliddelow]

I dont even think the ducks will like it:lol:

[Glenhuon]

Ducks up here were carrying umbrellas a couple of days ago, and walking :)

Bill

[mswhin63]

Could be looking for a few fine days and nights how long will be difficult to know. Had a really good 1 hour watching, the other 30 minutes setting up the scope. :)

[rogerg]

yeah, looking like a fine few days/nights coming up. It's estimated to be -1 degree minimum out at Tammin where we'll be observing this Sat night :cold:

[seanliddelow]

Im going to port kennedy on the weekend and they have fairly dark skies their. Im going with a 6 inch celestron nexstar. We finally have clear skies later this week!:)

[MrB]

Compared to Perth city, yeah it's not too bad down that way. Reasonably darkish to the west.

[seanliddelow]

There is a quite heavy rain front coming through tonight.................i wasnt expecting it:sadeyes: Hope it isnt like this tomoro.

[MrB]

Yeah, been raining non-stop here for over an hour. :(
http://mirror.bom.gov.au/products/IDR123.loop.shtml

[seanliddelow]

Its going to clear up this afternoon and i finally got a telescope!:)

[TrevorW]

Good luck !!! :thumbsup:

[Glenhuon]

Was looking good earlier, but clouds and rain are back :(
Knew I shouldn't have pulled out the 10" for some maintenance.

Bill

[seanliddelow]

The clouds are driving me insane!:P

[Glenhuon]

Got about an hour last night to try out the Bhatinov Mask, and then it rolled in again. Forecast for Sun/Mon/Tue is fine, so might get a crack at Jupiters "Bird Strike" soon.

Bill

[TrevorW]

Fine but cloudy here

[MrB]

Bird strike night tonight!
Looking clear out there, seeing tho is ??
The strike should be visible until around midnight.

[Gallifreyboy]

Saturday night was good until ~ 12:30 AM before clouds came in. Try as I might I couldn't see Bird strike :shrug:. First good night viewing for ages, able to use new Pentax XW14 and powermate 5X :)

[seanliddelow]

I was observing on saturday night at for the first time i saw jupiter and its moons. Also antares blue companion and the trifid nebula:thumbsup: My interest in astronomy has grown bigger because of saturday night:P. I couldnt see the bird strike because it was a 127mm scope with no barlow.

COORECTION
I dont think i saw antares blue companion because i couldnt even see it with my 305mm scope and 10mm eyepiece.

[MrB]

Some high cloud floating about but finally got to see the bird strike tonight.
About time too!
Was very easy to spot at 100x, didn't have to try at all.

[rogerg]

It was a nice night last night. I didn't get a chance to do any observing but it was cold and clear when I went out to my observatory to do some image processing. Got down to 0.2 degrees at our place this morning.

I would like to see the impact on Jupiter by my camera over saturates with Jupiter :( and it's too much hard work to swap the camera out for an eyepiece or a planetary cam. :whistle:

Hoping to get some photography in the next few nights sometime while we have a brief run of good weather.

[MrB]

Slack! :lol:

[rogerg]

Well... it takes a night or two to re-calibrate the focuser & auto-focusing, re-calibrate the autoguiding, and then there's the image scale which changes slightly meaning my NGC shots aren't calibrated....

So yes, it gets too hard :)

[seanliddelow]

I have just finished my part time work so im not going out tonight.... looks like tommorow would be good as well. Even in 1st quarter moon i can still see the milky way.

Clear Skies:eyepop:

[TrevorW]

I'm outside now having a frustrating night

clear though which is good

[rogerg]

Shame it's ending up frustrating for you. 3 degrees up here in the hills now, and dropping fast still. Obviously must be clear out there, but darned if I'm going to stick my head out to check. Got another cold coming on :(

[TrevorW]

The scope/camera's taking 5 minute exposures of something I'm hoping it's Omega Nebula but the frustrating part is I had a back breaking time collimating the scope and then I'm not sure if it's aligned properly tracking appears Ok so the end result will tell

[seanliddelow]

Has anyone had good viewing this week. The clouds are moving in but they are small. By wednesday it will rain.:sadeyes:

[TrevorW]

Three nights good viewing in the last week (excluding the moon glow of course)

last night was cold outside and dewey

[seanliddelow]

I would be out except the moon glow is driving me insane:mad2:.

