All Clear in SEQ

[jjjnettie]

Not a cloud in sight and the moon won't be rising for hours. :D So who's heading outside tonight?
I've got both mounts up and running. Wide fielding with the 20d on the eq5 and it's "Galaxy Quest" using the Gstar, ed80 and the Tower of Terror.
About the fire up the music to drown out the sounds of the highway.
Starting with a little Led Zepplin, Houses of the Holy.
Gunna have a good time tonight!!:thumbsup:

[Robert9]

Clear skies in Melbourne too. But!!!! Winds gusting up to 90Km/h. Think I'll just read or watch TV.
Enjoy the night.
Robert

[lacad01]

Have a great night's observing/imaging :)
...I'm stuck at work tonight :sad:

[strongmanmike]

:clap: good for you Ms J

...I'm goin out for Chinese :D

Mike

[kinetic]

Looking good here too Jeanette!
Dome has been cooling for a few hrs.
Windy today but clear and still now.
Live view from Dome webcam remote desktop.

Good luck!:hi:

Steve

[jjjnettie]

The only downer here is the mozzies.:mad2:

[coldspace]

Very nice and clear dow on the south side of Brizzy tonight. I can't do anything tonight :( got other commitments.

Matt.

[RobF]

Good luck with the viewing Jeanette!
Knew it wouldn't be long before the mozzies appeared again. I'm going to miss winter this year me thinks.....!

[erick]

Yes, if it were not for the wind.... It's going to be a balmy 15 deg out tonight in Melbourne!

[matt]

Got a 3am rise tomorrow for work....so it's off to bed for me:(

[mozzie]

whats wrong with mozzies hahah no wind no clouds good seeing its been a great night try not to kill to many of my brothers:lol::shrug:
mozzie

[pgc hunter]

mozzies suck and must die. I remember a couple of summers ago I had to endure hell with those crappy things. Once I actually had to give up a perfectly good night because I was being eaten a-bloody-live....

[pgc hunter]

Ironically its the 1000000km/h winds keeping the temp up here in Iceland. That's the only way it's possible to be warm at night here in Iceland, even in mid summer while the rest of the country actually gets summer nights without fear of hypothermia. As soon as the wind dies down, watch that temp fall to earth. Wind has completely dissappeared about half an hour ago, temp has already gone from 22 to 19. No sign of wind anymore, temp should have no problems dropping to 15C, perhaps lower (after all, we failed to hit our forecast high...what a surprise).

This ain't Sydney, heat capital of our known universe

[DavidU]

I might just pull the scope out, before I fall asleep
The wind has dropped a lot.

[pgc hunter]

Forecast calls for a lull in wind until tomorrow arvo so I think it's safe to go for it :thumbsup:

[mithrandir]

Just came in from 4 hours of an almost perfect Sydney night. Shame I have to be up early or would have been out longer. Clear skies. Slight breeze. No moon. Far enough northwest for only moderate light pollution. Scorpio dominating the sky.

[AlexN]

Imaging as we speak...

So far - 9x1200sec Ha shots of M8 + M20 (M20 is on the side of the field of view, I didnt notice till I'd already run 6x 20min subs.. but its clearly visible.. sort of a bonus I guess! :D

20x 5mins (colour) shots of NGC300.. Dont know how that will turn out.. its pretty dim and 5 min is the max i can do from home thanks to light pollution... I should get another 10 or so before the horse head rises, then I'll wack the Ha filter back in and get as many 20min subs as I can before dawn.. I should get 2.5hrs to add to my current hours worth from last weekend... then my Ha lum will be ready for when I can get stuck into some colour subs from Barambah Dark Sky Camp next weekend!

JJJ - Are you heading up to Ron's tomorrow night?

[jjjnettie]

No, I'd like to but I'm working all this weekend.
Tonight has been great hasn't it.
I've captured loads of data for a Sagitarius wide field using the 20d and 7 galaxies and 3 nebs with the Gstar.
I've been busy busy busy.
Been eating chocolate brownies (yum) to keep me going. I'm buzzing along on a massive sugar hit.
You missed out massively at Astrofest. I'll have to make 4 kilos of brownies next year.

[AlexN]

Hahaa! yea I've been doing a bit the same.. I made biscuits though.. but still, they go nice with a big hot coffee and a sky full of stars! :)

Tonight has been awesome.. I've definitely not covered the amount of targets you've managed, however I'll be happy to have some good lum images to use with RGB data I get at Barambah..

Im still not sure If I'll be heading to Rons.. I'd like to, but its a long way to drive etc..

Still listening to Zepplin or have you moved on to the usual 1am music (pink floyd) :) I've got black sabbath going at the moment, im sure my neighbours love me.. but hey, they had outside lights on shining into my back yard till 11:30.. This is me getting mine back! :) haha

[jjjnettie]

After "Houses of the Holy" I just had to listen to Zepplin 4.
Then some Janis Joplin, Rodriguez and a bit of various complilation stuff.
Just doing my darks now, so some Floyd would be nice. Sit back and watch the moon rise. "Dark side of the moon" I think.

