IISAC2011: IceInSpace AstroCamp 2011 - 27th to 30th October 2011

[iceman]

Hi all

IISAC2011 is getting closer, just over 4 months away now and the event is starting to come together.

The booking form is not yet live, but more information is available on the IISAC2011 Info Page (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac) so you can start to plan your journey and time at the camp.

The list of guest speakers is included, as well as a daytime kids and beginners workshop. The full programme will be available soon.

Costs are also now on the info page. Unfortunately it has been necessary to raise costs this year due to increasing costs of organising and running the camp. I have left the child registration price unchanged to encourage people to bring their families.

I'm sure you'll find the camp is still very affordable - as an example:

If you come alone, camp for 3 nights, you'll pay $111.00
If you come with your family (2 adults and 1 or more kids), and camp for 3 nights, you'll pay $196
If you come alone, stay in a bunkbed for 3 nights, you'll pay $96.00
If you bring your family (2 adults and 1 or more kids), and stay in the bunkhouse, you'll pay $253.00


Those prices exclude dinner and t-shirts of course, which can be purchased as additional add-ons. T-shirts remain at the low price of $20.00 each and Dinner remains at the low price of $15.00 per head for adults (kids eat free!).

Note: Bunkbed accommodation isn't for everyone and of course there's limited spots available.

I'm sure you'll agree that's still very affordable for 3 nights away, listening to guest speakers and enjoying the great company at a star party. Especially considering how much we spend on equipment in this hobby! :)

Don't forget also that there's the early-bird registration discount, which is $15 off the total price if you register before 20th September 2011.

The booking form will be online in the next few weeks.

[iceman]

More information about IISAC2011 is now on the info page (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac).
I hope to see you there!

Don't forget that there won't be an IISAC2012 due to the Total Solar Eclipse, so come along this year!

[Matty]

Hi Mike. Have already booked the time off with the boss. Will definitely be there. Very excited too as spsp was my first star party earlier this year. Had a thoroughly good time even though I was sans telescope. Just a pair of 7 by 50 binos. I admit I was a little too embarrassed to take along the dodgy old 114mm newt I've been making do with. :ashamed: this time i will have something a little more substantial to work with. :astron: I look forward too booking it in and meeting some of the IIS guys in person. They have been very helpfully in my hunt for dark sky locations:thumbsup:

[iceman]

Great to hear Matt, see you there!

[iceman]

The IISAC2011 Programme (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac/iisac2011/IISAC2011-Programme.pdf) is now available.

We have some great guest speakers this year, including:

John Sarkissian: Parkes Observatory: Fifty Golden Years

Gary Kopff: "The Argo Navis Digital Telescope Computer" plus "Busting the myth of the 'perfect' polar alignment"

John Bambury: Visual Astronomy and the use of Filters

Mark Suchting and Isaac Qin: TBA

We also have a workshop specifically aimed at kids, beginners and astronomy widows/widowers, which is being held on Saturday morning at 11:30am.

[iceman]

I just had a question via PM which I'll answer here in case others are thinking the same.

The registration form is not yet online, but it will be live within the next 2-3 weeks so you'll be able to make your booking then.

Thanks

[OICURMT]

Good lord Mike, when I read this I thought.. OMG, cancelled due to the end of the world, but then I realized, "WAIT!, that's not until December" ... :rofl:

On a more serious note... is the AstroCamp always in NSW? I was curious if you ever "mix it up" with respect to sites/states or do you just stick to one particular site?

OIC!

[iceman]

Yes, it's always in NSW because that's where I'm based. It needs to be close for me, because of all the stuff I need to transport there!

In the early days (2005/2006), we thought about having "state based" IISAC's around the country, and we even tried to start organising one in QLD, but because I couldn't control it and couldn't commit my time to it, I couldn't use the IIS brand on it.

It's hard enough organising just one :)

[iceman]

The booking form is not yet live, but the t-shirt design is done. Attached is what the t-shirt will be this year.

I think it looks great, hopefully it's a bigger seller than the last few years :)

I hope to have the booking form live in the next week or so, if I get time to complete it in-between travelling next week.

I think I also had two values swapped around in the prices section - they're now corrected and reflect what's at the top of this thread.

[mozzie]

looks great mike i'll be having another this year!!!!

my astro shirts are the only decent clothes i own :lol::lol:

[iceman]

The booking form is now live!

Please head to http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac and click on the blue button to open the registration form.

I hope to see you there!

Only 3 months to go!

[mozzie]

booked and paid for: woo hoo can't wait...
bringing my 7 year old son lachlan he loves astronomy...
hope the weather is warm so we can have a swim..

[iceman]

Nice one Pete, looking forward to catching up again!

[mozzie]

yes mike i'll be suntanned and relaxed back from our boat cruise 12 days earlier :lol::lol:

[iceman]

As you most likely know, IISAC is intentionally kept simple and we don't offer a plethora of lucky door prizes. People don't go to star parties for door prizes, and the process of drawing them can sometimes get long and drawn out.

So for the past few years, we've offered 3 prizes only - and the whole process is over in a few minutes.

I'm proud to announce this years sponsors:

1. OzScopes (http://www.ozscopes.com.au)are sponsoring a Saxon 8" Dobsonian Telescope (http://www.ozscopes.com.au/dobsonian-telescope-saxon-8inch.html) (valued at $515)

2. Wildcard Innovations (http://www.wildcard-innovations.com.au) are sponsoring 50% off an Argo Navis DTC (valued at $299)

3. TBA

Thanks to OzScopes and Wildcard Innovations for supporting IISAC2011!

The IISAC2011 Info Page (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac) has been updated to reflect the sponsors.

[iceman]

I have great pleasure in announcing our final sponsor for IISAC2011 -

Finger Lakes Instruments (http://www.flicamera.com), makers of research and professional grade astrophotography equipment and accessories.

FLI are sponsoring a set of 50mm round LRGB research grade filters (http://flicamera.com/filters/index.html), valued at US$825.

Thanks to Greg from FLI for his generous support of IISAC2011.

You can register for IISAC2011 now at:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac

[mozzie]

are you getting a few bookings mike !!!!! i'm looking forward to coming...

[iceman]

Slowly coming in Pete.
Hopefully get a few more while the early bird discount still applies!

[h0ughy]

i have booked for the whole event

[jjjnettie]

I hope to see you there Dave. :D

[h0ughy]

wow your coming - thats great. Bring some clear skies when you come please;):thumbsup:

[mozzie]

good to see your heading south jjj!!! see you there..

[jjjnettie]

Seeing how I can't make it to the UK for the ROG award ceremony, I thought this would be a nice consolation. :)

[iceman]

Wow, fantastic! Will be great to meet you after all this time, JJJ!

[sasup]

im in with family for fri and sat. Its going to be great to see some of the people we
always see on the IIS but never see in the world.

[iceman]

Excellent! Will be great to catch up again Stacey!

