Pony Club: New Year's Weekend

[Rodstar]

It is time I blew the dust off the Mary Rose and gave her a night out under the stars.

I am thinking of heading up to the Pony Club on Saturday 1 January. Moonrise is not until 3.29am, so a good night's observing will be available.

Who is keen? Can I tempt you with the promise of views of M42 through a 20 inch SDM telescope?;)

[Shano592]

I might join you there, Rod.

I need to give the new 10-inch first light under dark skies, and the 28-day forecast shows some fine weather at the moment.

Would Friday be a better choice? Everyone else will be in Sydney for NYE ...

[Rick Petrie]

Hey Shane, Friday night is new years eve mate. :)Too much light pollution with all the fireworks.:P
At this stage guys may be able to do Saturday night, not definite though.:shrug:
Cheers

[Rodstar]

Hey Shane and Rick, would be good if you guys can make it, and I would love to be part of the first light for your new 10" LX200 Shane - that was my first scope (minus the ACF).

Friday (New Years) is not good for me due to family commitments.

Who else is interested in coming????

[gmbfilter]

Should be able to get a leave pass, if I behave
Be great to be there

[Arthur Alchin]

Working night duty friday night, knock off sat morning, will see how tired it am on sat afternoon, may get there

[Amunous]

you might be able to squeeze me up there ill see how hung over i am..

[Rodstar]

Geoff, Arthur, Michael, hope to see you there!

[Allan_L]

Pencilled in on my wish list.
If the weather gods can come to the party :cloudy:

[gb_astro]

Add me in too.

Greg.

[jamespierce]

We'll be out - just in the Little Desert Vic, not NSW ! We'll have to arrange something in the middle during 2011 though eh.

[Rodstar]

Allan and Greg, it will be great to see you there!

James, I wish I could be with you guys at Little Desert, sounds fantastic. Hope you have clear skies. Let me know what you have in mind for later in the year - we can email about it.

[sasup]

im going to try if weather is good

[Deeno]

Feeling photon deprived of late.

Count me in!

[iceman]

Will try!

[Carlz]

Definitely very interested as i got a new scope for christmas and i cant wait to take it out under darker skies. Hopefully Michael and i wont be too hung over from New Years.

[Rodstar]

Stacey and Carly, it will be great to meet you. Deeno, Mike, it will be like old times, yay!!

[jakob]

Me too! :)
Still 4 days for the clouds to blow away!

[RB]

I'll be there too, not scheduled for any evening work that night so I should be free.
Can't break tradition and miss a New Year's day obs night on the mountain !

:)

[Rick Petrie]

RB,does this mean that you will have plenty of time to 'break tradition' and pack a scope to bring???:D (new year's resolution maybe)
Don't worry too much though, as it looks like there will be plenty of other glass to look through.:P
Be good to catch up.:thumbsup:

[RB]

Yes indeed Rick, I'm determined this time to bring a scope with me. :prey::prey::prey:

:lol:

[Inmykombi]

I better try to bring my Meade Coffee Grinder SCT along to make sure we all get some of the pleasant sounds of Whirring we are used to....:D

[Shano592]

I'm just saying ...

Right now, Friday, Friday night and Saturday are looking nice.

Saturday night is an unknown as yet, and Sunday has a high chance (over 75%) of rain.

I still see NYE as an option. It's only fire crackers anyway.



:astron: :astron: :astron: :astron: :astron: :astron: :astron:

[Rodstar]

Jakob, RB, Geoff, it will be great to see you there!

Shane, keep the faith, mate. According to Weatherzone at the moment, the showers expected on Sunday are "late" in the day. We should be OK! (famous last words)

[kayla]

:newbie:
Hey I'm kayla! If it's OK, may i please come along? This will be a first for me and I'm incredibly excited! I just need to know the whereabouts, the date and the time of the star party. I would love to meet you all! :party:

[gb_astro]

Hi Kayla.

Sure, come along, the more the merrier.
There is a "Sticky" a click or two back showing how to get to the Pony Club
but here is a short cut:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=26142

Sunset is not till about 8pm but there should be some early birds there around 6ish.
Looks like Shane is out-voted on the date so it's Saturday the 1st.

Greg.

[GTB_an_Owl]

sorry i can't be there - i will still be in coffs or on my way to port

so we need a key holder to put his hand up !

geoff

[Arthur Alchin]

Will see if i can gety there, will have to bring my coffee grinder also to keep Geoff's company!

