"Pony Club" - July

[erick]

OK, I'm here! What's the plan? I have to set some forward meetings and I want to try and avoid club night so I can attend.

[GTB_an_Owl]

as far as i know Eric pony club nite will be the 30th july

some of us have a planned trip to Bretti from the 28th to the 31st

but there will be others lined up for the pony Club

if the 30th is a cloudout/washout - the next week is a possibility

keep an eye on the threads

geoff

[Rodstar]

I am hoping to get up to the Pony Club on the 30th, Eric. Hope to see you there!

[Shano592]

Same here. Bretti is off the cards for me.

[sasup]

so you have moved up to the sunny city and brought the Melbourne rain with you. while welcome to the north land.:eyepop::eyepop::lol:

[Deeno]

Cool.
Been waiting for someone to start this thread

[bahoogas]

I'm planning to be there.

Will there be any keyholders or will we need to force our way in?

[Shano592]

Just jump the fence like the rest of us do. Or in Rod's case, set up on the side of the road...

[GTB_an_Owl]

i'm sure someone will have the sense to come get my key - won't they? :question:

geoff

[Shano592]

Yep ... I've already put my hand up.

[Deeno]

On ya Shano :thumbsup:

[erick]

Shano :thumbsup:

[bahoogas]

Shano..................:thumbsup:

Sorry, just thought i'd chime in.

[Zincberg]

Im up for pony club next weekend too!

lets get all this wetness out of the way this week so we can have a nice clear night!

[Amunous]

im thinking its time to dust the old scope off and take it up... havent seen you lads in about 3 months so its nigh time i get off my arse and drag carly up there as well. ill see if i can dredge up some newcomers as well.

[erick]

Now, you guys that understand the local weather forecasts - it's looking possible at the moment, isn't it? :confuse3:

[GTB_an_Owl]

hate to say it - but

7timer says cloudy frid and sat nite for the mountain

but it is early days

geoff

[Rick Petrie]

Latest update for MM on 7timer shows it to be clear Sat.night.:thumbsup:
I and a few others will be up at Bretti for the next few days, and also hoping for clear skies.
Good luck to all that go to the PC and catch yooz next time.:)

[Carlz]

My arse doesnt need to be dragged :P I will be there unless something drastic comes up (which i highly doubt).

[Rick Petrie]

Now now girls and boys. This is a decorum forum. :P
Funny but.:lol:

[GTB_an_Owl]

hope the weather is kind for you all

PC key is where i said it would be for whoever is going to pick it up

geoff

[erick]

OK, who am I going to met there? Who is coming?

I plan to get away early and find the place before the sun sets. Do I stand at the gate with a mornful face until someone arrives with a key?

What time might that be?

Why do I have so many questions?

[Deeno]

I'm there but, keyless........

[Rodstar]

I am a definite, weather-permitting, and I will be bringing a fellow commuter, John. However, I will be keyless.

[Amunous]

i can collect owls key if need be

[norm]

I'm planning to make an attendance!


Cheers norm:)

[Shano592]

Have key, will travel. Picked it up tonight, Michael.

Aiming to get there around 4pm, I guess.

Rain or shine, I'll at least get the gate open.

And 7-timer is looking good after about 7pm! Noice.

[sally1jack]

looks more & more unlikley , but there is always a chance
phil :thumbsup:

[Shano592]

It's all over the place. Last night it was good, now it looks pretty heavy. Oh well... we'll see on the day.

[Deeno]

Better than even chance, I reckon........

[erick]

Dusted off the scope after all the travel and set it up tonight - all working -beaudy!

I hope to be there by about 4pm. See you all then.

[Shano592]

Weatherzone suggests no chance of rain, so if it is going to be cloudy, hopefully it will be like last month, when it came and went in the same hour, before The Mist came in.

If it looks sunny, I may even bring the solarscope up for a look, a bit earlier. We'll see.

[Carlz]

yeah im not going to bother looking at weatherzone or 7timer or anything like that im just going to hike it up there and see whats what..

what the carly must have been signed into my pc lol this is mick hahah

[erick]

OK, it's locked in the GPS. I've walked over the site this evening and picked my observing spot. Where is everybody?? :sadeyes: Now I just have to read the thread properly to work out what night:-



Oh, not Friday night :doh:

OK, all being well I'll see you guys tomorrow evening. I know the way now! :D

(well, club night was always a Friday in my experience :lol: )

[bahoogas]

Oh no! Looks like you came a long way as well.