[Marke]

Just paid for Fri and Sat looking forward to catching up with everyone
and taking the new mount for a spin :thumbsup:

[jjjnettie]

:) All paid up to go! So excited.

[Omaroo]

Done :)

[iceman]

+1 :)

[mozzie]

well catch up jjj... are you coming down on your own or a group of you qld'ers

[graham.hobart]

Is there anyone coming up from Tas or Melbourne driving? if not...
Can you fly to Newcastle and hire a car from there?
I am not familiar with driving in Sydney so would prefer not to fly to Sydney then drive from the big smoke!
Cheers
Graham

[jjjnettie]

I'm heading down on my own at this stage.
Anyone else from up here making the trip down??

[iceman]

It definitely looks like you can hire cars from Newcastle airport. There's a number of companies doing it when you do a google search.

eg:
Google search (http://www.google.com.au/search?cx=c&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=car+hire+newcastle+airport)

[iceman]

Only 2 months to go!

Make sure you get your booking and payment in by the 20th September to receive the $15 early bird discount.

The full programme is finished and is available to download on the IISAC info page (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac).

[mozzie]

i,m putting some pressure on my next door neighbour to come with his oldest boy,the more the merrier :lol::lol:

[iceman]

Good one Pete! :)

[mental4astro]

Hi all,

I'm finally on the verge of doing my booking. However, I'm not sure if one night's stay or two. For certain one, but if I make my booking now, can I add another night later when I'm sure I can make it for an extra day?

[iceman]

Hi Alex

Absolutely. Just let me know when you know and I can adjust your booking and you can pay the difference.

Cheers

[mental4astro]

Woo-Hoo!!

Now for the REALLY hard decision, which scope of my six to bring... :question: :confused: :confuse3:

[sasup]

lets see , I know 18" all the way!

[ausastronomer]

At this stage we will be bringing 3 scopes from 3RF. A 14" SDM with Zambuto Optics, an 18" Obsession and a 25" Obsession. All 3 scopes have Argo Navis and Servocat fitted. We will be running Sky Tours with these 3 scopes on Friday and Saturday nights. If you wanted to travel light you could do so in the knowledge there will be some large aperture scopes for public sky tours.

Cheers,
John B

[erick]

John, you are severely tempting me to come for one of those nights...... let me study my diary a bit more closely.

[spacezebra]

That's excellent public support John - good to hear.

We were thrilled to have Peter at BSG, it was good to catch up.



Cheers Petra d.

[iceman]

C'mon Eric, you have to come! You're a local now aren't you? :)

[sasup]

ya Eric I want to see that 12" Scope

[erick]

Why should I go to all that trouble and bring my scope when lots of nice people are bringing theirs and will probably let me have a look, if I ask nicely?

[iceman]

Hi all

Only 1 week left to book and pay if you want to receive the $15-off "early bird" discount!

Bookings are steadily coming in, but would be great to see a rush in the next week.

The full 2011 handout with forms, policies etc is here:
IISAC2011 Handout (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac/iisac2011/IISAC2011-Handout.pdf) (600k PDF).

If you've been before, you know everything anyway so you'll just need the new Acknowledgement and Disclaimer Form (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac/iisac2011/IISAC2011-AcknowledgementDisclaimer.pdf) and the 2011 Programme of Events (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac/iisac2011/IISAC2011-Programme.pdf).

I look forward to seeing you there!

[CoolhandJo]

OK - Just about to book!

Question - any chance of having mains power run down to the bottom field? Happy to bring heaps of extension leads!

[iceman]

I guess you can try, but not real happy about it running across the road...

[CoolhandJo]

Yeah that's what I was thinking. How to get it across road safely?

Anyone got any ideas?

[scagman]

If its not a busy road you could maybe go over the top 4-5m's above the road.

Just a suggestion.

[strongmanmike]

I'm in, Friday and Saturday nights :D

Question - Any chance I can bring this with me, it only has short leads though so it will need to be in the middle of the main camp site...it's very quiet.

[iceman]

It looks like a monster!

[strongmanmike]

FLI's need it mate :shrug:

I was thinking this one originally :question:...but I'm going to leave the microwave at home and use the one in the house so I think is may be overkill, what do you recon? :confuse3:

[h0ughy]

mate if you can fit that in the bommadore i am sure you can do anything ;)

will it be enough to run the FLI?:P

[iceman]

LOL Do you need a hand lifting it out of the car?

[strongmanmike]

She'be mate...I've got it.

The slight ground shaking should be no probs for the visual observers and it's rythmic chugging is good for sleeping too :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Hey! You brought a similar amount of gear (you didn't even use) volume wise, last year :mad2:

[mozzie]

houghy brought some gear with him !!!!! mike you should have seen what he bought to astrofest :lol::lol: the van was chockers...

[strongmanmike]

Oh don't worry, I've seen it, the trailer and everything :lol:

Still bringing my genni though..putt, putt, putt :evil:

[ausastronomer]

Hi Mike,

That is one serious generator.

I have a 250kva generator at work which is powered by a straight 8 Cummins Deisel. It's worth about $150,000 and produces enough power to run everything in a club which can hold over 2,000 people, but compared to that one it is an absolute "toy".

Cheers,
John B

PS: I reckon you would even struggle to load that one in the car Mike :)

[iceman]

On a slightly different track, does anyone know where I can buy those small red-light bundles from? The ones we put around the kitchen, the poles outside, the toilets etc?

The ones we've had have served us well over the past 5 years but some of them are now dying and I want to replenish the stocks.

Let me know if you know where I can get them. I think the original ones were bought from some xmas supplies shop but I don't know if you can get them any other time.

[jjjnettie]

They have some here, though I'm sure you can get them cheaper else where. :D
http://www.christmaswarehouse.com.au/shop/christmas-decorations/christmas-lights/led-fairy-lights/lights-led-80-mini-bulbs-multi-function-red/p-436
http://www.dealsdirect.com.au/p/25m-ropelight-chaser-red/
http://www.sydneyschristmasbarn.com.au/ropelight

Geez whiz, it's September already, I'm surprised all the xmas decorations aren't out in the stores already. Must be nearly time to put the Easter Eggs out by now.

But seriously, ring up Bunnings, they may have some packed away out the back.

[iceman]

Thanks JJJ, we do have 1 red rope light, but it's not the rope lights I'm after.

They're little bundles (like with 10 globes), powered by 2x AA batteries.

[jjjnettie]

:D
Ok.....these guys are in the UK, but you should still have plenty of time to get them delivered.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Battery-Fairy-Lights-Red-bulbs/dp/B000W6WQJU

[iceman]

That's them, thanks.
Will see if I can find some local.

[h0ughy]

mike if you remember i bought nearly all of them from coles and woolworths, are they dead as in corroded or just flat batteries?

[iceman]

A bit of both, houghy.

Dead batteries is fine - I replaced all of the batteries last year, but some of them just don't work anymore - bulbs gone etc.

Found these, could be ok:
http://www.theglassvotivecandleshop.com.au/prod168.htm

Pretty pricey at $10 each.