[rogerg]

I was out long enough last night to switch the collimation screws on my 12" LX200 for a set of Bobs Knobs which a friend gave me for my 30th. That was successfull after an hour. Then I had to give it up and go in, as I could feel the cold having an effect on me (had a cold last week).

Next on the list is to tune the polar alignment of my LX200 which has become horribly bad since last serious use 3 months ago. And re-calibrate a few things seeing as I had to take the camera off last night to get collimation.

This week isn't looking as favorable as last, but oh well, too much moonshine around.

Roger.

[seanliddelow]

How was last saturday at tammin?

[rogerg]

It was excellent thanks Sean. Clear, cold, crisp and the dew was not too bad. Photography was successful for several people too. Looking forward to another good night on the 22nd.

Roger.

[seanliddelow]

When I get a car in 2 years i will start to go to tammin. I might go in december this year.

[seanliddelow]

Just yesterday I got my 12 inch sky watcher dobson and jupiter looks great with 45 capricorn as its 5th moon. I think it will be cloudy and rainy for the next 2 weeks:sadeyes: but at least this will give time for the moon to get dimmer:) and then I can finally see what my scope was made for.......

[MrB]

Ahhhh, so it's you that brought the clouds in! ;)
Congrats on the 12incher.

[seanliddelow]

In the ultimate form of teasing the clouds heard about a 12inch scope and decided to have a party!:P

[rogerg]

Well, isn't this grand weather we've been having. A week of rain, cloud and patches of gusty wind, and another week to go. :mad2::rolleyes::tasdevil:

I'm keen to finish some calibration work on my scope and then get back to imaging, but of course, that's not to be.

[seanliddelow]

What wonderful weather we are having!:lol:
I havent observed for weeks and im afraid the new moon weekend is going to be rainy. Now i will have to wait another month:mad2:. Im afraid my new telescope is a rain magnet. I still have some hope in bakers hill:(.

[marki]

Big storm comming in tonight, best get a good book and forget about observing for a while.

Mark

[TrevorW]

It's a shame clouds are so uniform and colourless

[marki]

Thinking of imaging the storm clouds Trevor? :P:)

Mark

[TrevorW]

Well with some back light the moon a touch of colour, suttle shape variation through turbulence

maybe

[seanliddelow]

Cloud are the new galaxys:lol:. They even have a malin astrophotography award for 'best clouds' looks like perth is going to win it.:rofl:
http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:ux9acaPX_yG8mM:http://www.robertcampbellphotography.com/Images/Clouds/Clouds4.jpg (http://images.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.robertcampbellphotography.com/Images/Clouds/Clouds4.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.robertcampbellphotography.com/clouds.html&usg=__t_2i0S4cZcwTDQ3GqJkiwk6c0fg=&h=576&w=576&sz=18&hl=en&start=9&um=1&tbnid=ux9acaPX_yG8mM:&tbnh=134&tbnw=134&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dclouds%26imgsz%3Dm%26h l%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26rlz%3D1T4ADBR _enAU330AU330%26sa%3DN%26um%3D1)
M1 Best Cloud Award goes to Sean Liddelow ,14, of Perth.

[seanliddelow]

Its raining and pouring the old dob is snoring:sadeyes:.

[marki]

I think if you tried to setup last night you would be driving to Ceduna right now to pick up your gear :D. How was the wind, shook the house to it's foundations.

Mark

[marki]

You could add the title "huge gaseous nebula invades Earth" :P

Mark

[MrB]

Sorry about the weather guys, my fault! :whistle:

[seanliddelow]

nah it was my telescope i brought then the rain started:doh::whistle:

[marki]

Hey I can see some twinkely bright lights on what looks like black velvet. What are they called again....arhhh thats right, stars, haven't seen those for a while ;).

Mark

[seanliddelow]

Should i go out tonight?

[MrB]

How about tonight? Looks reasonable so far.

Noticed there's more rain on the way tho, and my new scope is due soon. Sorry.

[marki]

Looks like it will be good around midnight. Stars are twinkeling a little too much right now.

Mark

[TrevorW]

Clear outside out the moment but lots of moisture in the air

[MrB]

I'm gonna make the most of it and give some widefield AP a go.