[erick]

Not that far - I'm used to long trips for my hobby - but that extra 30min to get out through Sydney traffic was irritating.

[Rodstar]

C'mon mate! Would love to see you!:)

[Amunous]

Rod better show ive promised some noobs that he is bringing the mary rose and they are wetting themselves in anticipation lol

[Rodstar]

There'll be plenty of dew about, so they'll be wet one way or t'other...:P

[Amunous]

hahaha sorry to pimp you out but that delicious scope of yours is the best way to get people excited about astronomy.

mmmmwet.

[Shano592]

I'll be aiming to leave at about 2:30, so should get the gate open around 3:30. if the day stays as good as it is, then there should be a good hour or so of solar observing.

[Rodstar]

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

Well, it was one of those nights where the seeing was pretty average and transparency was pretty average too; but in amongst the soup a few nice targets emerged. My favourite targets last night were M20, the Grus Quartet, 47 Tuc, NGC 6744, the Pavo Glob, Albireo, and NGC 5128. Unfortunately the seeing just did not hold up the planetaries very well, although we had OK views of M27, M57 and the Saturn PNe.

I had the pleasure of bringing along John, who has never looked through anything larger than a 2 inch crap-o-scope. I am pleased to report that he was VERY amazed. I think he was perhaps most amazed by Saturn, and also 47 Tuc. It also turns out that he remembers Deeno from the days when Deeno used to take lots of photos of motorcyclists on the old Pacific Highway - it is a small world indeed.

Despite some of the regulars being either entirely absent, or up at Bretti, we had a good roll up of about 15 bodies. It was nice to meet Erick and his flashing telescope! Also, a family came with a little boy who was very enthusiastic about how he could "actually see space!". Thanks to everyone who came over to enjoy some photons through the Mary Rose - I always enjoy the pleasure others have when seeing things a little brighter.

As the conditions were fairly average, I packed up about midnight, satisfied with having spend some pleasant time enjoying our Noble Hobby.

Until next time!

[sasup]

glad to hear you guys at lest got out there. I woke up about 4am and was greeted to nice views of Orion, an old friend and a few others before dawn. next time Ill make it

[erick]

Thanks all for making me feel welcome to the observing site and the group. I was a bit disheartened by the Sydney light bouncing off the early cloud, but when the night settled down, the low cloud vanished and some folks in Sydney turned off the lights, It was much better. My SQM reading rose to 21.1 around 11:30 when I had to pack up.

The dew-free night was greatly appreciated as well. I cannot get to unpack the car until late today, so am pleased everything is dry.

The flashing light isn't normal - but my choice of observing site put me close to the car access driveway so I thought I've announce my presence assertively :D

[Deeno]

A nice change getting up this morning and not having to dry everything out.
Good to meet Eric, nice to put a face to such a regular poster on IceInSpace and thanks for the help with my Argo dilemma.
The Mary Rose always makes a majestic sight on the field, thanks for the views Rod, how 'bout that comet.

Spent most of the night touring Ophiuchus, plenty of globular clusters to be found here including M1o, M9, M12, M14, M19, M62, M107 and a few interesting planetaries some of which were a little challenging to hunt down.

Conditions weren't the best but, did manage some acceptable views with the 7mm Nagler. With the humidity hovering around 75% all night, dew never became an issue thankfully. Can't have it all, I 'spose.

Great to see so many scopes in the field even with several regulars gone AWL for the weekend.

Gates were locked at 2.30 and Michael’s laughter was still echoing off the hills.......

[Zincberg]

Had a great night, thanks all for the company.
Was really glad I stayed long enough to get a slightly hazy, although not all bad, viewing of Jupiter at the end of the night.
Amazing that it stayed so dry... maybe the dew heard Pcers were going to Bretti and made its way there too?

[Rodstar]

Deeno, thanks for reminding me about the comment. That was also a highlight of the evening. Thanks for bringing along the co-ordinates, and for reminding me how to use the Scratch Objects function!

[Deeno]

Only fair, you did show me how to use it to start with.....:thumbsup:

[Rodstar]

....they call it early onset dementia....:screwy: