Quote:
Originally Posted by Allan
I didn't manage any photos from SPSP this year. I arrived Friday afternoon in time for the rain to stop and I set up camp in the cloud that had settled over the site. Friday night was movie time and drinks in the hall and then a very dark walk back to the tent through the cloud which was fun.
I set up the 32" on Saturday and spent the evening touring around the showpiece objects, and around half the star party came past and had a look at some nice views. Copeland's Septet was the only faintish object I bothered with, and about 10 people got to see the tight group of magnitude 15-16 galaxies. Eta Carina and the Homunculus were crowd favourites along with M83, M104 and the Ghost of Jupiter, and Jupiter and Saturn at the end of the night.
The star party was well attended on the Saturday which was the only clear night, with close to 300 people there. Cloud rolled in around midnight, and by 1am the observing field was deserted.
I had a great time as I always do at SPSP. I appreciate very much all the work everyone does to run the star party. I've run my own star parties and can attest to how much work is involved. I've been to a lot of the big US star parties, so get to see how different events are run.
One thing they do really well in the US is police the quiet period before 10am. These events are star parties and not camping trips. Its the same thing every year at SPSP, as it was again this time. People yelling out at 6am and making as much noise as possible without any consideration for observers who only got to bed a few hours earlier.
The other thing that needs fixing is the date. I talked to a few people about this again. It is a huge effort for me to bring the 32" to the star party, but I enjoy it for the benefit it provides for so many people there. It's also a big effort for all the participants, many who look forward all year long to coming to SPSP. But to only have 6 hours observing for all that effort is hard to justify. I'm now at 9 nights out of the last 21 possible. It has to be moved to April when the weather is so much better. The availability of objects in the sky is so much better in April as well, except waiting an extra 2 hours for the Milky Way to rise. A small price to pay.
SPSP is my favourite Australian star party and I am passionate about making it the best it can be.
|
Thanks for sharing your scope Allen, my partner and I got a lot of satisfaction looking through your scope at M104! Very impressive!