What a fantastic Solstice weekend! Apart from some great food again (lamb and veggie soup, special fried rice and cake, red wine...and beeeeer ) essentially peeeeerfect astro conditions were delivered at Eagleview, both Fri and Sat nights, woohoo. Unlike the surrounding low lands that saw temps well below zero (-7C in south Canberra) it was Mild for this time of year and didn't go below zero on the mountain, with no dew, no frost, no wind, no clouds and good transparency and seeing, what more can you ask for under Bortel 2 skies (two separate Unihedron dark sky meters showed sky brightness readings up around 21.8). So, imaged all night Friday by myself and then visually observed all night Saturday with mates, for the longest night of the year, what a blast! Tried out my mates new pair of 100mm binos on a parallelogram mount, which gave incredible OMG type wide field views of the Milky Way, SMC and LMC, we found things in them and then pointed the 18" Dob at them, to take closer looks, reminiscent of the Palomar Schmidt and 200" Hale partnership So, punctuated by visits inside to the fire for warmth, sustenance and beverages, we observed from 6:30pm to 4:30 am Sat night, magic...so, although lacking some sleep now, it was a great weekend that made the most of the long Solstice night ...happy days!...err?.. or nights..
Mike
Mike,
Sounds like a cracking night had by all on top of Australia.
Us mere mortals had to deal with B8 skies ( 18.50 mag arc/ sec2 ) with neighbours flood lights blasting your yard ( thank goodness for narrowband )
Couldn’t getaway to my place down south (Dome) under B3 , grandkids birthdays etc…
Thanks for the pics and making us drool
Sounds like a great night indeed Mike !! Bluddy cold here in Coombs, I just got back Saturday from motorhoming on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to be greeted by -8c at Coombs… not happy!!!
Mike,
Sounds like a cracking night had by all on top of Australia.
Us mere mortals had to deal with B8 skies ( 18.50 mag arc/ sec2 ) with neighbours flood lights blasting your yard ( thank goodness for narrowband )
Couldn’t getaway to my place down south (Dome) under B3 , grandkids birthdays etc…
Thanks for the pics and making us drool
Cheers and Beers
Martone
Quote:
Originally Posted by Rainmaker
Sounds like a great night indeed Mike !! Bluddy cold here in Coombs, I just got back Saturday from motorhoming on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast to be greeted by -8c at Coombs… not happy!!!
Thanks guys, busy boys, you both need to visit Eagleview one night, a three M's night, Matt, Martone and Mike
Hey where's the snow and ice?
I've been to Canberra too many times at this time of the year.
I call AI or fake.
Haha Haha
Absolutely beautiful conditions for you mate!
A friend in Arizona has a pair of 100mm binoculars and built his own parallelogram mount and he loves them when he gets to use them, turning 70 he doesn't get to as much of his gear as he'd like to, the bino's were a good fit for him.
Silly story Mike, back when I lived in Young we had to take our 4 year old son to the hearing specialists in Canberra because it turned out he was deaf and we had no idea, he'd taught himself to lip read as a baby with a minimum amount of hearing (less than 3% in one ear) because I read him a book every night of his life and there were only a few words he couldn't say correctly. I worked on the development of children's hearing testing equipment 10 years before he was born and on hearing aids.
The mother in law (ingrate, I built her a lovely chair for Christmas, she refused to sit in it and plug it in, lol) prepared a picnic basket to sit in a park in Canberra in the middle of winter in more than 4 inches of snow and was upset when I told her not to be insane and dragged then missus and our son off to cafe for lunch. She cried all of the way home to Young in the back of my car. I made that one a 40 minute (or less) run in my 351 Fairmont.
No more speed, I'm too old to bother but I still have a spotless license after 49 years.
Hey where's the snow and ice?
I've been to Canberra too many times at this time of the year.
I call AI or fake.
Haha Haha
See three days later attached ...started falling Tues morning.
Quote:
Absolutely beautiful conditions for you mate!
Two excellent nights, near perfect - via CCTV
Quote:
A friend in Arizona has a pair of 100mm binoculars and built his own parallelogram mount and he loves them when he gets to use them, turning 70 he doesn't get to as much of his gear as he'd like to, the bino's were a good fit for him.
They are great, hopefully get them up there again this Sat, it's looking like maybe the first half of Sat night will be good
Quote:
to sit in a park in Canberra in the middle of winter in more than 4 inches of snow
100mm of snow in Canberra is pretty rare.
Quote:
I made that one a 40 minute (or less) run in my 351 Fairmont.
No more speed, I'm too old to bother but I still have a spotless license after 49 years.
Great timing. It may have been between 2 and 4 inches of snow but it was a considerable amount in a park in the centre of town, from my former residence in Sydney and then Young snow was a somewhat new concept to me though I have ridden motorbikes through it on occasions.
I have a photo with a ruler buried up to the 8 or 10 inch mark on the roof of my car in Lithgow back 2015 or thereabouts, I can't remember the exact year, snow one year, major bush fires the next, very unpredictable.Though I hope we get some this year, it always makes the town look pretty.
See three days later attached ...started falling Tues morning.
Mike
Looks great up there Mike, I’ll try to get up there sometime, though with the front wheel drive of my motorhome I may have to wait.
P.S. in the end I had to give up on the idea of buying up there in the Tinderry , my wife spent all my money on a chalet at Crackenback….. C’est la vie
Looks great up there Mike, I’ll try to get up there sometime, though with the front wheel drive of my motorhome I may have to wait.
Do you have another vehicle? Two wheel drive is usually ok, unless its quite wet, then the last bit on our property, on the way up to the Mt Eagle summit, can be a bit of an issue for some vehicles.