[mswhin63]

Have had the best viewing night in the backyard in a long time. Spoilt the real results in starhunt. Saw Mag 5 but most of the time it is mag 3 or 4.

[seanliddelow]

Great night, saw the nebula around antares and lots of star clusters. Sagitarius looks like one big nebula. I did have trouble finding ngc 5128 (Centaurus A) and im yet to see a galaxy. Soon Io's shadows may be on jupiter. My telscope was very dewy but fixed that problem with a hairdryer.

Are you going to go to Bakers Hill Malcolm?

[mswhin63]

Forcast heavy rain, but hope bom is wrong.

[MrB]

Haven't been to Bakers Hill in a long time, first Swan Star Party infact!
Nice site.

[seanliddelow]

Looks rainy but im an optimist.:D
Im going with my dad and he probably wont know much.
Malcom do you want to use the atlas Uranometria 2000.0 I borrowed from the club?

[mswhin63]

Tammin site will be on same time, that should be better but need to be overnight stay. Prefer not to camp out as yet.

[seanliddelow]

The problem with tammin is if it rains you drove 2 hours for nothing. I doubt i will be able to go but im going to the astrocamp in Dyandra in October.

[seanliddelow]

Looks really bad tonight:sadeyes: but saturday is now 'Few showers':P. Hope they are right.

[seanliddelow]

I still have hope for saturday;)

[TrevorW]

So do I I'm playing soccer

[seanliddelow]

The current front is moving NE while the southern one we will miss the worst of it and it could miss us completely. Perth astronomy has dealt a blow by the 13 days of rain and all new moon weekends in the last 3 months have been rainy:sadeyes:.

[seanliddelow]

I go to star nights regardless of the weather because the weather in the hills is different from the metro. Are you in a astronomy club? ( By the way good jewel box pictures...i never see red in the main star even with a 12 inch)

[marki]

Well guys, the sky looks pretty dam good to me :D. It's going to be a cold one though.

Mark

[Gallifreyboy]

I knew there was something different looking at the sky tonight......things that twinkle that wise old men have mentioned......honestly it has been a while hasn't it......should be good for a few nights I hope:thumbsup:

[marki]

Am in the process of setting up. Give the scope a chance to cool down a bit :).

Mark

[snaggs]

Hey.. I'm a Perth boy.. is there a star night being organised?

Daniel.

[rogerg]

Well, last night had spectacular viewing conditions at my place. Steady, very steady. Images coming out near perfectly sharp. I'm hoping to have another reasonable night tonight in order to get some colour data for the object I was photographing.

[cohiba]

Im from Perth Too, whats happening someone organising a night ?

[rogerg]

Not in particular that's being discussed here, just general discussions about astronomy in Perth as I see it.

If you are interested in viewing with others in Perth, ASWA (http://aswa.info/) has regular deep sky nights in Perth and Tammin, and Lunar nights in Perth, Astro Camp in October at Dryandra, AGWA does viewing in Chittering, and probably even the ASSW has viewing nights and camps on a regular basis still, so you may wish to find out about them and visit.

Roger.

[seanliddelow]

The next meeting is on the 14th and the sky night is on the 12th at bakers hill. (Contact me if you want directions)
Would he be able to go to Bakers Hill Roger?
Im eager to use my new 12inch scope;)

Have you imaged M7(NGC 6475) and M6 (NGC 6405)? Its a great time to do it because they are at zenith.

[rogerg]

I hope you get a clear night next month then Sean :) Visitors are welcome to ASWA events providing they are keen astronomers, not just someone looking to have a good time at others expense. After a few visits people are expected to become members. So yes, he would be welcome. I would recommend contacting Rob via the ASWA site if attending.



I have, but imaging at the Zenith is actually more problematic than about 60-80 degrees, my preferred range. I tend to avoid objects at the zenith. At the zenith you get mirror flop with a SCT, and you get a bad neck and meridian-flip problems with a refractor on a GEM. :)

Roger.

[seanliddelow]

The next month supposely has 4 rainy days:P
I got this fact from a weather calendar on the weather channel on foxtel.
Does the BOM do monthly forecasts?