[kinetic]

NGC 253 in the bag so far and now over to Tarantula ...
Seeing is getting better by the hour :)

Steve

[AlexN]

Nice collection JJJ.. I'll have to copy some music off you at barambah! my collection of late night imaging music is somewhat thin... I've now moved to a bit of dire straights.. haha.. weird, but nice...

Steve, Good to hear you're capturing data mate! Cant wait to see what you produce!

just did a rough stack of my 8x20min M8 images... looks nice..

[kinetic]

Spoke too soon Alex, seeing has fallen off a bit...
Here's live preview of Tarant, remote desktop...

Steve

[AlexN]

lookin good mate! The seeing here is unbelievably good actually.. There is an element of moisture in the air.. however the stars are all looking very steady! looks awesome... 1200sec Ha subs of the horse head just started.. I should be able to get 6 of them before the stupid sun comes up and ends my fun!

[bloodhound31]

What a coincidence! I just got 15 x 15 minute subs on NGC253, followed by 10 x 8 minute subs on Tarantula. Shooting M42 now. Gonna give easy HDR a shot with that one....should be interesting.

Might even try the starshoot on the moon while I'm here.

A very productive night.

Baz.

[kinetic]

Ahh but did you have a few cans of Guinness Baz? :)

I was heading for B33 next but the seeing is now shot to bits :(

Steve

[AlexN]

I've had 9 corona's so far Steve..

2x1200sec horse head Ha images in the bag... 3rd one is about 5 minutes in.. :) Exciting times these are.. mm yeaass.. :D bah ha ha ha hah aaa athe mooon can not stop my imaging frenzy!! NOOOTHING CAN STOP MY IMAGING FRENZYYY!! :D

With any luck tomorrow night goes off much like tonight.. if I can get the same amount of data again tomorrow on these three targets, I may well end up with some nice images! :)

I ended up getting 20x5min on NGC300.. Im still a little doubtful that it will be enough.. but hey.. get 20 more tomorrow and it could be ok..

[Davros]

Stop it your all making me jealous. It was a nice night last night.

[matt]

Yeahhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!! Me too!

I'm going to set up to image Jupiter tonight....even if it kills me:lol:

[RobF]

Mmmm. I'm jealous with a capital J too!

ALEXX!! ALEXX!!! Are you awake yet!? Heck you must have a headache today after 9 Coronas! :lol:

[AlexN]

Yo! Im up... ended up going to bed at 7:30am... Was a brilliant night.. I've had just enough sleep to know that I can definitely do it all again tonight! :D

ps.. the head is fine... however I wont be doing the corona-a-thon this time around ! :D

[RobF]

Ah, to be young and free. I know I wouldn't be up yet if I'd have that many Coronas last night! My 2yr old have me up well before you hit the sack by the sounds of it.

Have fun tonight, whether at Ron's or home.......

[AlexN]

I think I'll be home tonight... Im driving 300km to Barambah next weekend for dark skies, and staying home tonight gives me the opportunity to add more data to the IC434 Ha lum before going to dark skies to get some colour data.. Fingers crossed my dew heater bands show up before next weekend... :D the hair dryer is getting very long in the tooth! :D

[matt]

C9.25 and EQ6...DMK mono....all set up and ready to go:thumbsup:

I'm going to wait for Jupiter to climb a little higher (50 degrees +) and then capture some RGB sequences.

Seeing looks pretty good. Time will tell.

Now to sit down, relax, sip on a brewski and wait for half time in the Broncos/Titans game:lol:

[jjjnettie]

I escaped from the house just as the other half turned the footy on.
Wide fields only for me tonight.
Might start off with Corona Australis then follow up with the Scorpions Sting.
In between targets I'll make a start on what I captured last night.
Have a great night everyone.
damn mozzies:mad2:

[matt]

I've slapped on enough tropical strength Aerogard to drown a hippo!:lol:

[Tandum]

Only seen the odd patch of blue up here at port douglas over the last few days and it's the same again tonight. But it doesn't matter, it's pub time instead :D

[AlexN]

more Ha M8/M20 for me... first 20 minute sub is in the bag!

[jjjnettie]

I use "Off", it works.
Not as stinky as most of the others either.

[AlexN]

mozzies don't bite me.. blood alcohol concentration is too high for the poor little blighters i presume

[jjjnettie]

We were at a friends observatory on Tuesday night and they lit up a mozzie coil inside the obs. Ugh.
Lucky I was observing outside with Rhoi cause it stunk inside where the boys were. Poor Paul looked green when he finally emerged.
Imagine what it's doing to the optics of Jim's beautiful Meade LX200R.?

[AlexN]

hahah! yea.. I dont allow my parents to fire up the bbq 25m away from my scope when the lens caps are off.. no chance... I love my optics..

Hey JJJ.. whats this fair/show thing in kilcoy tomorrow? are you going to be there.. Dad and I were thinking about coming up for a look-see..

