Hi All,
I'm planning to have another telescope viewing night on the school oval on Friday 4th November. We've had upto 70 people along in the past so if the weather is kind to us and you are willing to bring along a scope or even just turn up to chat with some like minded souls you are welcome.
Enter via Barker Street gate. Park in designated areas. Scope set up from 6 pm onwards. Starting time 7 pm. Public viewing until 9pm. Some of us stay on afterwards until midnight.
Anyone else like to join us? Scope or no scope you'd be most welcome. The school has its own 8" dob, so if you'd like to experience handeling a scope, this is a good opportunity.
Now knowing where the Andromeda Galaxy lies in our sky, I'm keen to have a crack at it from here. We managed M87 in Virgo earlier this year, so I reckon M31 is fair game.
Adrian, to get here, pretty much head for the Emergency entrance to the Prince of Wales Hospital on Barker in Randwick. The roundabout that the Hospital's entrance sits on is the same one where the entrance to the School, just down from Avoca Street (nearest cross street and traffic lights). Head down the driveway and follow the signs. If you are bringing a scope (or two) you can head straight onto the Oval. Otherwise park in the designated area.
A google maps search for Randwick Girls' High School will show the roundabout in the satellite image.
About 30 people turned up. We had 4 scopes. EQ5 mounted 8" Skywatcher Mak, 8" Bintel Dob, Tantalus, and a 6" Skywatcher on a home built Dob mount. Appart from the moon we caught glimpses of Venus and Jupiter through the clouds. The visitors were quite impressed by what they saw. Lots of questions were asked and answered and generally all had a good time. It was great to chew the fat afterwards over a meal as well. Until next time.