[scarper]

I have to apologies guys, the rain today is because my crayford focuser losmandy plate and extra weight for eq6 have arrived today :(

[marki]

Oh I think I am far more responsible I am afraid. In the the last two weeks I have bought an SBIG water pump, a permenent pier, starrynight pro 6, a bahtinov mask and have a 17mm ethos EP on the way :). Naughty, stay away from the shops .... yes you :fight:

Mark

[MrB]

It was a combined effort methinks.
I've bought a William Optics Megrez 90

[seanliddelow]

Its my fault I am going to pick up a 4mm Pllosl from TrevorW next weekend and the weather has caught up with me. Im afraid its rainy for the next 7 days. I dont know about the new moon and last quarter weekend however:shrug:.

[rogerg]

Nice set of purchases there guy's!!

I haven't bought more than a eyepeice case and few screws and pieces of wood, but I've made a lot of changes to my portable rig which I a eager to test out.

Between the lot of us it sounds like WA's going to sink under a flood!

[astroron]

I think you guys in the west are all "masochists":rofl::rofl::rofl:

[leinad]

The modded 40D DSLR purchase probably added a few mm of rain also :P

[seanliddelow]

My 12 inch dob added a couple oceans to it as well.:lol:
Please dont kill me:whistle:

[seanliddelow]

At least its a full moon my bacon may be saved.

[Gallifreyboy]

Geez I felt guilty about the weather here until I read this confessional thread....the new WO Zenithstar 66 guidescope and rings just arrived to accompany the QHY5 and QHY8 that have not seen starlight yet.....thats right no turning back now;).....might have a clear night by December maybe

[rogerg]

Very nice! I have the QHY5, but have been wanting something like he QHY8 for some time! The only problem has been wedding costs sucking my astro funds dry :( :(. I'm very envious of your combination!

:thumbsup:

[TrevorW]

The rain has finally cleared cold clear night in some parts of Perth

bloody MOOOON !!!!!

[marki]

Should be a nice combo with the 98 Peter.

Mark

[marki]

They work nicely together Roger. Keep your eye out on astromart, I have seen a few come up at good prices of late.

Mark

[marki]

It is only cloudy when the moon is not around :(. How many good observing nights do you think we have had this year Trevor? A couple of years ago I could go out on virtually any winters night and have a go, not so for the last 2.

Mark

[Gallifreyboy]

I think Perth should be renamed, we need an aboriginal translation for 'place of the frustrated winter astronomer':cloudy:

[mswhin63]

Yeah, we have had a sprinkler ban for 2 months stopped a couple of weeks ago but still haven't put them on again. Although still haven't reached the average wet though.

[rogerg]

Ahhh well, it is winter after all. The one a couple of years ago where it was clear 80% of the time was a fluke. It was nice though.

I'm enjoying the break, doing maintenance on my gear. As long as it clears up on the weekend of 12th and/or 19th and then starts to improve after that, I'll be happy.

[seanliddelow]

I think it would clear up on friday next week. Dont go out tonight it may be cloudless now but in a couple of hours it will pour down with rain:mad2:.
Plus the moon is full tonight. Im still hoping the weather will be clear for the astrocamp. Does it rain a lot at the Cctober camps at Dryandra?

[TrevorW]

Yeah I was tossing up setting up even with the full moon but my wife said clouds and rain are due so I've left my mount out in anticipation she may be wrong

[marki]

Thats the way Trev, forever the eternal optimist :D.

Mark

[rogerg]

I've been to 14 astro camps and missed one. Out of the 14 I've been to I've always had some viewing. The one I missed hapenned to be a complete washout, but that wasn't the reason I didn't go. It's common to have one good night and one average night. :)

[rogerg]

Well, not worth it tonight 'eh? Still perfectly clear up here. Have worked on the polar alignment of my scope. Never mind the thick band of rain 50km away :) Must be a very defined weather front!!

[marki]

It's cloudy over here Roger:(.

Mark

[TrevorW]

No I loath to think I'll have to tell her she was right !!!

[marki]

LOL :rofl::rofl::rofl:

[seanliddelow]

At least we didnt get it as bad as Mandruh. But it will still bucket down very soon.:mad2:

http://mirror.bom.gov.au/products/IDR123.loop.shtml

[marki]

Is this rain ever going to end? May as well be in Melbourne :(

Mark

[Gallifreyboy]

I don't think I can call astronomy a hobby anymore, hobby implies you actually do it sometimes:sadeyes:

[mswhin63]

Yeah, DSO viewing night looks like it will be cancelled again 3 time in a row. Fourth time only had about 1 hour of viewing.

