Pony Club Jan 29th

[Rick Petrie]

Bit early, but all interested in attending on Sat 29th. or Feb 5th.
Sat 29th moon rise around 2:30am so plenty of night, providing we get some clear sky. I personally can't make 5th.
Can we top the new year weekend attendance record?:thumbsup:

[Amunous]

Dont see why i shouldnt be there!

[Shano592]

Weather permitting, then definitely for this one.

[Rodstar]

It is my daughter's 8th birthday that day, but that should not encroach on the evening....so it's a "probably" from me.

[sally1jack]

29th sounds good to me , don't mention the weather:D

[Arthur Alchin]

will give it a go provided i survive a "big" night the night before

[jakob]

I'll make note of it.:thumbsup:

[Zincberg]

Ill be there for sure.

[Carlz]

yeah i can make either, but the 5th would be better so then i dont have to start work at 6am on sunday morning :P

[sasup]

29 sounds good to me

[Inmykombi]

29th Looks good for me at this stage.:D

[kayla]

29th sounds good, will try!

[Arthur Alchin]

will we need the freezer suits yet?

[Rick Petrie]

No Arthur....just plenty of coldies.:P

[Inmykombi]

I am really looking forward to some clear skies. Fingers crossed.

[Arthur Alchin]

might have to cool down at the weekend or we will melt our mirrors. Already had to re-stick the Telrad back on after bretti

[Rick Petrie]

Latest forecast seems to be very promising for Sat.:)
Looking forward to trying out some new mods on the Orion.

[Shano592]

Hopefully, the Saturday showers are very early in the day, allowing the skies to fine up nicely in time for the evening.

[Arthur Alchin]

Has anybody got a reasonable weather prediction for Saturday night as far as clouds go???

I think that "weather prediction" is an oximoron.

[Allan_L]

Sorry guys!
If you thought you were going to have a quiet night without me...
...think again!
As if you could keep me away from your wonderful company!
...and no Rick, I am still DOBless Ally.

[Rick Petrie]

We just turn up Arthur and it will be a good night (no oxymorons in our bunch).;)
7timer is showing some cloud for Sat. but it was totally wrong last time.
Other sites are showing no cloud so 'go figure'??????

[Shano592]

That's ok, Allan, you can grind coffee with Andrew and myself.

What time is the first key holder due to unlock the gates? Any guesstimates?

EDIT: Here is a Mangrove Mountain update to 7-timer, although this one is still purported to be in the alpha-testing stage. Called Astro_panel Extend, it has a 7-day lead on the forecast, instead of just 3.

http://7timer.y234.cn/product.php?language=en&product_id=5&country=AS&adm=AS02&site=1578

To change the location to your local area, simply go here (http://7timer.y234.cn/product.php?language=en&product_id=5&country=AS) and find your locale.

[Rick Petrie]

Hi Shane
I should be there between 6:30 and 7:00.
Latest 7timer prediction is much better. Lookin' good?:thumbsup:

[GTB_an_Owl]

and here's the link for the new one for the pony club co-ordinants

http://7timer.y234.cn/exe/ape.php?lon=151.15&lat=-33.33&en&

geoff

[Mars]

I should be coming for a second time tonight :) Hope the weather makes it worth it!

[Rodstar]

I am coming for sure, the Mary Rose has assumed the "transportation position", hope to get there by about 8pm for set up. Looking forward to seeing yo'all tonight!

[gmbfilter]

I tied up with a hazard reduction at Yarramalong and might not get there at all
I might just be a bit late
Looks like a good night
I hope everyone has a great night

[gb_astro]

I'm there about 7.

Greg.

[Rodstar]

Hope we see you a bit later on then, Geoff. If not, good luck, and hope to see you next time.

[bones]

Didn't make it last night as I was saving my energy to get up about 2:30am to set up for my first go at imaging Saturn. Didn't quite go to plan as after my first capturing run I was having some problems with the computer or capturing software.

I got on to read how it went last night for all but there's no reports yet. It must have been a great night - 12:05pm and everyone's still sleeping in. The sky sure did look great at 2:30am and not much dew either.
Tony

[gb_astro]

It was an ok night Tony with a good roll-up but the seeing was pretty soft all night.
I think the lack of reports sort of sums it up: unexciting.
Some good views through Rod's 20. (NGC1365 now my second favourite galaxy.)
What was a surprise was how cool it got.
We started off in tee shirts and ended up in jumpers/coats.
Half of us stayed late enough to see Saturn.
The rings have opened up nicely since last year but again it was a pretty soft view.
Noticeable absent was Stacy who was supposed to pick up his Pan24 and his freezer suit.


Greg.

