Well that may be so Ken, and maybe i should wait to post anything, but i feel for you guys, all that preparation, and effort and such ordinary weather so far, hope at least you get one good night.
Had a good night observing Friday night for several hours before a fair amount of cloud rolled in.
Watched an Io shadow transit on Jupiter and lots of the usual suspects. The sky improved as the night progressed until the E & F stars in the Trapezium were sharp and well resolved. Several times we had crystal-clear skys horizon to horizon - but with lightning flashing from over the horizon.
Had a good look at "Thor's Helmet" at moderate elevation. An OIII filter seemed to improve the contrast significantly.
Yes, it was foggy and overcast this morning with some rain sprinkling. Then a significant downpour for about 30 minutes.
The fireplace is warming in the dining room for those coming up for this afternoon's music and meteor talk.
Plenty more opportunities for good astronomy evenings before we have to leave - let's see.
Have to feel a bit sorry for the Snake Valley Astro Camp attendees, the weather has been so lousy one would want to pack up and nick off.
We just arrived back home as well from NT, and it certainly is a shock to the system leaving 30+ degrees to about 12 all in a matter of days.
Anyway hope you guys get at least one night in.
I doubt the cloud will dampen the spirits of many of them, if not all of them. Gives them a chance to spend some time and get to know each other more, reflect on their friendships and have a bloody good time.
We are doing just fine, Leon. Several good hours observing the first night. Plenty of time to cover up and secure before the rain came. Shane G was great. Trevor's presentation was great. The feast was great, as always. Lots of new folks to meet. Lots of existing friends to catch up with. Lots to laugh at. Lots to learn.
And the towel is out drying in the intermittent sunshine. Good prospects of the covers coming off later today for a night's observing tonight.
Not too cold and not too hot. Flies are infrequent. The mossies are preferring to attack the ladies.
Hot water is hot. Toilets are flushing.
Only one downside - I forgot the counterweight for my dob, so it cannot look super snazzy with the eyepiece box riding outrigger.
After more than an hour of listening to the strumming of Shane Gilbert, I returned home to find that Russell Morris was giving a free concert at the local shopping centre....and it was the real thing (umm ma ma ma ma, umm ma ma ma ma, umm ma ma ma ma)...., so we soared on the wings of an eagle down to listen to him to find that Rachael is coming home!
Two "concerts" in the same weekend, I am feeling spoilt .
I arrived late on Sat, so only caught the second half of Shane's performance, but enjoyed every second of what I heard.
There are many highlights, meeting the people from the forum, the FEAST! and of course Trevor's lecture.
Pity about the weather on Sat, but looks like a cracker tonight (Sunday). Enjoy!
PS: Jen, Ryan said he will go to the March camp is Drew goes!
Bo
Thanks again Snake Valley for a good time, despite the weather. Had some good hours of viewing on Friday night at least.
Thanks to the PEEERFEK weather there was ample time to chat with the mob, and what a mixed bunch of characters we are. Nice to meet some new attendees.
Good luck weather wise for the rest of the camp.
Thank you Shane Gilbert, nothing beats a bloody good live performance.
12:40pm Monday - sitting at my desk at work feeling a little dazed.
Great weekend. Thanks to everyone - esp. Martin - for helping me get my gear setup. All is working terrifically, it's a pity the weather didn't play along.
Mind you - the stars are only half the fun at Snake Valley.
You guys rock!
Thanks Ken for all your hard work and to the trusty band of Monday nighters who will have to mop the floors.
Hey Drew - it was great to see you again - you're such a great kid.
And Ken - you have 2 fantastic young men on your hands - well done
Well, us diehards are still here and the sky has cleared up to this weird looking colour called Blue!
And it's HOT!!!
Forecast from BOM says: You suckers miss out
We are just getting the gear ready now for a wonderful night of observing, imaging (Jen says she is going to blow you all away with her stunning Joop shots), and Video (me).
Also, Chris is so excited that he has forgotten his viewing list and says he doesn't know where to start. "Maybe the Horsie".
Eric has the same plans.
A bit of a COMP, which one of them will see the Horsie first
I will be just trying to get all my gear working properly (again!) and zipping around at all sorts of objects.
Jake & Drew have given up and selected a bunch of movies for the night
This SV newbie had the best time EVER. I can't wait to get in to work in the morning so I can book in my annual leave for March (how many sleeps??)
Camp highlights for me
Seeing Princess Mary on the drive out west
Meeting some of my favourite chat/IIS buddies
The incredibly warm welcome from the SV regulars
Sneaking in some observing when the weather permitted (first time seeing 47 Tuc (my new favourite), Eta Carina and good ol' Sol)
Waking up with sore abs from laughing so hard the evening before
So many seasoned pros prepared to patiently break things down for the new kid
Learning more about fire hoses and lilos than I ever wished to
Ken and the SVAA, thankyou so much for your hard work putting the camp together. I really can't wait to come again, it was one of the best experiences I've ever had. I figured it would be good, but I didn't realise just HOW good it was going to be - which says alot for an astro camp where we spent alot of time observing cloud nebulae!
To the other wonderful folks I got to meet - JenJen, Drew, Davi, Ken, Wren, Eric, Paul, Dougie, Martin, Niko, Darren, Pete, John, Richard, and others whose names I've forgotten, thanks so much for an excellent time, see you all next year!
To the Diehards, we have our fingers crossed for you!
Made it into waork at 10-30 this morning feeling a tad sleepy. The Missus enjoyed the joke about the doctors, now how many were there?
Anyways, despite the clouds I enjoyed the night and looking forward to clear skies in March!
A great weekend, thanks to everyone for the company. At least we got some viewing on friday night.
Thanks to Ken and the SVAA for a great feast and Shane Gilbert for the entertainment. Also to Eric for helping to collimate the 8'' Sky watcher, unfortunately couldn't get to test it out on Saturday night. Damn the rain!!!
Below is a quick sketch I did of NGC 253 in Sculptor on Friday night. Called the Silver Coin Galaxy, a side on spiral. Not much of a central core but bright.
Then someone said Io is egressing from the disk of Jupiter. Quick slew to the giant planet and there it was - Io like a pimple on the side and the shadow was still visible!
the weather has been so lousy one would want to pack up and nick off.
, someone stars aligned last night & the moon came out early 
don't know if the photo will get posted though 
Nice to meet some new attendees.