[kinetic]

Corona Australis?....I think Alex gave that some attention too last night
JJJ :)

[AlexN]

Bahahaha! Too right mate.. Corona Australis is what I call my bar fridge! :) Ran out of them last night... having to put up with jack daniels tonight instead.. oh poor me.. :P

[jjjnettie]

Kilcoy Wood Wine and Art Show. It started today finishes tomorrow.
We're selling our coffee there plus I have a stall selling astro piccies. Did great today, sold almost enough to buy another dslr (a 2nd hand one that is)
Free wine tasting, beautiful wood work and some quite beautiful art work.
Tomorrow morning is the Poets Breakfast. Hopefully the Hare Krishna's will be there too selling their yummy scrummy food.

[dpastern]

:( I had planned to go out tonight, but alas...I have a suspected migraine (seems far too severe for a normal headache, panadol + a few hours sleep hasn't even remotely touched it, trying the nurofen + aspirin combo now).

Dave

[DavidU]

Thats great !!! well done

[jjjnettie]

Poor David. Hope it passes quickly for you. Have you been drinking enough water today? Pinch the back of your hand and if your skin stays pinched for a little bit, you're dehydrated. The biggest cause of headaches/migraines is dehydration.

[matt]

I get 'em (migraines) too, Dave, so I sympathise if that's the case.

All the best.

[AlexN]

Sounds good to me JJJ... Well i'll keep an eye out for the coffee van.. I'm always keen for a cuppa! :)

David - Water mate.. water.. never underestimate the healing powers of adequate hydration.. Have a poweraid followed by 2 nurofen followed by 300ml of water an hour.. you'll be sweet! now stop yer whining and gecher scopes out!

[jjjnettie]

I'm feeling pretty chuffed about it. :)
Be nice to do the same tomorrow, but I sold all the really good ones today.

[jjjnettie]

So far I've listened to
Led Zepplin 3
Led Zepplin 2
just started
The Doors "LA Woman"

Looks like it's a Blue's evening.
Got some really old stuff lurking on the hard drive somewhere.
Muddy Waters
Sonny Boy Williamson
Howlin' Wolf etc etc

[spacezebra]

JJJ your avatar has vanished!

Cheers Petra d.

[spacezebra]

Opps - no its back - oh my puter is doing weird things

Cheers Petra d.

[dpastern]

Well, a few aspirin and a nice strong Black coffee (opens up the arteries) seems to be helping. Doesn't seem to be dehydration, at least according to the pinch the back of the hand routine. That said, I haven't drunk much water today, I typically don't drink a lot of water. I've probably had 600ml of milk today (not including brekkie), and 2 glasses of Lemonade. So, probably around 1.4 litres of fluid. About usual for me. I've got a really sore neck though. Since it's lifting, it's not a migraine, but it sure as hell felt like one before. Aspirin is doing the trick, yay!

Dave

[jjjnettie]

:lol: Now you see me, Now you don't.
How's it going Petra? How come you're not out with Albert tonight?

[spacezebra]

Hi JJJ

Im out of action with Bronchitis, banned from outside cool air for a few months until I shake this.:sadeyes:

Cheers Petra d.

[AlexN]

Banned from outside cool air? How then are you supposed to practice astronomy? What are those crazy doctors thinking? Sure, you're bronchitis may clear up, but at what cost to your mental stability.. I go bonkers when there's clear skies and I cant break out the telescopes and do some imaging..

[bloodhound31]

I was sooooooo thinking about B33 last night...that moon's a bugger though. i learned the wotam lesson a while ago...

(waste of time and money)

Got a perfect night again tonight out here in the obs. This just doesn't happen does it? Two nights in a row with no commitments, weekend nights with sleep in opportunities the next day, and NO CLOUDS!!

Praise the Lord He's good to me!

Shooting NGC253.

Baz.

[jjjnettie]

See, if you had an observatory you'd have no problems.:P
Get well soon.

[jjjnettie]

The moon will still be too close to b33 tonight I reckon. It's a slippery beggar to catch properly.

It's about time to move on to my next object of the night.
Which I think will be an episode of Red Dwarf before hitting the sack.
Have a great night everyone.
Hope to see you tomorrow Alex.

[AlexN]

85% chance of me coming up tomorrow JJJ.. Will catch you there if I make it...

Yeah, the moon is going to be too close to the horsey tonight.. Im not going to bother staying up that late to try and get more data.. I'll wait till next weekend.. :)

Good on ya Baz, make the most of it... I too have been lucky enough to have had two beautifully clear nights, no commitments, time to sleep in... I've captured 12hours of data in the past two nights :) Pretty chuffed about it all actually!

[Tandum]

Woohoo .. they are dancing in the streets up here, bugger the sky :D

[jjjnettie]

Ah yes, that brings back memories.
They certainly know how to have a good time at Port.
One thing I learnt, start your drinking at the top pub. It's easier to roll down the hill to the next pub than to stagger uphill.
Commiserations on the hangover this morning.;):lol: