I hope I'm not intruding too much, but I'm looking for a little help.
I'm living in the USA, but never been to Australia. So..now I'm in the process of planning a trip to Sydney (I have some songwriting friends there) and I'm hoping you kind folks could give me some advice about where the good dark sites are in the area. I'm okay with taking a short road trip (50 miles or so). My friends aren't all that much into astronomy, but I would NEVER forgive myself if I didn't spend at least a few dark nights in the great Southern Hemisphere.
There are sites north, west and south of Sydney (east is a bit soggy). Given that Sydney itself is 40-50km across your starting point makes a big difference. Crossing Sydney can take >1hr. So, what suburb are you staying at?
Also, when are you planning to be here? On third quarter and new moon weekends (mostly Saturday night) there are gatherings of amateurs at a few places outside Sydney. I reckon a visitor would be welcome at most of these
Bob ,
Their is a site just north of Sydney call Koolang Observatory they are open to the public every weekend and I think through the week as well. They have a web site so if you Google koolang observatory N.S.W it will give you instruction on how to get their as well as their opening hours
I'll have to check with my friends - I'm still in the VERY early planning stages. I'll be glad to drive further if I need to, I just dread spending too much time driving around aimlessly. Hopefully I can talk some of my pals into getting out under the sky and maybe they can help guide me a bit.
I.C.D (Ian)
