Quote:
Originally Posted by 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
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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.
For further advice on traveling to Coonabarabran, see this thread -
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.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