I think we are a dying race Geoff

[kayla]

so, who's definately coming:question:

[Rick Petrie]

I have a key, and I should be able to be there around 6:30ish.
That would give about 2 hours of light for any of our new people to set up, collimate or just any pre night discussions.:thumbsup:
Who are the other keyholders, can't remember?
Hope the weather is kind to us?:question: See yaz all.
PS Mr Owl Geoff. Do you know if the PC has any events on?

[Allan_L]

Hi Kayla :welcome:
Of course you are welcome to come and we will be very pleased to welcome you into our informal group, and to share what we know.

Noting that you are not driving, do you have someone organised to bring you (relative, friend etc). As this is not public transport area.

So, if you need a lift, where will you be coming from? Then we can work out who will be best able to offer a lift.

Geoff/ Rick,
I have a key and I am coming, weather dependant, probably around 7ish.

[Allan_L]

their webpage calendar does not show any events this weekend.

[Allan_L]

Safety in numbers ... we three Amigos :tasdevil: :tasdevil: :tasdevil:

[Rodstar]

Hi Kayla, it will be brilliant to give you a sky tour.

You might like to make a bit of a list of object in the sky this time of year, and I could show them to you. The Great Orion Nebula and Jupiter will make a nice start for you! See you there.

[Rick Petrie]

I think that's four amigos,Al.
Shane's got a new LX200 ACF.
So does this mean that you will have a 'whirry birds corner' somewhere?:P

[Shano592]

Shouldn't that be ... The more the Messier? :rofl:


It doesn't really matter to me ... the scope will still be outside on Friday night. It will just be on the balcony, is all! :thumbsup:



Yeah, I guess we'll have to set up the high tech grinders out of the reach of the swinging Dobs! Hehe.

I'll bring the SolarMax too. If there is enough daylight, there should be some good views of Sol.

[Arthur Alchin]

Us with the GOTO's should never under value the DOBs. It's always nice to have the Dobs around: their rotational speed when windy can be used to run generators to power our wonderful GOTO's

[paulF]

hey guys,
so is the date confirmed for New years eve or Jan the first ? :)
Would love to join in but with no scope as my motorbike is my only means of transportation and it's a bit hard to pack a 10inch dob on it :)

Cheers

[Allan_L]

Hey Paul,
Saturday is the confirmed date.
You are welcome with or without scopes.
There will be a plethora of different scopes to view through, and we are all happy to share the views around.
Hope to see you there

[Rick Petrie]

Well now, that's a thought, with electricity prices the way they are, we dobbers could make a few bucks on the side when it's windy.:lol:


I think Jan 1 seems the go Paul. Should be plenty of different scopes to look through. Welcome, and see you there.:thumbsup:

[paulF]

Thanks Rick/Allan and see you on Saturday night :)

[sasup]

what about goto dobs?

[Arthur Alchin]

intrinsically powered, put the excess back into the grid for general use: great idea!!

[Zincberg]

Hey guys,
Sorry I cant make it to the PC, I would have loved the opportunity to see you all again, Unfortunately, I leave for Bretti tomorrow morning (Friday 31st).. now heres the real kick in the pants for me, Im coming back from Bretti before you guys leave.
Dont worry, I spread the word that a "Gang" of hoodlums are coming to town.. recognisable by the red lights on their heads.:rofl:

[Arthur Alchin]

Thanks Andrew, when you get back can you give us the heads up on what the crowd is like up there through the forum so we can be prepared as well :). shame you can't stay the extra day or two

[sasup]

omg it looks like it may be clear tomorrow night. can't wait to try your new scope rick. I still have 4-5 months to wait on mine

[Rick Petrie]

No worries mate. Looking forward to tomorrow myself. Looks real promising.:thumbsup:

[Shano592]

I've just been outside, looking at Orion and Taurus. If tonight is anything to go by, then Saturday night is promising to be magnificent!

[Mars]

Hi there.

I'd definitely be interested in coming along with you guys tomorrow night if that's ok. Would love the opportunity to learn from all of you who will be far more experienced than myself and it will be great to get my new scope out under some darker skies than from my light-polluted suburbia!

Amazingly, looks like the weather may actually be quite good!

Patrick

[Allan_L]

Hi Patrick,
You will be more than welcome ...:welcome:
Hope to see you there.
The day looks like a "Cracker ! " so far ...:sunny:

[Rick Petrie]

Nice New Years play on words there Al.....Cracker :lol:

[Allan_L]

Happy New Year Rick :thumbsup:
and to ALL our readers !
see you later on today pal (if all goes to plan)

[GTB_an_Owl]

will you guy's stop telling me what a great nite i am going to miss!


(although, if i left by 11am i could get there around 7pm - no time to pick up scope though - what am i thinking :doh: - i would have to leave the missus up here and she would have to walk to port macquarrie for me to pick her up in a couple of days)

advice for the first timers

bring warm clothes and footware that will stand a bit of damp grass

oh - and pack the dew heaters and don't leave the batteries behind

geoff

[Rick Petrie]

Advice for Mr Owl...........bring the missus!!!!!!!

[kayla]

thanks everyone! look forward to meeting you all! :)

[sasup]

leaving my house at 5:00 or so and set up early, about when is the gate open????

[Shano592]

Mr Owl ..... I am yet to see you even look through your scope, after placing it it neatly on the grass .... will it be necessary?

[Arthur Alchin]

don't know what time a key will be there but i will be there about 1630 or soon after, If Geoff is coming earlier he may have a key.

Is anyone bringing the pies for later on ????

[Shano592]

I have a Pecan Custard Danish that has been set aside (only just).

[sally1jack]

If i can remember how to get there i'll be there :P lets start the new year with a perfect attendance record
phil

[Rick Petrie]

Excellent Phil.:thumbsup: Be great to catch up. Are you bringing the beast?:question:

[Rick Petrie]

I can only get there about 6ish.
There may be some other gatekeepers that can get there a bit earlier Arthur.
See Yaz.:)

[Inmykombi]

Will be there about 6'ish myself.

Sounds and looks like its shaping up for a good night.

My back is bad today so I'll just bring my little Grab and Go scope.

Geoffro.

[Allan_L]

Still looking to be 7 ish for me.

Sorry, could be a big queue outside the gate :)

Better get moving
my son (Steve) and (his girl-friend) Leona are making sounds of wanting to come again !

There may be the making of a young ladies sub branch by the sounds of it.
Someone clean up the (in)conveniences !

[Rodstar]

It appears that I am the first to emerge this morning...

What a fantastic night (sorry GTB-The Owl), a great turnout, lots of new faces and lots of familiar faces, I did not do a head count, but I reckon we got close to 25. And the sky was clear, and after some early thermal issues, things settled down and some tantalising detail was able to be extracted.

Highlights for the evening through the Mary Rose included NGC 1365 (Zorro galaxy), a string of planetaries such at the Eight Burst Nebula and NGC 1535, culminating in the Ghost of Jupiter (the two halo rings with sharp edges and bright hues). The homunculus was showing off her varicose veins quite nicely, and nice nebulosity littered the Carina region.

Conditions settled down nicely later on for viewing the various pit stops in Orion, and we spent some time enjoying my favourite multiple star system, sigma Orionis.

We also briefly looked at Comet Hartley once I had remembered how to enter the co-ordinates for a Scratch object. Comet Hartley is a diffuse object with a slightly condensed core. Phil Townsend and I thought we could discern a bit of a tail at 2 o'clock, but this may have been a false impression created by a grouping of faint stars in that region which make that part of the FOV a tad brighter. It should also be noted in passing that Phil made an excellent ladder carrying assistant: he would have made a worthy magician's assistant in a red tutu or bikini.

It was good to catch up with Deeno's news about his new little girl (8 weeks), mate that is fantastic news!!! Worthy of a Cuban cigar, in fact!

I enjoyed having a look at Rick's new 14 inch intelli-dob, Shane's new 10 inch LX200, and Kayla's new binoculars! Very different scopes, producing very different images, all good in different ways. It was also fun to discuss telescope options and SDM excitement with Stasey. As always, Greg had some equipment reservations, and was good company.

The dew set in about 1-ish, and my exhaustion meter started flashing at about 1.30. Was comfortably ensconced in bed by 2.30am. All in all, a brilliant night.

Some persons who shall remain nameless were noticeably absent. They risk excommunication if medical certificates or suitably executed statutory declarations are not presented to the organising committee within 72 hours.

[Allan_L]

Mr Owl,
You were right about the dew!
Drying required before Bretti in four days !!! (weather permitting)
Thanks for the very nice views Rod.
Good to catch up with so many.
And nice to see a second motor home on the field ! :P
Could be the start of a trend.

Potentially yours DOB- ALLi

[paulF]

Good to hear that it was a good night guys and apologies for not showing up. I burnt my hand a couple of days ago and was hoping to get the ok to get back on my bike from the doctors by yesterday but i was advised not to ride... And unfortunately, no many people that i know appreciate looking through 20inch telescopes and the likes so couldn't get anyone to give me a ride. Hopefully next time.