[iceman]

These look good:
http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Fairy-String-Lights-Color/dp/B0012J4NMO/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1315876717&sr=8-11

This looks ok too:
http://www.amazon.com/Clear-Battery-30-Lights-10-ft-RED/dp/B005KDGNWG/ref=sr_1_78?ie=UTF8&qid=1315876774&sr=8-78

[xstream]

Mike,

Have a look through http://www.dealextreme.com/ site. I haven't had time to look but they may have what you are after.

[astroron]

Hi JJJ :hi: I have signed up and Paid :D so it looks "We have us a convoy" ;)
Any more Queenslanders heading South :question:
Cheers :thumbsup:

[iceman]

woohoo! Nice one Ron, can't wait to see you at IISAC!

[astroron]

It will be good to catch up again after soooo long :)
Remember me dropping in on the first one all that time ago?:D
Cheers :thumbsup:

[Omaroo]

It's been a while between drinks for me, so I'll ask what the road is like out to there at the moment? It will be absolute hell in my usual car if it's corrugated or rough at all - the suspension is ultra stiff. I might have to get the Landy back on the road. :shrug:

Mike?

[h0ughy]

i will give you no illusions - its the same its always been except with a new 300m road at a bridge:question:

[Omaroo]

Thanks David. Landrover it is then... The Saab needs glass-smooth.

[strongmanmike]

Be good to finally give you a trademark bear hug Ron :P

Mike

[strongmanmike]

Ooooh Land Rover or SAAB hoi ti toi...it's not that rough..your driving to the pub for lunch on Saturday then Chris and I'm your passenger :D...is the SAAB a convertable?

MIke

[astroron]

Will be great to catch up mike,but not hard a hug I'm Frigile ;) :rofl::rofl::rofl:

[Omaroo]

Hoi toi? Hardly. Rare, not expensive.

The Saab is called an "Enduro" - one of 11 built back in 1980 as Saab factory specials. Rather rare, it is one of 5 surviving examples from of the original eleven built. It's my daily driver a the moment, until I replace it at the end of the year with a "normal" Saab road car while the Enduro is taken off the road for a re-builb to new. Hopefully it will be prepared for Targa next year or the year after.

Here's mine (we think, but aren't completely positive yet) - as is was, new, back in 1980 on the floor at the Melbourne Motor Show. No radio. No A/C. No heat. No springs and 17lb of boost as standard. The thing I don't like about badly-kept dirt roads while driving this car are corrugations - they shake the thing apart - especially the 30-year old wiring loom inside the VERY hot engine bay. Brittle wires don't like being rattled too much. If I could, I'd not be driving it around right now - but it's just too much fun, and being a Saab hatch, I can fit a lot of scopes inside - or even a 370L fridge if I choose. Cavernous!

[strongmanmike]

Ah, a rare Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget bird huh?

Nice, be cool to see it but sounds like the LR would be a better choice, and it can still get to the pub :D

[jjjnettie]

You guys don't drink alcohol at IISAC do you??

[strongmanmike]

No but we..umm..spend a bit of time cleeeeaning out mirrors with it though... :whistle:

[jjjnettie]

I find that Passion Pop leaves streaks on the glass though. :D

[dj gravelrash]

Might bring the the Commander in chief and get along to this astrocamp. We have a 2 boys (urban terrorists aged 6 and 4). Are kids welcome? or are they too young? They will be asleep by 8pm anyway lol. Dont want them annoying or upsetting anyone. If so is there Astrocamp etiquette that we should know? :thanx:

[ausastronomer]

Hi Dino,

Kids are very welcome at any star party that I have ever been to, and most star parties are pitched as "family" events. At least in Australia anyway.

I am not sure how many under 5's will be there but I guess there will be a good few in the 5 to 10 age bracket.

Cheers,
John B

[Steffen]

EDIT Sorry, I didn't mean to deter anyone.

[iceman]

That's certainly not the case at all. I don't know why you would think that.

Kids are always welcome at IISAC.

There was a poll about whether to have IISAC2011 inside or outside school holidays, and it was fairly even split both ways. I made the decision mainly for my own reasons - nothing to do with trying to limit children there.

In fact it's actually an advantage to have it when people can bring their families - but it was made outside school holidays for other reasons.

[Steffen]

Apologies for misunderstanding, that's what I read out of that thread and poll.

Cheers
Steffen.

[sasup]

my two boys, (6-8) are coming as they did last year. They had heaps of fun. I think we should include the kids more!!!

[mozzie]

yep my 7 year old is coming !!!!!! he loved astrofest and can't wait for iisac...

he can't wait to see houghy again

101032

101033
here's some photo's houghy took of lachlan,myself and ron from sirius optics

[sasup]

kids camp is going to be the go, look out John

[iceman]

We've got about 75 registrations so far - that's about average for this time.

Hopefully we'll see a boost in registrations in the next couple of weeks! Only 16 days to go, looking forward to it!

[sheeny]

How are we shaping up for vacancies in the houses, Mike?

Just toying with a contingency plan... it might sound bizarre but if the weather forecast isn't looking good, I'm toying with the idea of leaving the 16" lightbridge at home and coming up on the bike...:D. Good ride up and back and good company in between...:)

Al.

[iceman]

Heaps of vacancies in the bunkhouse, Al!

[sasup]

12days

[mental4astro]

Hey folks,

I thought I'd give an airing to an idea of doing one or two astro sketching workshops using the Mellish Technique. It would be about 15 to 20 minutes long with a demo & maybe have a few materials handy for you to try it out.

Interested? Let me know.

The workshop will only happen on the Saturday. Time/s & location will posted on the notice board.

Alex.

[Omaroo]

Sounds like a good diversion Alexander. Great idea :) Even if it's raining we could sketch from a photo or poster maybe.

[mozzie]

i'm in to alexander sounds great !!!!:thumbsup::thumbsup:

[jjjnettie]

:) I'm certainly interested.

[sasup]

yep sounds great alex. did the wife give you the green light for Friday???

[iceman]

Alex's Sketching Workshop will take place from 1pm Saturday in the main marquee area.

Hope to see you there!

[jjjnettie]

2 sleeps to go before I start my road trip down. :)
Making lists, checking them twice. Trying to decide if I'll be naughty or nice. :D

[erick]

Nobody look at the forward weather projection, please. We want:- :sunny:

[mental4astro]

Cool, I excited about this, :D




I value my life too much to ask, :scared2:. I'd miss the kids too much too to be away longer.

[strongmanmike]

Well that's just great but what ever you do don't tempt fate :D

[iceman]

The trailer is mostly packed.. Lots of toilet paper and soft drink required :)

[astroron]

I am sorry that I wont be joining you all at IISAC afterall :sadeyes:
I was so looking forward to catching up with a lot of people.
Maybe next year :)
Enjoy yourselves and I hope the weather is good to you :sunny::stargaze: :astron:

Cheers :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

Gee you are ready early.. or do you go down early Mike?

