[jackenau]

As Andrew has already mentioned the viewing was pretty hit and miss due to the cloudy night. Left it to the last minute to attend myself, expecting it to be a little clearer north of Adelaide.

Now, having never viewed through a scope other than my 4" or 6" reflector with poor optics, or my 12" dob I was somewhat left a little lacking in expectation of the scopes on display.

As was Andrew it was the first time I had looked through a C11, (This guy obviously new his scope, the sky and was extremely good with his knowlege of the sky and astrophotography.

He had lots of pictures on hand (on his laptop), all taken from his scope (I think), and which he was willing to share with the crowd on the night once prompted, whilst still trying to find objects of viewing for the crowd that continuosly gathered around his scope. The scope was very impressive to look through and unfortunately with little else to compare it with, would have to be the best and only goto scope I have had the good fortune to look through.

The guys without goto amazed me at the quick response to the ever changing cloud formations in quickly seeking out new objects to view.

Most people with scopes appeared to be frustrated on the night in not being able to find (due to the amount of cloud) suitable viewing targets.

Easiest to see on the night (APART FROM THE MOON) was omega centauri, closely followed by Tuc47, followed by numeous other clusters which few people when questioned, seemed to know the names of.

For me, on the night the viewing of Neptune "even though it was a tiny blue spot", the clearest view of 47tuc and what appeared to be the ring nebula (although I stand corrected here, it was red, blue, circular, small and I still have to look it up) were the best.

Until now I have never really noticed too much colour in anything I have been viewing, but the above object to me on the night really did show colour and it was interesting that the person after me viewing the object commented about the colour (without hearing me comment). Perhaps it was due to the darkened sky?

The big scope unfortunately was only pointed at the moon (due mainly to the amount of cloud cover). The 15" scope as Andrew pointed out was constantly trying to find suitable viewing objects apart from the moon and was always in constant demand. I had a brief look at omega centauri, which to me were equal to the views I get through my 12" dob if not slightly better.

All in all, having never attended a sky party or club meeting or similar it was an interesting night. For people new to the hobby there were an array of scopes on view, however I did not notice any dobs under 15", nor did I notice the 6" tak that was reportedly there (maybe because I just got caught up in the moment). However, I did find that most everyone (with scopes)were more than willing to share their experiences with the public and offer recomendations as to suitable suggestions to suit individuals viewing requirements.

The night, supplemented by a sausage sizzle, lots of coffee, slides and a movie show, 100 plus people (attending apart from the members) and the poor viewing conditions was in my opinion a worthwhile experience and one in which I would attend again.

Ken M