Visiting the Siding Spring Observatory at Night?

[jiahao1986]

Hi folks,

I'm heading down to Cairns from Singapore for the eclipse in Nov, and planning to land in Sydney first then drive to the famous Siding Spring Observatory in Coonanbarabran the week before the eclipse.

I browsed through the observatory's official website and noticed it's not open to public at night. So, I'm wondering whether any of you folks here know how I can stay there for a half-nighter, with the purpose of wide angle astrophotography near the observatory complex. I don't have any intention to step inside the observatories and interrupt the astronomers' scientific studies.

Many thanks in advance.

Best regards,
Jia Hao

[jjjnettie]

Donna Burton would be the person to talk to about this.
I'll send her a message, and hopefully she will get back to you on this thread. :)

[jiahao1986]

Hi jjjnettie,

Thanks very much. Hope she'll get back to this thread : )

[gary]

Hi Jia Hao,

Great to hear you are making the trip to Australia.

JJJ's advice is exactly what I would recommend and hopefully Donna, who
works at the observatory, will be in contact with you.

The advice you read about it not being open to the public after sunset is correct.
Apart from the safety and security concerns, the headlights from vehicles coming
and going can interfere with work there.

Keep in mind in your planning that it is a six hour drive from Sydney to
Coonabarabran. Please be particularly careful if driving there at night, as
wildlife on the road is common. In particular in the stretch from Coonabarabran
out to the observatory, it is highly advised that you do some fraction of the
gazetted speed limit if driving there at night. There have been some serious
accidents resulting from collisions with kangaroos and emus and driver fatalities
have occurred. If you see a kangaroo on the side of the road, don't second
guess what it will do. Even if you think it has seen your vehicle approaching
they can still make a decision at the last second to just come straight out in
front of the car, so make sure you slow way down. :thumbsup:

For further advice on traveling to Coonabarabran, see this thread -
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=71059
For somewhere to stay, we recommend the Warrumbungles Mountain Motel
which is between the observatory and town and has dark grounds
from where you can perform more imaging.

Should you decide to reverse your trip around, we have a group of 13 members
of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada who will be hosted by some
Australian friends for some observing from the Warrumbungles Mountain Motel
on 17 and 18 Nov. Email me if this is of interest.

Enjoy your trip.

Gary Kopff
Mt Kuring-Gai NSW 2080

[born2fly]

Hi Jia

Sorry it took me so long to get in contact - but have been off line the last couple days.

Yes unfortunately we can not have folks visiting up here at night for the combination reasons of lights as well as OH&S. The kangaroos are treacheous.

I am also away at the eclipse leaving on the 6th and returning on 18th. So hopefully Gary we will catch up then as well.

There are going to be a number of groups on site in the day time in the week leading up to the eclipse and it could be quite busy.

Gary's idea is a good one - if you were able to reverse your journey as we have a lot of fun at the Motel observing.

Regards

Donna

[jiahao1986]

Hi Gary,

Thanks so much for the detailed reply, really appreciate it. Understood the danger of night driving, so we'll set off from Sydney as early as possible.

We may choose to stay at the Warrumbungles Mountain Motel for one night since it looks quite decent. Btw are you aware of any free/low-cost camp site in that region? We have our tents with us and my want to get some outdoor camping experience there.

Sadly we have already booked the tickets, so the trip is irreversible. Thanks very much anyway for the kind invitation : ) Clear skies to you guys.

Best regards,
Jia Hao

[jiahao1986]

Hi Donna,

Thanks so much for getting back to me about this. No worries for the night visiting thingy, we'll do our photography somewhere else in that region, probably the Mountain Motel mentioned by Gary.

Just one more question regarding the Australia Telescope Compact Array, which is another 100km up north. Do you know whether night visiting is allowed over there?

We would love to drop by the Mountain Motel and join the group on the 17th and 18th, but our tickets are confirmed and trip irreversible. Hope I can spare more time in future to revisit the place.

Clear skies to you for the eclipse, we may run into each other in Cairns : )

Best regards,
Jia Hao

[okiscopey]

The Warrumbungles National Park has good camping facilities just a few km to the west of Siding Spring. Camp Blackman even has hot showers!

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/nationalparks/parkCamping.aspx?id=N0035

[gary]

Hi Jia Hao,

Thank you. You are most welcome.

Mike's response recommending the Warrumbungles National Park is
precisely what I recommend and in fact I started to compose a response
last week recommending the same but did not find time to finish it
and send it off.

The AAO itself overlooks the park. Not only can you camp there, it is
one of the very best places to camp in Australia. Fees apply which are
modest and there is a visitor's center there where you can pay the fees
and learn more about the park and its network of trails.

A 'must-do' day walk is to the Grand High Tops to see the ancient
volcanic plugs and dykes up close. The view from the top is spectacular.
When we take visiting observers on the walk, I always recommend
they consider taking at least three liters of water with them each
in their day packs. On occasion, we have only got a fraction of the way
up when some have revealed they only bought 500ml with them, which by then
they have mostly consumed. I've "rescued" a thirsty few by sharing
my bottle and to which later they have admitted that my advice on
carrying so much water was not as crazy as it sounds, particularly
in the warmer months. :lol: The trail these days is even paved in parts
and has some steel staircases. A big change from years gone by where
one scrambled up and down gulleys and up the slope.

In any case in November it will be hot in the park.

There is prolific wildlife in the park including kangaroos, emu, goanna
and if you are lucky and keep a sharp look out, koalas. When the road
first gets to the bottom of the valley there are usually lots of roos
so drive slowly.

At dinner last night with a friend who is an engineer at the AAO he reminded
me of a story that Fred Watson had told me earlier this year. Fred had
hit a roo in an AAO staff car. When he reached the Blue Mountains,
he stopped at a traffic light and the car started to catch on fire in the
engine bay. Apparently the fan had been damaged. Luckily a fire fighter
happened to be in a car next to him at the lights and he burst into action
as did drinkers at the pub across the road.

The Whitegum lookout which you will see signposted as you first enter the
park might make a nice spot from which to do some astrophotography
with the volcanic plugs in the background.

Have a great trip!

[jiahao1986]

Hi Mike,

Ran a search on Flickr and it seems like Camp Blackman site offers not only good facilities but also awesome view! Thanks very much for the recommendation. We are sure to stay there for at least one night : )

[jiahao1986]

Hi Gary,

Again thank you so much for writing up such an informative reply, you guys are really awesome!

Looks like apart from the observatory, the National Park itself is worth at least one day's walk-around. We'll make sure we bring enough water with us, thanks very much for the reminder.

I'm sure we'll enjoy ourselves over there. Will share our photos with you guys here afterwards : )