[Zincberg]

Well, Im up... now :)
It was a good night, big turnout.. I think we may have had 12 or 13 scopes all pointed skyward.
The viewing was, well.. viewing was a little ordinary. But I will be the last one to make any huge complaint about ANY clear skies. I enjoyed from midnight onwards, got some nice views of Eta Carina,tarantula, The sombrero Galaxy, the Eskimo Nebula and many more.
Fingers crossed for more clear skies for the future... make that more MORE clear skies.

[GTB_an_Owl]

have to agree with the boy's - an AVERAGE nite's viewing - but still, only two clouds in the sky all nite :whistle:

but again - a good roll up - lots of interaction between scopes during the nite

we had everything from Allans little 4" baby, to the delightful "Mary Rose".

locked the gate at 03:11 am and had a very nice moonlight drive home

geoff

[Rodstar]

I would concur that the seeing was pretty poor for much of the night, but it did steady up at times, and was noticeably better after midnight. The sky was clear, I thought the transparency was pretty good.

I had a good time observing next to Greg (SDM alley), it was interesting to compare targets between the two scopes, and see what detail could be squeezed out of some objects.

With the poor seeing, I spent some time with galaxies, and saw lots of them. I particularly enjoyed the views of NGC 1097 and 1097A, the Spindle Galaxy, a very low M104, a very low NGC 5128, NGC 1365, M77,etc

The Eskimo PNe showed some nice colour and detail later in the evening.

Although it was not the conditions for it, I found myself enjoying some double stars. Waasat in Gemini was my favourite for the evening, a very pretty and tight double, the primary looked white and the secondary orange, perhaps about 2 arc seconds separation at a guess. I will try to have another look when conditions are better to verify.

It is always pleasant to stroll the field, and enjoy some bonhomie. Was especially good to have peek through Geoff "InmyKombie's" Quadroscope (it has the LX200 SCT with Meade finder plus 60mm refractor piggybacked with its own finder). We could not split Waasat in the Quadroscope despite valiant efforts.

I also enjoyed catching up with Rickapoodie, love that scope, mate, it is slowly developing all of those smart refinements we expect from a refined gentleman such as yourself! Thanks for the nice views, and also for being my helper on moving the Mary Rose in and out of the boot.
Allan was very generous with lamingtons - thanks mate!

Was good to catch up with the Hepworth Man, Geoff the owl, mate enjoyed the chat and the company. Also good to chat to other regulars - one and all.

We missed some familiar faces, we therefore expect statutory declarations next month with supporting documents to provide proof of genuine extentuating circumstances having prevented attendances. (joke)

I was quite tired from a full week, so started packing up at about 1am. Was in bed snuggly by 2am.

Clear and steady skies to all!

[GTB_an_Owl]

for those of us that discussed the trapezium last nite - here is a pic i
found

http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=88773&stc=1&d=1296358255

geoff

[Rick Petrie]

Thoroughly enjoyed the clear sky and the great company again.:thumbsup:
As all have said, the seeing left a lot to be desired, however just to have such clear sky was definitely worth it.
Great to experience the differing views through so many scopes (thanks all)and I think the highlights for me were all the objects with nebulosity together with some doubles and a few galaxies.
Thanks to everyone who offered the guiness, the beer, the party pies the snag rolls,and the lamo's which keeps everyone going. (they know who they are).
Hey Rod, what's this 'refined gentlemen' wrap? I'm sure you must have got me mixed up with someone else. Thanks for your kind thoughts though mate, I didn't know I had changed my ways that much???:rolleyes::P.
Bring on February/March New moon.

[Shano592]

So, is Feb 5 on the cards?

[jakob]

I recall a post from iceman with a map/photo of this probably 2 years ago.

[Deeno]

Good to hear you guys had a good night!
I had every intention of making the trip but, didn't arrive home till 10, the scopes in bits and with the stars having a fair twinkle about them....I think I crashed 10 minutes later

[Rodstar]

Rick, you are always so kind and good natured, never a harsh word about anyone, always willing to share. I reckon you are the quintessential refined gentleman. No need for fob watches.

Hey Deeno, with the little one, any kip you can get is necessary!;)

[Arthur Alchin]

2nd time i have tried the camera, I like it but comments welcome

[gb_astro]

Looks like a bit of drift aligning needed Arthur.
Also making the red sky background black would make a big difference.

Greg.

[Dave W2]

I might come up for a while with my binos. Have not brought a scope yet but i did buy a camper trailer for camping up at Barrington which is related :lol:, Kinda dipped into the scope funds though :(




Dave

[Arthur Alchin]

Dave will we see you at the Bretti nights in April/may and July?? (see my other thread: EOI Bretti dates 2011)

[Dave W2]

Yes Maybe. And i just realized i put this post in the wrong thread not the 5th feb (tonights thread)..Lol


Im starting to think its too hot to do anything today .. hope it cools down this evening



Dave