Cheers

[sasup]

I have risen and wanted to thank everyone for a great night. Rick did some magic with my evil mirror cell and Greg and norm had good ideas about my scope build. The high lite of the eveing had to be ghost of Jupiter.

[Inmykombi]

Great to see such a good roll up.
And it was nice to meet the new-comers to the PC.

Stacks of things to see, and the best ight I can remember for a while.

See you all again soon.

[Rick Petrie]

Great night I think was had by an excellent crowd of enthusiastic newcomers and regulars alike, particularly Kayla who was like she was in a candy shop. Great to see:eyepop: Nice to finally meet all the new people and hope that you all got a lot out of being there. Thanks to all.:)

And about that Scarlet Pimpernel fellow.
We sought him here, we sought him there, we didn't see him anywhere.:rolleyes:

[kayla]

best night! thanks everyone!! :thanks:
ps. sorry i hope i wasn't too annoying with my enthusiasm:D

[gb_astro]

Thanks all for a good night.
There was a brief early attack of termites on the wing which had us worried about the SDMs for awhile.
Great to see a few of the younger generation there.
Amazing detail in the Eta Carina homunculus later in the night through Rod's 20".
Thanks Norm and Shane for a look through the Pentax and Ethos 10s. Hmmmm......

Greg.

[RB]

Great to hear you all had a terrific night.
I'm sorry I missed it, this hot weather the last few day has kept me on my toes almost around the clock, hence I couldn't leave.

I was thinking of everyone and I was looking up during the night, envious of the clear skies you were enjoying and of all the great company I was missing out on.

Anyway couldn't be avoided, so Happy New Year everyone and hopefully we'll catch up next meet.

Cheers
Andrew
:cheers:

[bones]

Well happy new year to all. Sorry I didn't make what seems to have been another gret night at the PC.
Tony

[Dave W2]

Thanks everyone for showing my mate and I around on our 1st visit and letting us look thru your scopes. Shame we did not arrive earlier to meet people better and be able to see the scopes etc in daylight. I think my favourite was the double star I saw thru one scope and quite a thrill to look thru the big 20" scope I must say

I can’t remember many names but thanks to Rick/Arthur/Phill? & Patrick for spending time showing us the basics and the stellarium program (downloading now)

I’m looking forward to learning more and buying a scope sometime in the near future but will be keeping busy with my binoculars & stellarium in the meantime

Have fun up at Bretti, Most of my night ski interest has stemmed from camping at Barrington where the skies are generally nothing short of amazing



Dave

[Amunous]

Thanks all for a fantastic night.

A special thanks to rod and "the mary rose" what a fantastic peice of equipment and owner. very informative and friendly.

Thanks to the sky gods for the first clear night in ages .

It was good to catch up with a lot of the regulars and to meet the new faces. If the numbers keep expanding we will fill that paddock up in no time, preety soon it will be standing room only.


Is anything happening at the pc on the 08/01 or will everyone be in bretti?

[Arthur Alchin]

great night, thanks Geoff (I.M.K) for your help with the beast. Got some good photos for first attempt with the DSLR.

Catch you guys at twin servos on thursday morning

[Mars]

Just wanted to say a quick thanks to everyone for such an enjoyable night last night (and especially to those who taught me a few things).
It was nice to meet you all. Had a great time and saw a lot of really cool things :)

Also, I guess it has to be said.. it's truly amazing the detail you can see with 20" of aperture!
There's really no comparison. But anyways, back to my modest scope hehe

[Rodstar]

Mate, we missed you, but sounds like the chooks needed you. Hope this change to cooler weather will take some of the pressure off. Hope to see you soon.:thumbsup:

[Carlz]

What a fantastic night. Thank you so much to Rod and the Mary Rose for the beautiful viewings and information you provided. Even though i had an early start at work the next morning i was wanting to stay longer. It was good seeing some new faces too :)

[Rick Petrie]

Definitely not Kayla, keep up your enthusiasm, it is catching and inspirational to everyone. See ya next time.:)

[Allan_L]

Absolutely! I second that.
More enthusiasm always welcomed :welcome:

thanks to everyone who came.


Hmmm! "hot chicks" ?
Is that on the list of permitted absences ?

OK we let you off this time,
But next time you've got hot chickens...
...bring 'em along to share ;)

[Shano592]

It was indeed a very good night. That was a much better turnout than I had anticipated... a great result, considering the regulars who were absent...

And to all of the newcomers, it was great to have you all there, and hope to see you again next time.

[kayla]

:thumbsup: Okay,
see you next time! Oh, and it was really lovely to meet you all!!!