Blue Mountains- June, Katoomba Airfield 12/6/10

[mental4astro]

Hi all,

Katoomba Airfield is again available to us for Saturday 12'th of June, :thumbsup:.

I was so disappointed to have had to miss May's visit a such short notice- them's the breaks, I guess.

Speaking to Rod today, the Airfield has had next to no rain of late. Gee, at my place this last Saturday night we had some 50mm! Thankfully steadily over the whole night, not all at once.

I've got some major catching up to do now. Complete April's and May obs' challenges, plus what ever is nominated for June. I might just have to be happy completing the sketch of Eta Carina I started in April.

As always, everyone is welcome. Young and old, novice or old salt, green or, umm, 'ripe'!

As always, my eternal challenge is to get there before sunset.

Reminder, access to the Airfield is via Medlow Bath.

Wishing you all clear skies,

Mental.

[lacad01]

Thanks Alex, fingers crossed I'll be there. Know what you mean about getting there before sunset, took me 2.5 hours to get there last time :rolleyes:
Will have to look into getting some sort of dew heaters for the gear next time :)

[Wavytone]

Sorry Alex, I'll have to give it a miss. The good news is I'm walking a little now so by mid July I should be on my feet properly, again.

[morls]

Hi Alex,

I might be able to get there, sounds like it would be a great way to get started with my first scope, recently purchased.....

Are there any details I need to keep in mind (what time people arrive, parking etc)?

Stephen

[mental4astro]

Parking- no problem. The main airstrip is some 80m wide by 1km long.

Time- On sunset most people are there by. This allows set-up time and a bit of cool down as the sky darkens. One day I'd like to get there before sunset to take a pic or two of the place. If you can bring a torch with some type of red filter over it, everyone will love you. You can use red cellophane to cover your torch.

Access to the Airfield is via Medlow Bath. Turn into Railway Pde at Medlow's only traffic lights. Head down to and left into Rutland (also called Grand Canyon Rd). The Airfield is 4km from this intersection, with the last 3km a dirt road. Note: the recent heavy rain may have degraded the last 1km of the road, so take it easy.

When you come into the airfield, turn left and go through the 'no entry' sign. You will come to an intersection with the hangers and other smaller buildings- turn right and head on up to the main airstrip. The are a couple of concrete platforms there were we set up on, with the main one we set-up on just to the left.

Reminder: BYO power. There are loos for the ladies. Boys, watch out for redbacks, ;). We are welcome to stay overnight, either sleep in your own car or in the office building- remember it gets just a little bit cold up there.

Only other thing is the hat gets passed around for everyone to pitch in on Rod's favourite brew.

[mental4astro]

Access to Katoomba Airfield is via Medlow Bath, next village up from Katoomba.

[Steffen]

Google Maps knows "Katoomba Airfield, NSW, Australia", so it should be easy to find for anyone. The turn off from the highway is at Medlow Bath station.

Weather permitting I'll be there! :thumbsup:

Cheers
Steffen.

[sasup]

I'm not saying I'm coming as that would alert the astronomy monsters. See if I say I'm coming something will pop up and stop me, SO i am not slaying I'm coming.:eyepop::eyepop::thumbsup:

[En1gma]

I'll be going. see you all then

[mental4astro]

Astro, and football on the radio, mmmm... late nights ahead.

The Spanish commentary should be interesting...

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL!!!

[dulwich.hill]

Hi Alexander,

I am a bit of a newbie but would like to come on the weekend. I am bringing my 6" F8 refractor on a CGEM GOTO mount for some observing.

Do you have any suggestions for what we should try and observe from Katoomba at this time of year? From our backyard at the moment we can see:

* Moon
* Mars
* Saturn
* Venus
* The Jewel Box
* 47 Tuc

What else do you suggest for a beginner?

Also, are there any specific instructions for getting onto the airfield? Is the gate locked or anything? I plan to get there before 5pm.

Cheers

James

[mental4astro]

Hi James,

Mate, in many ways this is the best time of year for observing: Cooler atmosphere makes for better seeing conditions, and some of the best jewels in the sky are at our disposal.

Here is a short list of items you might like to ping. These are visible from home too, so you might like to track them down from home first if you have time, and compare the view from Katoomba:

*Omega Centuri, NGC 5139- the best Globular Cluster in the sky.
*M4 - another Globular cluster, one of my fav's. In Scorpio, so best a little later at night for this month.
*NGC 5286- another GC in Centaurus. Much smaller and will give you a little challenge to spot. Makes for a contrast to Omega.

*M83 ( The Southern Pinwheel Galaxy) & M104 (Sombrero Galaxy). They are not far from each other, in Hydra and Virgo respectively.
*Centaurus A, NGC 5128 (The Hamburger Galaxy). Tricky to spot from Sydney now, but doable. A good target to use your averted vision to actually find the object. From Katoomba, I've seen these three galaxies through a 30mm finder.