[seanliddelow]

Yeah DSO has been rained out since I first joined:rolleyes:.
Coincdence?..........

[seanliddelow]

We may have good viewing tommorow night.:thumbsup:

[marki]

As long as this rain and cloud finally goes away. It's the middle of spring nearly.

Mark

[bobson]

Last night around 9 pm I went out and it was clear. Quickly I took my 12" Dob out to test new 10 mm XW Pentax on Jupiter. It was great for about half an hour before clouds started to come again. I even managed to have a look at couple of open clusters.

So much rain and yet again no one is saying nothing about dams, apparently they are still not full??

bob

[marki]

Not sure comments they make about the dams are even relevent as most of the water comes from the bores. Not looking good for tonight either at the moment.

Mark

[seanliddelow]

I had a astrocamp and i saw-
M7,
M6,
M20,
M4,
M80,
M57, 47 Tuc, Omega centuari and NGC 253

[Gallifreyboy]

Congratulations guys, we have broken the record for most consecutive days of rain for spring, 18 and counting with rain predicted until Friday or Saturday. :sadeyes:

[leinad]

I'm setup tonight, few random clouds and no wind, its cleared!!
Imaging right now testing out new focal reducer :D

[seanliddelow]

I decide to setup as well, but due to excessive light pollution and very poor seeing I ended my observing session early. I did manage to see omega centuari sneaking through the light pollution.

[rogerg]

we had a good night out at Tammin on Saturday, clear about 1/3 wihch is a lot better than we've had recently!

Last night it got down to 1.6 degrees here in the hills, definitely clear. But I didn't take advantage of it at all.

The coming weekend is looking clear! but I probably won't have any time for observing then :(

Things are improving :)

Roger.

[Gallifreyboy]

Has anyone noticed the unusual sky colour today.....its blue.....do we dare to extrapolate that for tonight :prey::prey::prey:

[leinad]

Was perfect last night!
The craters on the moon with Nagler 9mm were sharp and fantastic!

Was imaging from 9.30pm to 12.30pm, not one cloud in sight and only a calm breeze!

This weekend should be just as good as the high makes its way over inland.

:stargaze:

[rogerg]

Not only that, but last night I got home late and was shocked to see stars! I didn't specifically look for them, my eye got caught by the bright pinpoints where murky dark gray usually is!

But, I'm in the frustrating situation of having almost no time for astronomy :( :sad: My wedding is in slightly less than a month and so time is tight :(:( otherwise I'd be going out to Tammin. Hopefully I'll get one night in the observatory this weekend. :sadeyes:

[marki]

I can see blue skys all around and I am on holidays :D :cool::2thumbs::astron::sunny::star gaze::party2::bowdown:

Mark

[TrevorW]

No one likes a bragger

have you set up yet

I'll try and get out tonight but I'll probably have forgotten how too

[marki]

Scope is out and cooling under the patio. I will wait til the sun goes down a bit before I drag it out onto the slab :D. Get to try these new ethos EP.s proper finally:).

Mark

[TrevorW]

Have a good one !!! :thumbsup:

[mswhin63]

Look really clear, got the scope in the backyard already to cool down. Shame it was like this last weekend.

[leinad]

It was? Gonna be a beaut' long weekend!

:astron:

[MrB]

Yep, that's the end of.... what was it? 22 consecutive days of rain?
A new Spring record, or was it a September record?... meh who cares, it was too much!

Roger, so your bride becomes a Groom on the big day? ;) Sorry :D

[TrevorW]

:prey:What not too do after 22 days, drop your scope (80ED) lucky fingers crossed only chipped the paint nothing seems bent out of shape although I had to retighten the focuser

Too much of a hurry to set up didn't check that everything was 100% tight in the dovetail

[Blue Skies]

And here I was thinking there must be some happy sandgropers out there at the moment - its clear and dry! There doesn't seem to be much dew around despite all the rain.

[rogerg]

:rolleyes: :)

Yes... we have heard it all :)

[rogerg]

Agreed, seems very dry considering all. There's a little breeze around which is keeping things dry I think. Plus it feels relatively low humidity. Odd.

Roger.