Mike

[iceman]

I needed to make sure of what I needed to buy etc, so I had to get it all out of the storage room anyway.

Rather than pack it back away, I packed it in the trailer :)

[spacezebra]

Hi all

With only five days to go - wishing you all the best for a great IISAC:thumbsup:.

Cheers Petra d.

[mozzie]

not long now !! starting to get things ready to load later in week !!!!

hope the weather is going to be kind for us.....

[Allan_L]

Hi Mike,
Is the ISACC2011 sky list up and working?

When I try to link to it I get an " OOOPS! Something went terribly wrong,,," message

Al

[iceman]

Sorry Al, will check the link and fix it in the morning.

[iceman]

Thanks Petra. Would be great to see you and Dave again one year. :thumbsup:




Meeeee tooo! Getting excited.


Link is now fixed, thanks Allan.
IISAC2011 SkyLists (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac/iisac2011/IISAC2011-SkyLists.zip)

[iceman]

Hard to make sense of the forecast, "Possible showers". Looks like we could be in for a bit of mixed weather but with some (hopefully) clear skies in between!

[erick]

Now, how do I get there? Follow people with pasty white skin towing big trailers?

OK, time to check out the maps.

[erick]

Oops! Something went terribly wrong.
The URL http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac/iisac2011/IISAC2011-HowToGetThere.pdf that you requested, was not found on this server. Please check the address for typing errors or visit our homepage (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/../index.php).


:sadeyes: I know when I'm not wanted.


But the general map and aerial get me close. :thumbsup: And I got Google Maps on the job OK.

[erick]

Gravel road, the last several kms?

[sheeny]

Correct. But it's worth it.;)

Al.

[Rodstar]

Very bad news folks......I am going to have to miss IISAC this year. I am very sad, it will be the first time I have missed it. I will miss catching up with everyone. :sadeyes:

Nina is overseas with work, and the kids now have a whole lot of commitments on the weekend of IISAC; after much self-justification about going to IISAC, I have concluded that it is not all about me, and that this time I have to put the kids' interests first.

I am hoping to book a week in Coonabarabran early next year to make up for it. I am missing those dark skies.....:(

I hope you all have a wonderful time.:thumbsup:

[iceman]

Doh, another missing document. Sorry - doc is there now.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac/iisac2011/IISAC2011-HowToGetThere.pdf


Yep, last few km's is a gravel road but it's well constructed and wide enough.

The last 20km's is narrow and winding so be careful.

[iceman]

Really going to miss your company, and the kids of course!

Will have to catch up soon!

[Rick Petrie]

Sorry to hear that Rod. Our Pony Club numbers are dwindling. Is it something I have said?:P
Seriously though I understand entirely and you will be missed along with the 'tinlids'. See you soon, maybe on the train?;)

[GTB_an_Owl]

for those that have not been to lostock before and would like to take a peek in google earth - here are the co-ordinates

32 18 52.26 S
151 25 27.47 E

hope you get clear skies


geoff

[Deeno]

Awww Booo

Going to miss you and the kids.
And the Mary Rose, of course. Very handy in tracking down those elusive deep sky objects.

Maybe tagging along to Coona might make up for it.............:D

[iceman]

For newbies without a telescope, at IISAC2011 I'll be giving away a Tasco 4.5" newtonian with an EQ3 (I think) mount and wooden tripod. It looks about 20-30 years old, in great condition.

The scope was given to me by an IceInSpace member who had no need for it anymore and didn't want to take it to the tip.

It's been preserved well and would suit a beginner or someone interested in Tasco history I guess.

[Jen]

:D hope you all have a great time and cant wait to see some pics ;) hope the weather treats you good cheers :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[jjjnettie]

One sleep to go!
It would be nice if the astro gods would bless us with some clear skies, but I'm sure we can keep ourselves busy if it's cloudy.

[sasup]

weather is looking shocking and the wife is thinking of pulling the plug. Im sorry to say but I may miss this year.

[Dave2042]

BOM is currently saying 'partly cloudy' for the Maitland area, plus a few showers.

http://www.bom.gov.au/nsw/forecasts/maitland.shtml

That sounds like reasonable odds for at least some viewing to me.

[mozzie]

the gears in the truck and ready to go tomorrow morning !!!!!!!!
wooo hooo cant wait !!!!!!

[GTB_an_Owl]

don't be a piker Stacey

weather prediction for thursday and friday has improved greatly

i dare to predict viewing will be had thursday and friday nite (especially after midnite on friday) - but there will be some cloud about

kids will still have a ball in the swimming hole and the presentations in the marqee will be worth a listen

IT WILL STILL BE A GREAT ASTRO SOCIAL EVENT - DON'T MISS IT

geoff

[Rick Petrie]

Does this mean that you will now be putting in an appearance Oh wise one.:P

[Rick Petrie]

It'll be two years before the next one Stacey and the weather is looking better as Mr Owl says. There will be lots to do. Don't pike just yet mate, and haven't you already paid.:thumbsup:

[h0ughy]

I am sorry to say i wont be able to go at all this year - a result that was way different to what i booked for. Tania is not recovering all that well after her operation and she is lucky to sit up for more than 30 min at a time, and she can only shuffle 5-10m before the pain get to her. Today she has been sleeping all day - which is good because my new macbook air 11" arrived and have been tinkering. I had every intention of either getting up there for a few hours friday or saturday but that plan is scuttled now. It should clear as i am the sacrificial lamb this year........

I was looking forward to catching up with everyone, and with JJJ gracing the hunter it was a sure bet it would be a good camp (there are a few new episodes of big Bang Theory JJJ). ( I was also looking forward to meeting any Mac experts out there as well for some hands on apple training LOL) Time lapses should be a pearler this year......

[Arthur Alchin]

Hi David sorry to hear your not coming. In my fourth year with a mac and after 25 yrs with PCs will never look back. If this is your first mac enjoy the short but uncomplicated learning curve and you will enjoy the difference also.

I did purchase nebulosity for mine and the free "open office" is a great alternative to MS office

[mental4astro]

Hey all,

I've just installed a set of encoders on my big dob, and I'm having a bit of trouble bedding the Argo-Navis. Would someone be able to give me a hand to nut out the installation of the Argo please? I'll only be there on the Saturday.

David, I wish all the best for the recovery of Tania, mate.

[Octane]

All the best, everyone.

Clear skies.

H

[mozzie]

shame david !!!!!!!! lachlan was looking forward to meeting you again.....

aahhh he's converted there will be no looking back know the mighty mac's

[GeoffW1]

Hi Alex,

What a dreadful fizz, I've done that stuff on a dob I had, but can't be at IISAC, so it's frustrating not to be able to get into the project. All the best there.

Maybe I'll see you at Peter's RGHS night on the 5th.

Cheers

[erick]

I might be able to throw in some ideas, Alex. I'll have one of my Argo units with me, if we need to do any comparisons.

But the man himself will be on site I think?