*Eta Carina Nebula, NGC 3372- A monster nebula very close to the Southern Cross. So bright you might be able to spot it naked eye from home. Look at this link posted by Robh, it will give you some insight into the various structures visible in this monster. It is such a busy place:

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=583565&postcount=2

*NGC 3918 (the Blue Nebula)- while you are near Eta Carina, move across to this really bright and striking Planetary Nebula near the Southern Cross.

For instructions on getting to the Airfield, look down at reply No. 5. I've expanded on how to get there. As Steffen wrote, you can also google-map 'Katoomba Airfield'.

Just remember, BYO power and it will get cold there. Tucker wise, there is a good hamburger place at Wentworth Falls, and a very good pizza shop also at Wentworth Falls.

See you there.

[dulwich.hill]

Fantastic, thanks Alexander, that's just the list I was looking for. I have been doing lots of reading about celestial objects, but I am never sure what I can actually see with our telescope rather needing a Hubble in the boot!

Quick question about power. A new battery for the mount should arrive this week. If it doesn't arrive, can I park the car near the scope for 12v supply? Or do we need to park off the field?

Also, if my son comes too, is it OK to set up a tent for sleeping? Or are we best to sleep in the car?

Cheers mate, thanks for the tips, hope we have clear skies!

James

[mental4astro]

We park out cars very much next to the scopes surrounding the concrete slab. How close depends on the amount of space you need, and how long you power lead is. Depends on how early you get there.

If you don't mind the cold, a tent is fine, your car too, or we are welcome to sleep over in the Airfield's office building, though as it has no power at night so a torch is necessary.

[En1gma]

Hi James,

I a;ways have a portable 12v battery supply in the car you are welcome to use.

Rob

[eclipse]

Assuming weather is OK we will be there as usual. Deb and Les

[morls]

Hi Alex,

I'm hoping to get there tomorrow, but maybe not for the whole night. If I was to head back to Sydney midnight or 2am or something, would this be too disruptive for others observing?

Stephen

[mental4astro]

No, not at all. Those who do leave do so around then as well. Just keep the burn-outs to a minimum- some folks get a little bit narkie about getting dust in their gear...:screwy::rolleyes:.

I've spoken to Rod this morning, and it was a mighty 1.1deg this morning.

Again, we are welcome to stay in the office building overnight, but there is no power up there. BYO food and drink too- very basic facilities up there.

[Steffen]

Above zero? Woohoo! :lol:

Cheers
Steffen.

[icytailmark]

u guys r gunna need a gas heater out there!!!!!

[lacad01]

Stuck at work today so won't be able to make it tonight :sad:
Hope you guys have a great night, rug up :cold:

[sasup]

how many hours drive is it from Avalon beach???? Just want to know when to leave.

[mental4astro]

2hrs from Sydney's CBD, make your estimate to Katoomba.

Leaving in the next 1/2 hr. I'm really, really hoping to be there before sunset this time.

[morls]

Damn, work has reared it's ugly head.....:mad2:

happy viewing!:stargaze:

[mental4astro]

Hi all,

Top night lastnight! Ten adults and 5 kids at one point!

Great sky, though stated to get faintly foggy by the end, and frost! FROST, did someone mention FROST!

So many scopes, so many set-ups, and so many interpretations of the same objects. Brilliant! Managed to keep my toes warm for some time by marching between them all! We had from 80mm ED refractors to a big dob. Some 14 scopes all up.

Obs. wise, I managed only a few of the June obs. challenge. I post my report in the Obs. Challenge thread shortly.

Thanks again for everyone that came last night. The fire in the office help to distract attention from the cold. Most welcomed, thanks Rod.

Til next month,

Mental.

[sasup]

yep me too, thanks to everyone and big thanks to Alex for putting it together and Steffen for saving the day with a spare finder.. Great group of star watchers. Did I say cold.Like my wife the day after I forgot her birthday kind of COLD:P

[eclipse]

For your information it was 1.7C when we woke up the next day!. Heavy frost all over the grounds.

[En1gma]

So unhappy I missed out.. I was invited out to my birthday dinner.. And they had to make it a nice Saturday night

Glad you all had fun

Rob

Till next time

[charsiubau]

First time at Katoomba airfield for Ken and Bronwyn from Canberra. Called in on our way travelling from Sofala to Sydney. Clear sky, great company, thanks to Alex for organising this. We scraped ice off the windscreen before we left shortly after 10 pm.

[dulwich.hill]

Hi Alex,

FANTASTIC NIGHT! Thanks for organising the evening, I would love to be back next month if you are able to organise again. Eta Carina, Leo Triplet and the Tarantula Nebula were looking superb with the clear night.

Thanks again,

James

P.S. I know that dew can become an issue for scopes, but never considered FROST! What a terrifically chilly, but still night.

[Wavytone]

Frost ? Not a problem - scrape it off :rofl:

I was observing from a cozy cabin at Cambewarra, rather warmer than Katoomba, had two great nights, but yes the dew was bad...

Katoomba next time, since I'm walking again :)