Quote:
P.S. in the end I had to give up on the idea of buying up there in the Tinderry , my wife spent all my money on a chalet at Crackenback….. C’est la vie
Crackenback is a really lovely spot too, the nearby Wild Brumby distillery is certainly a big attraction Eagleview is a fair bit higher but Crackenback is in the middle of the Snowy Mountains, so probably gets a similar amount of snow through the year..?
Mike
Last edited by strongmanmike; 30-06-2025 at 11:58 AM.
I think many across the continent were blessed with clear skies this weekend and it was certainly another fabulous weekend at Eagleview Fri, Sat and Sun nights were all great...but unfortunately, life only allowed me to take advantage of Saturday night, collecting 7hrs of excellent Ha data on my target
For those interested, some happy snaps are attached, love it when I exit the dome at night and there are large patches of white around, feels quite strange but cool, around midnight, I'd step out of the dome and kept thinking the Moon was up but it was the vast and bright Milky Way overhead being reflected off the snow! last one is the view from the back deck Sat arvo just before sunset, there was a burn off going on south of us, towards Cooma and it seems to show the inversion layer nicely.
After last weekend, it's been a good productive New Moon period this time around, with three nights on the mountain and lots of imaging and observing taking place, Nirvana.
Mike
Last edited by strongmanmike; 30-06-2025 at 02:11 PM.
Snow is always pretty!
The high point is amazing, I don't think I've noticed another shot showing that view (or I've forgotten).
DO you not get strong winds up there Mike?
Most high altitudes tend to get stronger winds, I guess that is dependant on the locale and the obs makes it a minuscule
problem I guess.
Snow is always pretty!
The high point is amazing, I don't think I've noticed another shot showing that view (or I've forgotten).
DO you not get strong winds up there Mike?
Most high altitudes tend to get stronger winds, I guess that is dependant on the locale and the obs makes it a minuscule
problem I guess.
Lovely set up!
I think I have posted it a few times but a few more are attached, this is the approx. 1 acre of flat open space at the highest point of the property ~ 1454m, up behind the observatory
Yes it can get windy but not really any more than I experienced at my previous observing location just north of Canberra at 600m perhaps the top wind speeds can get a little higher but not number of windy days? The house, observatory and camping areas are slightly below or well protected from the West around to the North and East, by the sub Alpine bush, only the southerly outlook has no protection, the direction of these photos, except the one of the tents setup, which is looking North, taken in both winter and summer.
One thing is it is often not as cold as areas in Canberra, I guess cold air sinks, so when it drops to -7C early in the morning in Canberra, it might not go below zero on the mountain, as was the case last weekend on the Solstice. Other times, well, swings and round abouts I guess
Mike
Last edited by strongmanmike; 30-06-2025 at 07:46 PM.
It looks and sounds like the ideal spot Mike, absolutely lovely and it would be so peaceful.
I spent years doing a LOT of camping, canoes and motorbikes and good tent, I miss it.
It looks and sounds like the ideal spot Mike, absolutely lovely and it would be so peaceful.
I spent years doing a LOT of camping, canoes and motorbikes and good tent, I miss it.
Oh it is and there's plenty of room up there for a big party too ...although, these photos are of our ashes ceremony for our son Ben, in March last year Sad but a special day at a special spot, with lots of family and friends up there, many stayed and camped, big fire and lots of schnapps, beer and whiskey around the fire was had by all...complete with a porta-loo
Do you have another vehicle? Two wheel drive is usually ok, unless its quite wet, then the last bit on our property, on the way up to the Mt Eagle summit, can be a bit of an issue for some vehicles.
Crackenback is a really lovely spot too, the nearby Wild Brumby distillery is certainly a big attraction Eagleview is a fair bit higher but Crackenback is in the middle of the Snowy Mountains, so probably gets a similar amount of snow through the year..?
Mike
I do have a little Subaru XV so I might take a drive up that way sometime.
Our cabin at Crackenback is across the road from WildBrumby, literally a walking distance even after several Schnapps….
I do have a little Subaru XV so I might take a drive up that way sometime.
Our cabin at Crackenback is across the road from WildBrumby, literally a walking distance even after several Schnapps….
Apart from some great food again (lamb and veggie soup, special fried rice and cake, red wine...and beeeeer 
) essentially peeeeerfect astro conditions were delivered at Eagleview, both Fri and Sat nights, woohoo. Unlike the surrounding low lands that saw temps well below zero (-7C in south Canberra) it was Mild for this time of year and didn't go below zero on the mountain, with no dew, no frost, no wind, no clouds and good transparency and seeing, what more can you ask for under Bortel 2 skies (two separate Unihedron dark sky meters showed sky brightness readings up around 21.8). So, imaged all night Friday by myself and then visually observed all night Saturday with mates, for the longest night of the year, what a blast! Tried out my mates new pair of 100mm binos on a parallelogram mount, which gave incredible OMG 
type wide field views of the Milky Way, SMC and LMC, we found things in them and then pointed the 18" Dob at them, to take closer looks, reminiscent of the Palomar Schmidt and 200" Hale partnership 
So, punctuated by visits inside to the fire for warmth, sustenance and beverages, we observed from 6:30pm to 4:30 am Sat night, magic...so, although lacking some sleep now, it was a great weekend that made the most of the long Solstice night 
...happy days!...err?.. or nights..
...started falling Tues morning.
...although, these photos are of our ashes ceremony for our son Ben, in March last year 
Sad but a special day at a special spot, with lots of family and friends up there, many stayed and camped, big fire and lots of schnapps, beer and whiskey around the fire was had by all...complete with a porta-loo 