[MrB]

Dunno how those guys imaging up at Tammin are going... looks like a bit of high thin stuff passing thru. :(



LOL, I figured as much! :lol:

[rogerg]

Viewing conditions were quite average last night, surprising after the rain etc. But worse than that my script failed after only one object so I got nothing after 11:45pm :(

Oh well, not surprising when it's the first script I've run in 3-4 months.

I'll try again tonight hopefully :), if I can be permitted the time to do astronomy :)

Nice to see the blue sky again this morning :D

[marki]

Have to agree Roger, it all looked good but the seeing was very average indeed. However yesterday was good as I finally got all my electronic doobies to talk to each other and the software without windows chucking a fit. Bloody serial to USB cables are a pain in the @#$%. I now have a different type for each connection but thats the only way it will work.

Mark

[zipdrive]

good to see the sky starting to clear up.. haven't taken an image for about a year now due to bad timing and weather....

[TrevorW]

Took some widefield shots last night of the SMC anyone want to tell me how a DSLR sensor can get so dusty when not used

It'll need a professional wet clean

nice night apart from the moon but a waste of time for me

[seanliddelow]

Heres a link to the instantaneous images I took last night with my 12" Dob.-

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=50740

[marki]

Better make hay while the sun shines chaps, looks like the rain is back on Tues :mad2:.

Mark

[seanliddelow]

After tuesday it looks like a relitively fine week is coming up:thumbsup:

http://www.bom.gov.au/products/IDW12300.shtml

Spring is coming:thumbsup:

[marki]

Yeah I was a few days out. It should have read scratch Sunday - Tuesday :thumbsup:

Mark

[Gallifreyboy]

Friday night was just average seeing but a beautiful (mostly) cloudless night a mixture of viewing and imaging. I stayed up until 2:30 to have a chance to image orion (which I haven't done before) just as clouds were starting to appear. I spent time earlier on helix and tarantula as well. The next day with the grand final and a few drinks I was too stuffed to go out and image on Saturday night :sadeyes: and then back to usual weather pattern since :rolleyes:. The best is yet to come I'm sure. Imaging orion nebula is truly amazing. I'm trying to learn the processing tricks now.

[marki]

The hardest thing with M42 is getting the core right. There,s some good info here;

http://www.astropix.com/HTML/J_DIGIT/COMP2.HTM

I am pouring the concrete base for my pier tommorrow and have a QHY9 and filter wheel on the way so I am looking forward to having another go at M42 myself in the coming weeks.

Mark

[TrevorW]

New camera

New filters

New pier

what next a Paramount ME

oh to be the single man with plenty of doe to spare

jealousy is a curse

[marki]

Hmmmmmmm paramount ME ;).

Mark

[MrB]

LOL Mark... I too dream of a PME.
I recently got a 40% pay increase, not quite enought to cover a US$15k mount tho! Maybe if the aussie$ gets seriously strong again(~95) I'll be tempted.
Besides, I'm saving for a rural block.

[TrevorW]

40% pay increase you not a PS working for SGIO are you

[marki]

Ditto, but I keep getting sidetracked and my will is weak :D. You will need to factor in another 5K for the mount as it will cost you about 20K landed (yes I have done the maths already :P).

Mark

[MrB]

Trevor, lol no, I got promoted.
While 40% may sound like alot, it's really not, I was on minimum wage before.

Mark, I had wondered how much the 'extras' would add up to... we can still dream!

[rogerg]

Nice stretch of fine days coming up :thumbsup: Shame about the moon.

I don't know about the rural block guy's.... I think I'm happy to let someone else lose their money on that "investment" and just rent a small patch of land on theirs instead :) Besides, unless fully automated I've learned nothing beats being able to walk 2 min out the back yard to the obs (with or without light pollution), even a drive of 30 mins is a deterrent to observe some nights.

[marki]

Roger you sound spoilt :P. When I buy a rural block I will be living on it so not looking at an investment property. I got my base poured for my pier today and did the final touches to the pier itself. It's so bloody solid that I dont think it will move in a hurry :D. Just what the doctor ordered.

Mark

[rogerg]

ahh, fair enough. Yeah, I'd like to do that too in that case, buy it and live on it ... maybe I'll be able to do that when I retire, in another lifetime :)

Got some pics of your pier? Sounds good.

