[garymck (Gary)]

Hi,
I've been fortunate enough to move house away from my completely light polluted home in inner city Geelong a week ago, (which caused me to sell of some top quality gear an effectively put the astro hobby into hiatus) to a home outside Geelong (Batesford) with much, much better skies. My sky still looks east, but the light dome of Geelong is only up to about 30-35 degrees. Skies at the zenith are black - I saw the milky way for the first time in 8 years last week!! Getting my motivation back.

Like most places, nothing is perfect. I have attached a pic. I have an unrestricted view to the east, blocked to the west by hill and a row of mature native trees, trees to the north and south. (-this pic is a few years old and the trees have grown substantially since then. Trees have also been planted in the area near the shed at left of pic) North is at the top. I have marked 3 possible spots I could put a pier. 1 and 2 give me pretty good views to the south, east, and none to the west, and very little to the north, 3 gives good views to the north and east, but restricted views to the south.

Which would you choose for a permanent pier? or would you just leave everything moveable from one spot to another? Suffering a bit of difficulty in making a decision here....

cheers
Gary