[erick]

Drat! I've just lost my Thursday packing night to a meeting. And with one meeting already scheduled for tonight, I cannot bring it back. I'll have to squeeze it in around the day's activities. Hope I don't forget anything. But I haven't planned to bring much. I have many to meet and much to see. I guess as long as I get myself there, that'll be good.

I should see you all later on Friday.

[Rodstar]

Thanks Mike, Rick and Deeno for your condolences. It is a real BUGGER that I can't be there this year. Hopefully I am the sacrificial lamb which brings clear skies...

HOughy, sorry to hear about Tania, hope she improves real soon.

[h0ughy]

thanks guys for the well wishes for Tania. get lots of photons for me will you

[iceman]

All packed and about to head off.

Forecast for tonight isn't great, but tomorrow is looking pretty good:
http://www.weatherzone.com.au/nsw/hunter/lostock/detailed-forecast

Hope to see plenty of you there!

[jjjnettie]

I backed the car in the driveway so I could have a quick getaway this morning. Lol. But seem to be having trouble focusing and tracking ATM. Might not be such a quick get away after all.
Ooh my head.....
Sorry you won't be there Dave :(
I hope the patient recovers soon.

[spacezebra]

The weather is looking quite good - so enjoy and clear skies to you all.

Cheers Petra d.

[iceman]

Well I'm all setup. Marquee isn't here yet - hope it arrives soon.

Have had a steady stream of people coming in, and the weather is clearing at the moment. Had some sprinkling on and off this morning but no real rain.

hope to see you guys soon!

[sasup]

its official not coming this year, very bummed out.

[h0ughy]

well they should have a great night tomorrow

[iceman]

It looks like the system has moved forward 12+ hours.

After drizzle and clouds all day Thursday, last night it cleared! About 9pm we looked out from under the marquee and found it clear!

It stayed clear all night, fairly dewey but a brilliant night.

Hopefully tonight is another good night. Tomorrow night isn't looking fantastic.

Having a great time so far, great to catch up with everyone - especially Jeanette after almost 7 years!

Also great to see and hear the fighter jets flying over - they must be doing exercises this weekend from Williamtown, they've been coming and going overhead quite a few times. As I write this, I hear another one now.

Anyway look forward to seeing some more folk today.

[iceman]

Here's some proof of the clear skies :)
Just a 30s exposure.

[h0ughy]

you bugger you're teasing us - thanks

[spacezebra]

Hi all

Good to hear that the skies cleared Mike. It was a amazingly steady in Albury until about 2-3am.

Cheers Petra d.

[g__day]

Good luck to all! Hope next year I can make it to!

[Rodstar]

Glad to hear you had one clear night Mike. How late did you stay up? All nighter?

[Jen]

:eyepop: awww so jealous Mike please give JJ a big hug for me :D

[iceman]

Hey all

Had another pretty good night. It was patchy but clear most of the night - half the sky was clear, then it would haze over so you'd head to another part of the sky.

Would've been frustrating for astrophotographers (except us timelapse wimps) but for visual observers they would've had plenty of chances to observe.

It cleared up completely at around 3:30-4am, but I headed into bed at 2:30am so missed that :)

It's been great fun, enjoying everyone's company. The weather forecast for tonight looks very dodgy indeed but stranger things have happened.

Having fun with timelapses, clocking up thousands of actuations on the shutter but that's what it's built for :) Hopefully can pull together an IISAC movie out of it all.

Met EricK for the first time which was great, and Jeanette is causing a ruckus as expected. Wish you were here too Jen :)

Talk tomorrow!

[hotspur]

Look forward to seeing images you are able to get with my 10-22mm Mike.

Cheers Chris

[gary]

Lostock got lucky with the weather and they observed Thurs and Fri (on the Fri
they reported sucker holes until around 2am and then it cleared).

Remarkably, despite weather predictions, it did not rain there on Saturday night.
At sunset the skies were generally clear. A lightning storm dodged around the
site in the distance but the beautiful night afforded photographers the opportunity
to try and take reflections of the stars in a small pond, possibly to try and get in the running for
the 2012 David Malin Awards where the theme was announced by John Sarkissian
to be "symmetry". When we departed at around 10:40am, some high cloud had rolled
in by then but not far down the road toward Gresford it had cleared again so we
are hoping they got lucky up at Lostock as well.

Great to catch up with everyone. Nice to see Jeanette had made the trip from
Qld. Great to chat with Chris M, Mike Salway, Strongman Mike, Al, David Fitz-Henry,
John Sarkissian and so many others including some new faces.

Special thanks to Mike for the fantastic effort! :thumbsup:

The RFS team did a wonderful job supplying dinners again. Thank you!

[Marke]

Thanks for a well run and relaxed event , the site was great and weather
almost cooperated :)
Here is a few shots from the weekend .

Mark

[sheeny]

I'm home. :)

I had a great time. No scope, but that gave me the freedom to visit other people and just enjoy the company.

What a gorgeous night last night was!:thumbsup::D I hit the sack at about 12:30-ish knowing I'd have to drive today, but I would've liked to stay up longer. The frogs in the dam reminded me of home - except there weren't any Pocklebonks (Pobblebonks is the other dialect;)).

My finger tips are still tingling from playing guitar (serenading the frogs as Mike said:lol:).

Now... must find the camera and start on the data...:eyepop:

:)

Al.

[iceman]

I'm home too! Been home for about an hour, still unpacking everything.

Had a massive storm on the F3 near newcastle on the way home. I was hoping it would wash the dust off the car but it wasn't to be.

Had a great time. Will report more later of course but last night was simply fantastic. Clear all night long with the exception of a hazy cloud that passed over at around 10pm and lasted about 30 minutes.

It's a shame that many people left early on Saturday (and those that didn't turn up at all) because of the weather predictions, they missed a great night/weerkend. But I guess with the weather that was predicted, it seemed a natural thing to do. Goes to show you never can trust the forecasts!

I wasn't expecting to get much in the way of clear skies after seeing the forecasts leading up to the event, but we had 2.5 clear nights out of 3. Simply brilliant!

Will report more later.

Have literally thousands upon thousands of images to go through (timelapses of course!), and hope to make an IISAC movie out of it :)

[sheeny]

Here's a few of my quick and easy images.:P:)

1. Father and son Mozzies!
2. Ditto.
3. The widow maker...
4. Clouds :).
5. Single exposure over the imaging field.
6. Jupiter, The Pleiades, Hyades, etc.
7. A long exposure panorama of the river.:D

Al.

[Doomsayer]

Had a great time. Fantastic night last night..... imaging with a new scope under dark skies, deafened by the frog cacophony at the pond, and plenty of good company. Even Fred appeared to enjoy himself. Looking forward to the next one. Thanks again to Mike and his helpers for organising.
cheers, Guy

[sheeny]

A couple of startrails... (including some cameo appearances):).

Now to come to grips with time lapses...:P

Al.

[erick]

Good one, Al. Inclusive of M31 and M33 :thumbsup: Great to finally see them at a better elevation! Ps, thanks for the Pink Floyd and much more!