[seanliddelow]

Doesnt it seem that the best weather is on a full moon?:(

Im already missing Tammin:)

But the astrocamp is soon:thumbsup:

[marki]

Been taking some as I go along but didn't think of it until after I poured the concrete :rolleyes:. I will post some up after the job is finished.

Mark

[MrB]

Exactly...
With wind, solar, rainwater, DIY house, gardens + cash crops(exotic fruits), music..... crank it as loud as I want without bothering anyone..... bliss.
Maybe even a go-cart track, hahaha... ok I'm dreaming now!

I have a mate that had ~80 acre farm up 'till about 5 years ago, with most of the above on it.
The fruit kept the farm afloat + pocket money.
To us, a bunch of 20-somethings being very noisy and silly most weekends and not hurting anyone.... it was pure heaven. Great memories.

[marki]

Here's the finished product. I posted the rest in the ATM forum.

Cheers

Mark

[marki]

Bloody clouds are back. Got some observing done last night on the new pier which is rock solid. Shame about the moon and seeing though :(.

Mark

[MrB]

Sorry, my fault.

[marki]

My fault too Simon, I have a truckload of goodies on the way. Holidays are so expensive :P.

Mark

[astroron]

I will be over in Perth for a couple of months, so I hope to catch up with some of you guy's and Girls?
I will have my 16" scope with me.

[mswhin63]

:lol: Goin to love your excess baggage. Have a nice trip.

[astroron]

I am Driving:thumbsup:

[TrevorW]

Hope you've got you priorities right make sure the scopes in the car and padded adequately

everything else can go in the trailer

Enjoy your trip

[astroron]

My scope is very well traveled, and yes it will be in the car:D
Thanks for the good wishes:thumbsup:

[marki]

Well you are heading over at the right time Ron if today is anything to go by. It's a beutiful spring day, not a cloud in the sky and I hope that rain has buggered off for the year. Drive safe mate :thumbsup:.

Mark

[rogerg]

Nice clear almost summer feeling day today. Had a gusty easterly blowing across the valley at our house this morning, very much a summer feel. Quite dry air too. Nice blue-ish sky. :)

I see rain's not far away, coming back on the weekend, but oh well.

[TrevorW]

Bloody moon

[rogerg]

yeah, oh well, can't have everything :)

[seanliddelow]

Lets see.....

Clear skies...Check
No Rain.......Check
Eager Astronomer.......Check
Digital Camera.......Check
Moonless Night......DOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[TrevorW]

Looked promising for tonight set the gear up around 4:00pm clear as a bell first time in a month

CALM had been burning off somewhre in the hills and there was a layer of smoke too the East but

by 6:00pm misty high cloud and smoke drifted in and doesn't look like it's going to clear soon just not enough wind to blow it away

what a waste of time setting up and putting it all away again.

[seanliddelow]

The seeing is crap at my place. The 4mm isnt faring to good for tonight. What brand is the EP?

[TrevorW]

Not sure

think it may be a Skywatcher brand

[seanliddelow]

CALM must be annoying Perth Observatory:rofl:. I dont think the fire is CALM though.

[TrevorW]

Well lets just say that after a spate of cloudy weather tonight my equipment is set up and the camera is happily clicking away collecting I hope over 2 hours of data of the Sculptor Galaxy

Unfortuantely I stuffed around trying to centre it and couldn't so the final version may be cropped slightly

Just glad finally that I can capture some photons

[marki]

Good onya Trev. I am stuck marking exams so I haven't had a chance to use my new camera, FW and pier. Christmas holidays perhaps :shrug:.

Mark

[MrB]

Nice one Trev, I've still gotta get a few bits of gear 'till I can start imaging, so missing out on the fun :(

Noticed there was quite a bit of smoke around today, I think CALM is doing some burn-offs, any of that smoke get up your way?

[TrevorW]

Was off in the distance when setting up more south the seeing isn't that crash hot but the smoke stayed away from where I am

[leinad]

Been a good couple of nights this week, got an hours worth on Sculptor myself last night.

This weekend should be great! A balmy 32 on Sat. Might see some of you at the Dryandra ASWA Deep sky night on the weekend :)

By the way, just saw your image Trev in Sky and Telescope, well done, very nice. :thumbsup:

[MrB]

Ah crap! I didn't believe you about the 32 on Sat so checked the BOM website, it's not going to be 32.... it's gonna be 34!
Damn it, I have to work Sat :(

[seanliddelow]

I will be seeing you there.

