Hello there

[ariefm]

G'day guys, new member here, I thought I'll introduce myself first before posting in other threads :-)

I'm Arief, staying in 1.3N, 104E (i.e. Singapore), just a 4-hour flight from Perth , have been doing observational astronomy for a few years now (first star party attended is during halley's comet return in '86, also went to a few solar eclipses trip). Equipments owned is a 10" f/5 Zambuto newtonian, a 7" f/5.5 Raycraft newtonian, a Tak EM-100 mount, a Giro-clone alt-az mount, and a few eyepieces and accesories.

I'm thinking of going to Perth for a farm stay holiday and bring my 7 incher along. What month will be best to go and any recommendation on the place to go.

cheers,
Arief

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi Arief, to the site!

We have a few Perth members here, not an abudance yet but we're working on it I'm sure one of them will get back to you with some suggestions.

Hope you enjoy it here and look forward to seeing your contributions.

[Rodstar (Rod)]

Welcome Arief! What are the skies like where you live?

Just out of interest, why Perth, when there is SO much to do on the East Coast of Australia?! (I ask this at the risk of offending the WA crowd, a dangerous thing, I know).

[beren]

Gday Arief, welcome I would suggest around November because of the added benefit of the wildflower season.I cant give any recommendations on farmstays but theres a healthy selection to choose from , try here http://www.westernaustralia.com/en/ . Wheatbelt region of WA would present good conditions , although it would be still cold during the nights . Another good locale would be some farmstays around the Stirling ranges about 3hrs southwest of Perth , some good daytrip opportunites .


http://members.westnet.com.au/web/astroventures/

http://www.gdc.asn.au/seestars.php

http://www.stargate-observatory.com.au/

[mickoking]

Originally Posted by Rodstar

Welcome Arief! What are the skies like where you live?

Just out of interest, why Perth, when there is SO much to do on the East Coast of Australia?! (I ask this at the risk of offending the WA crowd, a dangerous thing, I know).

Coz the skies are clearer over here in the west and there is less light pollution

Arief. Any time over here is west Australia is fine. Summer and Autumn have the clearest night skies but as beren said september to November is the spectacular wild flower season.

[acropolite (Phil)]

Welcome to IIS Arief, wherever you go I'm sure you'll enjoy it. WA would probably be better than the eastern states and almost as good as Tasmania. <!-- / message -->

[RAJAH235]

Hi Arief, & Welcome, .. Hope you have clear skies for your visit. L.

[ariefm]

Thank you all for the welcome notes and the WA links! Prefer WA since it's only 4 hours flight from Singapore, hence cheaper airfare. Also I heard the skies are super clear there. In Singapore, light pollution is very bad, only planets and brighter DSOs are visible. We need to drive up to Malaysia (a 3-hr drive) to get decent skies.

cheers,
Arief

[ving (David)]

arief
welcome aboard!

[dhumpie]

Hey Arief,

I am also a member of the SingAstro forum and have read some of your post there so a BIG welcome to you. Used to observe with Vincent Snr back in sec school in JB, Malaysia. I am now a resident in Brisbane with my wife. Anyway great to see that you will be here in oz. The skies here are nothing short of amazing (I get down to mag 5.6 from my suburban Brisbane skies in winter and can easily bag mag 10 and brighter galaxies with my C6). If you think the skies in Malaysia (i.e Mersing) are good, wait till you see the skies over here Anyway best time to come are during the winter months (June, July, August) as the skies are the most transparent and the center of our milky way are directly overhead. Try to time your visit with the new moon so you can get max exposure for DSO's. As for where to stay in Perth, I will leave that to some of our WA members.

Darren

[dhumpie]

Arief you can check what the weather will be like in Perth in advance (can even have a look at cloud cover, wind direction and rain) at

http://www.bom.gov.au/

Darren

[ariefm]

Thanks Darren!