Quote:
Originally Posted by bratislav
One such place in Oz, with reported exceptional seeing (*) is Exmouth in WA. Not quite an island, but surrounded by a warm, stable Indian ocean.
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Unfortunately there is no location within the continent of Australia where a combination
of clear skies and good seeing make it an astronomer's haven.
For example, I've observed from Exmouth over a few nights in the 1990's and on
those particular nights it would have to rate amongst the worse seeing I have ever
experienced anywhere. Having said that, it rated consistently with the expectation
of trying to observe from a very hot sea level location with a continually prevailing
sea breeze.
There is a certain amount of luck in being at the right place at the right time.
Andrew Murrell and I still wax lyrical about a night of observing with the 20" near Glendambo,
600km north of Adelaide, on the night immediately following the 2002 total solar eclipse.
New Moons don't get much newer and the transparency and seeing that night
were incredible.
But if we were there next new Moon or every New Moon period for the next five years
we might never experience a night of seeing quite as good.
Likewise I remember when we were at Wiruna on a New Moon weekend, probably
around the late 90's and there was a close opposition of Mars. It was one of those
rare magic nights of seeing and you would throw 500x and then 800x using the 20" onto
Mars and it just kept on giving. The detail that night around features such
a the ice caps was jawdropping and I have never seen Mars as good, even at closer
oppositions. There was a lot of luck on that night.
For most major astronomical events we are usually happy if we can find somewhere
in the state that has a high probability of being cloud free.
If it were me and someone asked "where should we go?" I would look at the
weather forecast for Mt Kaputar near Narrabri and try our luck there. In the
past it has provided some of the best nights of seeing we have experienced in
Australia. From the top you can even make out the white domes of Sidings
Springs and the Compact Array, where radioastronomers want good seeing
at millimeter wavelengths and are trying their luck there, is only a stone's
throw away.
However, my single piece of advice is to keep your plans fluid. Nobody can tell
you in 2014 what the best place to observe from will be in 2018. The place with
the statistically best seeing might be raining on the night. With long range
weather forecasting being so much better these days, you will have a better sense
of where you should drive or jump on a plane either a few weeks before, a week
before or ideally the day before. And then still keep your finger's crossed.
Nearly every major astronomical event where I have thought "I will head to X to
try and observe it" I have got to X, found the weather there lousy and had to make a
decision to try my luck at Y and sometimes having got to Y had to drive onto Z.
Best Regards
Gary Kopff
Mt Kuring-Gai NSW