[TrevorW]

Can anyone come along to Dryanda, if so exactly where is that you guys set up

Cheers

[leinad]

Trev, I'll send you the details.

I've never actually been there before(first timer), but after speaking with one of the members we will setup on the south-end, away from the visual guys/crowds.

[TrevorW]

Well I'm off to Dryanda tonight my first dark site venture decided to take the plunge first club type event in over 20 years, Travelling nearly 200klm for 1 nigth viewing but the weather looks good and its a really dark site.

I was going to take all my gear but might just stick to the ED80.

I don't think others may appreciate if I took a generator to power my mount, camera, laptop

I've only got a power pack for the mount and my laptops battery is stuffed (unless I can get one today), so any imaging will be widefield short unguided (hope someone can nail drift alignment for me)

Cheers

[mswhin63]

Good luck on your trippin' I really want go go now but damn work.

Have a nice time.

[seanliddelow]

Did you have fun Trevor? I certainly did, especially with the trantula nebula:eyepop: and 47 tucanae. Hope you got some good images and sorry If you got my friends green laser in them. Are you going to the next deep sky Malcolm?

[mswhin63]

I sure hope so, am gonna try to get to as many as I can. Just purchaced some tent and gear for further away places like Tammin.

[rogerg]

Excellent astro camp. Two nights of photography through to morning twilight on the first night and 3am on the second night.

Got a couple of great photo's, but won't have time to post them for a few weeks.

Good to see several astrophotographer's there, and several IIS members who weren't all ASWA members either, great that so many came along.

Roger.

[TrevorW]

Glad you faired well Roger

I have nothing but power issues

Laptop failed
Mount failed sort of
Camera failed had to replace battery half way through a run
borrowed laptop failed
borrowed power supply failed couldn't drive the borrowed laptop with an inverter and the mount

I'm going to have too invest in a 100 AH battery and power box for the mount and laptop when I come along too more of these nights

Too top it off I when my laptop failed I was in focusing mode and the camera switched from raw to jpeg and with all the other issues I forgot to change the mode back to RAW so it doesn't look like my one night venture produced anything worthwhile

However I did pick up some useful tips from the other imagers there and they were all very helpful.

I'll have to get along for the whole weekend next time.

Cheers

[rogerg]

Shame you had so many problems Trevor. I know what it's like though - I am usually in that boat. This was rare for me to have such a successful run.

I had power issues too. Mine turned out to be that the extension cable between battery and inverter is not heavy enough duty to provide sufficient current for the inverter. I have no problem with a 40AH battery lasting me the weekend providing I have it wired up right.

It was great having such a large pool of knowledge there on the night, with 7 or so of us doing photography there was great sharing of solutions to problems.

Roger.

[leinad]

A great night indeed :)
Saw so many iridium flares, and there were some awesome meteors breaking up in the sky. After midnight you would always hear ..oooh, ahhh, whoaah!

It was great to meet you guys in person.
I must have missed you Sean, I heard you were there but didn't see you before darkness approached.

I managed to get a few good pictures on the night of M20, M31, NGC253, IC434, though my focus I found was slightly off and the pictures look a little blurred. Hopefully processing will fix it up.

Sucks you had so many problems Trev. We've all been there.
The deep cycle batteries are definitely worth it if you plan on travelling again where theres no mains power.
I found the 100AH battery was just on 50% power remaining after a solid night of use from 7.30pm to 5am; good 8hrs use powering the camera battery, laptop and usb hub.

We stayed on for Sunday night but the clouds rolled in around 10pm and the night was pretty much over.

Big thank you to ASWA for organising the event. I had a great time and it was definitely one of the best nights I've witnessed. :thanx:

[seanliddelow]

Doesnt it seem that the best weather is on a full moon.:rofl:

[TrevorW]

Sure is like tonight, thats why I've invested in a couple of DVD's to watch and a good bottle of red

no use fighting moon glow and LP when imaging

[seanliddelow]

Cant wait untill 2 weekends were im going to Bakers Hill. Im gonna save up for an Argo navis:thumbsup: