Quote:
Originally Posted by bkm2304
Hi Ian,
Good old Mayfield! With the perpetual sodium vapour dawn to the north and north east it is a challenge to actually see some nights. But, amazingly, some nights after midnight are very, very clear. 
Richard |
So I guess you are on the northern side of Maitland Road up near the Mayfleld Pool somewhere.
I used to live in Woodstock Street , (my dad build single handedly the houses at 109 and 107 when he returned after WWII, including making the concrete bricks to build them) about 200m from the Industrial Hw when I was growing up. Astronomy was a challenge, though I did manage as by happen chance the smoke from BHP and Koppers usually went around us. The Na vapour lights along the Industrial Hw and in Carrington would be bad news , but a LPF will help out a bit, so will the shear light gathering power of a 22" mirror .... still green with envy ....
Do you know that one of the first actual observatories in Australia was built just north of the Bull Street Bush (up on Mayfield West Hill) ? .... the foundations were still there when I was a kid.
I heard about this from my grand parents and when Dr Way was still alive he told me about it.... he had a big telescope not far from Maitland Rd in Mayfield West up to the early 70s when he died.