[erick]

I gave JJ a "peck" on the cheek when we met for the first time - does that count, Jen? :)

[mozzie]

hi all
home safe and sound after a fantastic long long weekend...!!!!!!
hopefully we didn't wake to many people this morning as it was a early rise to get lachlan to his party at 1pm. there was 1 person asleep with there feet hanging out there open door right behind my truck and when i started it up at 5.05am this morning it would have frightened the bee-jeezzz out of them who ever you were sorry...
it was great to finally meet more iiser's al sheeny at last, erick, alex thanks for the astro drawing gear for lachlan ,stan,ivan thanks for the puzzle for lachlan the pony clubbers ,chris amaroo..
mike once again thanks for a great camp your efforts are greatly appreciated and while staying in the house i didn't realise how much was involved see you in 2013 for the next...
tried to say by to people that have become friends but that last night was a cracker and we all were to busy with near perfect skies.
lachlan had the best time and is keen to do some sketching as is dad but i think he needs to catch up on his sleep.i hope he was well behaved not to have caused to much trouble as for people as 7 year olds just want to go...to the man with the planes they were great lachlan is hounding me still for one but i insist a ethos is better for him in his 100mm table dobbie...:lol::lol::lol:
for you people that have never been to a star party when the next is on come and stay its just great :thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:

mozzie

[jjjnettie]

Thanks to everyone for making me feel welcome. It was lovely to put faces to names.
Friday night's all nighter was especially good, imaging the reflections on the dam. I'll work on the animation tonight maybe.
Saturday night though..... I felt a right git for falling over twice in one night. Thank you Mike for the serenade every time I walked by. My poor camera, that was its third fall during camp.
And Al, you are a genius on your guitar. I enjoyed your music very much. :)
Looking forward to meeting you all next time. Seems I may become a fixture at these southern astro camps. ;)

only took a few happy snaps, too busy doing other stuff hee hee.

first image is from friday night/morning
Chris, Mike and Al (mike is so smart, he plays his games upside down),
my favourite pic is of Fred, in the poo again. honestly....
Mike, Guy
the IISAC fields from the top hill, and Muhamfred

[Zincberg]

Hi All,
Thanks for a wonderful weekend, got home as tired as I have ever been. Really had fun and was glad I held out for the last night, we ended up with some pretty clear viewing!!!
Great weekend, great company... an all round great event!

just included a couple of happy snaps from the weekend

[Jen]

:lol: aww thanks Eric yep that counts :thumbsup::thumbsup:

thanks for the pics sounds like a great time was had by all :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[mental4astro]

Iceman, thank you for organising such a great event. I reckon it was the good karma that was there that cleared the skies for us for Saturday night.

I saw the Andromeda Galaxy for the first time and comet Gerrad, ta Mozzie :thumbsup:, and Thor's Helmet, ta too Greg :thumbsup:. Fire balls galore, and a constant flash glow of a nasty thunderstorm that lay behind the ridge to the west. Quite an active sky.

Clouds did tease us a bit, but I did manage a couple of sketches, 47 Tuc and of Thor's Helmet. I'll just post a pic of these here and do a write up of them in the DSO sketching sticky in the next day or so.

Thank you to the folks who came to my little sketching workshop. It was a buzz for me to be able to share this passion of mine with you. Hopefully I've inspired a few of you to have a go. The technique I showed isn't hard as you saw, but man, it is sooo effective! If you have any questions, would like a few pointers, or what ever, I'm only too happy to help out. Just let me know.

Mental.

[sasup]

just gutted I could not make it!!!!!!!!!

[barx1963]

Glad everyone had a great time and hope to make it up there one day!

Malcolm

[iceman]

Hi all

Just a quick one - the IISAC2011 Feedback Form (http://iisac2011.questionpro.com) is now online.
There's only 10 questions and will only take a few minutes to fill out.

All questions are optional and your responses will not be shared with anyone. The responses are simply to help me improve on IISAC and provide the best event and the best experience for attendees.

If you attended the camp, please take a moment to fill it out:
IISAC2011 Feedback Form (http://iisac2011.questionpro.com)

Thanks!

[jjjnettie]

Done!

[Omaroo]

Hi all :)

Firstly, let me say thank you to Mike and all involved in making these events what they are. Even though the numbers were sadly lacking this year, those that did go had a wonderful time catching up with friends we don't see too often.

It was great to welcome new faces to the event too - and in particular (for me) it was fabulous to finally meet Jeanette (jjjnettie) for the first time. She's hopefully going to attend a few more IISACs in the future.

I had the privilege of hooking my camera on to Fred Vanderhaven's home-designed time-lapse controller to ride along with his own 5D Mark-II for a couple of evenings. Fred ran the fantastic Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM lens, and I ran my own EF 17-40mm f/4L USM. In comparison, he achieved high-quality smooth images in the 10 seconds we allocated to each frame during the shoot. My results were less than stellar given that we wanted to cater to the F/1.4 and not my slow F/4. That's OK - my next lens is now decided, and I'll look forward to running it again with Fred on level terms if I'm ever given the chance. LOL :)

Anyway - here is a brief pre-process version of some of the footage we shot from my camera.

The soundtrack is from a recording I made with my iPhone 4 of Al Sheehan (sheeny) playing his wonderful guitar as we listened to the frogs in the dam as some of us shot more reflective skycapes off the mirror-smooth surface of our newly-named Lake IISAC. :lol: Hats off to ya Al - you made the evening!

Video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Org3MWq5Rks

[peterl]

Great Astro Camp once Again this year..
Sue and I enjoyed the great company there. Thanks again Mike and the organisers..
Peter and Sue Langdown
Some images.

[peterl]

More images..
Some great entertainment during the day!!

[peterl]

Alex,s Drawing workshop was a hit!!
Charcoal pencils on black paper.
There is a few keen ones among us now..
Great drawings Alex..

[jjjnettie]

You know what blew me away most?
That Pentax camera on the fixed tripod, taking long exposures. !!
Damn amazing technology.
It takes entry level imaging to an all new level. wowowowowow

[peterl]

Great timelapse Chris.Thanks..
Here are two snapshots of you guys up on the dam wall early in the morning.
Pentax K5. one shot 1600 iso. 4 minute exp. GPS module. Fixed tripod.
Peterl

PS Now better quality images

[sheeny]

Thanks Eric. I think I remember you standing next to me while I was playing. I wondered who it was, but as I can't do anything else while I'm playing:P I didn't ask, then forgot about it when I'd finished.:lol:



Glad you liked it, but I'm not really a genius... too many bum notes and forgotten chords for that:lol:.

Chris, that is awesome... bum notes and all it still gives me a buzz! I don't have a recording of me playing. How do you download a Youtube video to keep it? I'd like to keep a copy of that, if that's OK Chris?

As a bedroom guitarist (i.e. one who plays for self satisfaction rather than entertaining others;)) I'm glad my playing was so appreciated. Thanks guys! You've inspired me to do some practice:lol:... I've already gone over Stairway to Heaven to sort out the chord I forgot in the second movement:D. I might even have to increase my repertoire (and practice:P) a bit before the next one.:thumbsup:

Al.

