Quote:
Originally Posted by glenc
I think it would be ideal to have two astronomy camps a year, six months apart, so that you can see all of the sky.
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That's why we have 2 each year
Quote:
Originally Posted by glenc
In 2012 you could have astronomy camps near the new moon in March and September. New Moons are on 22/3/12 and 16/9/12.
In March you can see the northern sky from Gemini to Lyra if you stay up all night.
In September you can see the northern sky from Hercules to Gemini if you stay up all night.
The next thing is to look for places that have clear skies in March and September.
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We have ours in March and November at New Moon time
Lots of research went into developing these dates.
Quote:
Originally Posted by glenc
Other things to consider are:
Avoid light pollution.
Moon phase.
Elevation - try and avoid the fog and mist in the valleys.
Distance to capital cities - not too far away.
A good northern horizon.
Avoid DST if you can.
Accomodation - are beds, bathrooms and power available?
Security
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Tick, to all items
except we are near a valley
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brundah1
Don't forget school holidays may put a dampener on some with young families and limit availability of established camp accommodation. You need to be 30 mins from a town for supplies etc.
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We avoid school holidays and are even closer than 30 mins to towns and supplies, yet still have pure dark skies
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brundah1
But you should pursue your thinking - those equipped to camp out with small generators may really like your ideas, as this opens up many more options for dark skies. Country sites away from the coast equi-distant from Melb / Syd or Syd - Bris would be best.
David |
Already done.
At the SVAA we have been running 2 Astro Camps each year filling all the above requirements for the last 6 years.
And it works
http://astronomycamps.bravehost.com/home.html
Maybe QLD needs that 2nd Astro event if they don't already have one.
NSW already has several each year I think.