hotspur
14-07-2010, 05:33 PM
Not sure how its been for astronomers' in the rest of the country,but in S.E QLD we have had very bleak skies for over 12 months.
I recently purchased a astro-computer for mount and scope.After installing it on Sunday,and reading manuals on Monday,I finally got to see some stars on Monday evening.Last night I did some further testing on new kit,all went smoothly-(Vixen SS2K works very well-straight out of the box).
After an hour or so,the night just got better,I had not seen seeing conditions this good for over 12 months,all star clusters were clear and sharp,Eta Carina had that magical glow,and the dark lanes were so dark,I had not seen these objects so clearly for such along time,I nearly forgot what they looked like.other objects viewed-jewel box,M17,M22,M20,M71,M57,M104,M6,gre at to see M71 and M 57,had not seen these since last year, (real 'Astrofest objects')
I only planed to stay out in the observatory for an hour to check gear,but so good was the viewing I stayed out for 3 hours,Unfortunatly I had to work today,otherwise I would have stayed up late.
Hope other astro view starved astronomers in S.E QLD may have had a similar experience last night,back to normal tonight with cloudy conditions.
regards Chris
I recently purchased a astro-computer for mount and scope.After installing it on Sunday,and reading manuals on Monday,I finally got to see some stars on Monday evening.Last night I did some further testing on new kit,all went smoothly-(Vixen SS2K works very well-straight out of the box).
After an hour or so,the night just got better,I had not seen seeing conditions this good for over 12 months,all star clusters were clear and sharp,Eta Carina had that magical glow,and the dark lanes were so dark,I had not seen these objects so clearly for such along time,I nearly forgot what they looked like.other objects viewed-jewel box,M17,M22,M20,M71,M57,M104,M6,gre at to see M71 and M 57,had not seen these since last year, (real 'Astrofest objects')
I only planed to stay out in the observatory for an hour to check gear,but so good was the viewing I stayed out for 3 hours,Unfortunatly I had to work today,otherwise I would have stayed up late.
Hope other astro view starved astronomers in S.E QLD may have had a similar experience last night,back to normal tonight with cloudy conditions.
regards Chris