[jjjnettie]

You were great Al. Honestly, only YOU noticed any wrong notes. We're all our own worst critic. LOL

[Omaroo]

LOL! :) PM me your email Al, and I'll send you what I have of you playing, as raw recordings. You were great that evening. I was in heaven for several hours. :hi:

[peterl]

More piccies..
John Bambury with friend.
Chris and Fred setting up for the evening.
An OWL in the camp!!

[Omaroo]

Great photos Peter :) Thanks for that! I'd love to see a couple in full resolution some day!

[Omaroo]

For those up at Lake IISAC on the Saturday evening who had the pleasure of listening to Al playing the guitar as the sky spun overhead and the frogs sang along, I've uploaded my raw iPhone recordings to my account on SoundCloud for you to download:

http://soundcloud.com/omaroo/sets/al-sheehan-his-frogs-iisac

Play each one of three and use the down arrow iconette on the right hand side of each track to download them to your machine.

Enjoy :)

Al is now a published musician :thumbsup: I hope he's OK with this.... :D

Also - I've uploaded to Vimeo for those who prefer it to YouTube: http://vimeo.com/31367809 You should be able to download it if you're a Vimeo member.

[Bassnut]

Excellent work there Chris, a nicely produced and finished effort, very appropriate sound track.

[Omaroo]

Thanks heaps Fred :) I certainly appreciate you letting me ride along with your camera for those evenings.

I seem to have arrived home with a new F/1.4 lens in my bag.... :shrug: Missing one? :D

Seriously, I'd love to re-visit this when I do have an F/1.4 in my collection. I'm looking forward to cleaning up my thousands of still frames prior to processing the movie again. I can really make a difference to the result, but it will take time. I'm extremely keen to see what yours turn out like - the images are chalk and cheese. :thumbsup:

[jjjnettie]

The first animation was taken in the wee hours of Saturday morning, the second on Saturday evening.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQKh_jWkuVM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FXXUqd0MH8Q

I'll have to get lots more practice in to make mine as smooth as Fred and Chris's.

[gary]

Thanks Chris! Thanks Al!

Fabulous! :lol:

[acropolite]

Fantastic timelapses Fred, Chris & JJJ. I'm sitting here wishing i had made the effort, having flown past on Saturday en route to Brisbane.

I'm in next year come hell or high water, that is if Al is booked as the main act. I'm in awe of anybody who can play a sequence of notes on guitar without stuffing up.

Perhaps all the mods could make the effort, we've threatened it often enough.

[Omaroo]

Both great Nettie :) I particularly enjoyed seeing Orion slide past. :thumbsup:

[iceman]

Really great, Chris. Loved it.

The soundtrack was great too. Do you have any other recordings? I want to use some of it in mine but would be a bit weird if we both had the same soundtrack :)

[iceman]

Nice work Jeanette, well done!
I've got one set in portrait mode too, having realised afterwards :doh: it's going to be letterboxed heavily.


That would be way cool. Though people always say to me at IISAC, "who's looking after the forum" :) If we were all away at once, we'd have to appoint some special powers :)

[iceman]

Peter you might think about reducing the dimensions before uploading to the forum. They've got quite a few jpeg artifacts.
Try reducing them to 800 or 100px wide and then upload to the forum.

I was well impressed with that camera! Look forward to seeing more with it.

[iceman]

Thanks for the photos, Peter. They're great! But they do have lots of jpeg artifacts. How are you saving them for the web?

[sheeny]

:rofl:Thanks guys!

Wow! My first recording deal!...When do the millions come? :rofl:

Al.

[Allan_L]

Sorry I had to leave early (for my parents 60th Wedding Anniversary party), and glad the weather cleared again for Saturday night !

Thanks Mike for another wonderfully organised event.

Who won the Lucky Door prizes?

[iceman]

Well it's time for my full write-up.

Organising IISAC events is like a rollercoaster.. bursts of activity, then a lull, then more activity, leading up to the event can be quite stressful. During the event it's no different. Lots to do at certain times, but hopefully enough time to relax and enjoy people's company and just enjoy the experience.

When it's over, I breathe a huge sigh of relief that it's over for another year. But a day or two later, I'm usually ready to do it all again after remembering the great times that were had.

That's where I am now. Had loads of fun and can't wait to do it again, but know that in the month before the event wonder why I go to all the effort :)

First I'll start with the thanks, because without them, the event would be much more stressful.

To the sponsors: OzScopes, FLI Camera and Wildcard Innovations. Your ongoing support of IceInSpace and the amateur astronomy community is much appreciated.

To the guest speakers: John Sarkissian, Mark Suchting, Gary Kopff, John Bambury and Alex Massey. Thanks for taking the time to give up your knowledge and expertise for the attendees.

To Al Meehan: For the shirts. They turned out great! Thanks!

To Fred "Bassnut" Vanderhaven: Yes he's a crazy scientist, but what a legend. Bringing his PA gear each year and setting it up so we have a good mic and speakers, and can broadcast down to the bottom field. All out of the goodness of his heart.

To the Gresford RFB: For awesome meals each night. I honestly don't know why everyone doesn't use them. For $15, you get a 3 course meal, often with seconds. More than enough food, always good quality and they pack up and clean up and take everything away with them. Can't get better value than that. It means you don't need to bring food for dinners - so easy!
Unfortunately though, the reduced camp numbers and the reduced number of people choosing the Gresford RFB catering means that it's getting to the point that they may not find it worthwhile anymore. I hope I can convince them to come back for the next one.

To the volunteers who helped out at the camp with setting up on Thursday morning and packing up on Sunday morning: I probably won't remember everyone and I'm sorry for that, but Al Sheehan, Stan Duoba, Bob Jones, Peter Langdown and wife, Wayne Williams, Eric Kingston. I hope I haven't forgotten anyone. You guys are legends.
Noone volunteers to hose out the toilet block after 3 days of a camp. But Eric did!

It was so great to meet people for the first time, after knowing them for years online - especially Jeanette and Eric. Jeanette was a pleasure to have around. Always happy and smiling :) And laughing :)

Great to catch up with regular friends like Fred, Mike, Chris, Guy, Al, Gary and Mai, the pony clubbers and more.
It's a shame some other regulars couldn't make it this year.

It's a shame that the numbers were down overall. We had about 100 registrations which was down on last year, and only about 80 of those 100 turned up. Some families that normally come couldn't make it, and also being outside of school holidays, the registration of families was down in a big way since the kids were at school.

I hope there's a bigger registration next year, it's getting close to the point where it's too difficult to put on for the numbers - especially with the marquee.

Saturday afternoon formalities were also down with some people having left earlier in the day due to the inclement weather forecast (which was wrong and it was a beautiful night :)). It's just a shame when such great talks like Gary and John's weren't as well attended. And it's a little embarrassing for me. Makes me question whether to do the guest speakers but I know some who were looking forward to the talks all weekend and some people get a lot of out of them.

Anyway everyone has their reasons and I don't begrudge anyone for that. Not everyone goes for the talks or has time, etc. I don't expect everyone to go to them. At SPSP I don't attend all the talks either.

But I do hope it's better next time, both registrations and attendance for the camp and the talks :)

The lucky door prizes were won by:
- OzScopes 8" dob: Chris Bond
- FLI Camera filterset: Andrew Fry or Andrew Kaye.
- Argo Navis voucher: Dennis Zambellis family

There were about 10 people that missed out on winning the prizes because they were pulled out of the barrel but had either already left or didn't attend :)

The group photo is attached, and you can download larger versions here:
IISAC2011 Group Photo - 1200px wide (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac/iisac2011/iisac2011-groupphoto-1200px.jpg)
IISAC2011 Group Photo - 1944px wide (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/iisac/iisac2011/iisac2011-groupphoto-full.jpg)

Some of my favourite moments of the weekend include:
- Meeting Jeanette :)
- John Sarkissian's talk. I just loved the history and the photos.
- The unexpected clear skies! :)
- Saturday night around "Lake IISAC". The cacophony of frogs, Al's brilliant guitar playing, the beautiful skies with quite a few meteors, and the company of friends. It doesn't get any better than that.

Looking forward to the next one. The date will be announced in the next day or two.

[peterl]

Thanks Mike.
I am sizing down to 6inches x 4 inches. 2400pixels x 1590 pixels at 400 dpi
bicubic.
What do you suggest?
The originals are great.
I will resend better tonight after work
Peter.

[iceman]

Hi Peter
2400px1590px is then getting compressed horribly for 200kb.

Resize down to 800 or 1000px wide at 72dpi, and then save for web to get to 200kb.

You can then edit your posts above and re-attach the better quality images. I'd love to use some of them when they're fixed up :)

Cheers

[iceman]

It was great to catch up again Mozzie. Lachlan was fantastic - so well behaved and great to see him so excited over the plane, the iPad, etc and have a great laugh over those fat, bald, aging pictures of you ;)

[iceman]

Some more photos:

1. Cathi with her specially fashioned protective boots made out of plastic bags :)
2. A pair of mozzies :)
3. Mark Suchting's talk
4. John Bambury's talk
5. Gary Kopff's talk
6. John Sarkissian's talk

[Octane]

I can do with special powers for a few days. :P

Nice write-up, Mike. :)

H

[Omaroo]

Yep Mike - I mentioned SoundCloud a few posts back: http://soundcloud.com/omaroo/sets/al...is-frogs-iisac

Take your pick, but leave me one! :)

[Doomsayer]

I'll add a few more pics from IISAC here. It was first light for my 8" ASA newt so it's amazing to get clear skies. My ST402 guide cable broke.

Pic 1 - the ASA8 pointing at the LMC - was getting 6minutes unguided
Pic 2 - Unidentified lifeforms at the pond
Pic 3 - Omaroo's self propelled coffee machine and JJJeanette's powder room by night
Pic 4 - ASA8 and FLI Proline
Pic 5 - the Kendrick astrotent under the stars

cheers, guy

[Omaroo]

LOL :) "self-propelled coffee machine"...

A permanent fixture at these events from now on - BYO mug :D

Great to catch up again Guy!

[erick]

Easy job with a powerful hose and the gap under the walls, and an interesting experience. The Ladies' was immaculate when I walked in - nothing to pick up nor scrape off, no overlooked swimmers, nor much scrubbing. The Mens' was..........................:help: well ladies, you already know, don't you! :D

[erick]

Coffee! Nobody told me! Next time this mug will have his mug ready!

[Omaroo]

It's not the sort of thing one announces on the PA Eric :lol:

[mozzie]

great write up mike!!!!! lets hope the numbers are up lots for the next....

iv'e been to the art supply shop and purchased all necessary gear to start sketching after alex's presentation and i'll post some attempts in the sketch forum...caught up with greg from brisbane on monday he walked into the same art shop and he spent the arvo at my place before heading to grafton then home today... how's that for scary !!!!!!!!

i know greg had a fantastic time and may make the next camp ?????

[iceman]

What date for the next IISAC in 2013?

Have your say:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=82497

[iceman]

My son is having a scout camp Coroboree at Lostock Scout Camp in January. I sent your photo to the organisers and told them about the new hazards around the swimming hole.

They might want to arrange the local scout group or council to clean away some of those nasty looking trees, otherwise they may not let the kids swim there due to the danger of that big tree falling!

[sheeny]

Good on you Mike. It'll make it safer for us next time too;).

Al.

[jjjnettie]

:D I found some more happy snaps!!

[GTB_an_Owl]

the pictures have STOPPED ...............WHY?


geoff

[iceman]

I agree! More pics people!

[Omaroo]

Did anyone take a shot of the row of people mooning at the dam that night?

[jjjnettie]

??:eyepop:??
Totally missed that one.
thank goodness

[Omaroo]

No.....:lol: the moon that was there a second ago but disappeared over the hill:

[iceman]

The cloud streaks look great in that one, Chris.

Here's a quick process of one that didn't quite work out. The nice white streak is Chris moving into the field with his iPhone, trying to record the cacophony of frogs :)

He captured it in the end.

This one is 4 frames with the Canon 40D + 10-22mm lens, f/3.5, 300s each exposure @ ISO800 (though the first exposure was at ISO1600).

[Omaroo]

LOL... I only did it because your shot had already been ruined by the meteor. :lol:

A nice scene anyway Mike. I think that photography on Lake IISAC will become a perennial favourite from now on... well as long as the rain keeps it topped up.

[Doomsayer]

I took a few shots on black & white 35mm film (Tri-X). Here's a pic of Fred in his natural element and off his leash, plus one of JJJeanette at Chris's cafe de wheels awaiting a caffeine injection.

guy

[iceman]

ROFL great shots!

[mozzie]

your joking chris i never new that there was coffee up there would have paid money for aaaaaahhhh!!!!! fresh coffeeeeeeee

[Bassnut]

Ahh, the coffee, real proper coffee. Thanks Chris, was much appreciated indeed. As may be obvious, it spun me right out ;).

Amongst many others,JJJ, Chris,Guy, Mike Salway and Mike Sid provided handy targets for verbal abuse and general fun, I had a ball and woulnt have missed th IISAC for anything, excellent in every respect, including the weather.

I think I owe Mike Sid a lot of beers.

[strongmanmike]

Ah Freddo, even though you don't understand CCD cameras, autoguiding, superior cooling, fast downloads and noise free elctronics :D all that well ... Mia casa è tua casa, you owe me nothing I had fun too :thumbsup:

[strongmanmike]

WELL!!...I think we might be able to dispense with this old IISAC photo now :rofl:

[Omaroo]

LOL! :) Brilliant Guy! Great shot of Fred :lol: The bloke's a true classic. :thumbsup: