Unusual Observing Sites or Circumstances

Glenn Dawes · #1 29-09-2006, 03:46 PM

Hello All,

Someone recently took me for a walk down memory lane, having observed for about 30 years we had a lot of stories. Living all my life being based in Sydney I've had to travel for dark skies and have observed from a variety of locations. I'd like to hear some of your stories. Here's a few of mine-

* I used to observe quite a bit from an old quarry

* Observing an annual eclipse from the top of Mt Wellington in the early 80's with a sea of clouds literally lapping at my feet was different.

* How does from the bottom of a concrete pool sound (yes, it was drained)

* A naked eye session, but quite impressive was coming out of a cave having spent most of the day underground and seeing the Crux/Cen neatly framed by the dark entrance was something not to forget.

One I nearly did, but backed out was from a cemetery. I figured there was no shortage of flat concrete pads and there's even places to rest your eps! Anyone tried it (if you are dead already that doesn't count!)

I bet people who have been chasing a number of grazing occultations would have a few stories?

Regards

Glenn

wavelandscott (Scott) · #2 29-09-2006, 05:30 PM

I guess Kulunura might qualify for strange and bizarre or extreme

...otehrwise it is my backyard (pretty boring)

But really, maybe this could become the "Extreme Observers" thread...heck people do "extreme ironing" on mountains under the sea etc. I'm sure taht there are some good observing stories...

RB (Andrew) · #3 29-09-2006, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glenn Dawes

One I nearly did, but backed out was from a cemetery. I figured there was no shortage of flat concrete pads and there's even places to rest your eps! Anyone tried it (if you are dead already that doesn't count!)

Regards

Glenn

I wouldn't be caught dead doing that, you end up with a stiff back and neck.

Well one that stands out in my mind is the session we had at Kulnura on New Years day. It was a stinking hot over 43C day, there were fires all around the Central Coast so we decided to have a session that night.
It was actually quite scary when the ashes started to fall on our scopes.

iceman (Mike) · #4 29-09-2006, 08:16 PM

When froggy pulled out his superdooper 30 pellets/second paintball gun, it made for some interesting observing!

That session on new years day this year was quite scary when that southerly buster came through about 10pm.. driving home and listening to the reports of the fires very close was scary.

John K · #5 29-09-2006, 08:31 PM

Here goes:

- Flying in a 747 to Europe from OZ and in the middle of the night using a blanket as a light cover to observe M31 with my 10 x 50 binoculars whilst everyone else was asleep. A bit like being in an airborne observatory

- Moutaineering in NZ and having a 33 hr overnight epic stuck on an ice arete with 1000 meter drops on either side and having the stars in Orion and the summer milky way keep me company whilst belaying my climbing partner

- Getting on the roof of the house we use to live in with my binoculars tso try and get a view of a comet low in the sky. I forget which comet it was, but remember my neighboors waking up wondering if someone was trying to break into our house!

[1ponders] (Paul) · #6 29-09-2006, 09:09 PM

Last year when I went to NZ for the inaugural NZ Astrophotographyfest. It was held just north of Lake Taupo on a deer farm. It was a great site except the grass must have been getting lon and the owner thought he's do us a favour and let the deer in for the week before to eat all the grass down. Well we didn't have to worry about being knee deep in grass anymore, but we were ankle deep in something else

Well it wasn't quite that bad, but manure it was funny.

ballaratdragons (Ken) · #7 29-09-2006, 09:56 PM

Observing at last years Snake Valley Astro Camp.

The sky was magic and then all of a sudden the fog rose up off the lake in one large sheet, went to about 5' high, stopped, then floated sideways as one large lake-sized mass into the neighbouring paddock, then went down again, settled on the ground and vanished!

Now that was wierd. Several witnessed this strange feat!!!

Followed not long after by an absolutely still, clear image of Saturn rising. It was only about 2 degrees above the horizon and 5 moons were clear as a bell and there was no image distortion anywhere on the planet or Moons!!!!! Bizarre! Again witnessed by many.

gaa_ian (Ian) · #8 29-09-2006, 11:37 PM

Hmmm lets see ......
* Climbing to the top of a local peak in Central Qld at 2 am to observe Hayleys comet back in the 80's
* Watching the moon rising throught the trees as we listened to packs of Dingos howling around us here in the NT !
* Trying to put out a grass fire at our Obs site here in Gove, so the smoke would not interfere with our observing !
I could keep going ........

glenc (Glen) · #9 30-09-2006, 04:46 AM

* At the end of August 1998 we stopped in a tiny place called Little Fort for the night. (about half way between Vancouver and Jasper in Canada) I got up about midnight to look at the sky. It was glowing and I cursed because I thought it was light pollution but then I realised it was an aurora. It was magic watching it reflect off the river nearby but I kept close to the car because there was a bear bin by the river and the local papers had stories about bears causing problems in town.

* In September 2000 we spent a weekend at Talkeetna in Alaska. When I was driving back at 1am from observing the first night I wondered why the writing on the road was upsidedown. Suddenly I realised I was on the wrong side of the road - jet lag.

* A couple of nights later we were at Fairbanks and I went out about 2am looking for an aurora. Drove out of town towards a place called North Pole and stopped to have a look at the sky. There was no aurora but a car that was following me stopped about 100m behind me. I got in and kept driving and he kept following me. I did a U turn at an intersection and blue lights started flashing on top of this car. The cop wanted to see my license which was back at the motel. He said you get locked up in Alaska if you drive without a license but luckily he let me off. Next morning we drove down the same road and there was a baby bear where I had stopped to look at the aurora. Didn't see the bear's mum but she was probably nearby.

JohnG (John) · #10 30-09-2006, 09:45 AM

Probably my most unual bit of observing would be in the winter of 1982 or 83, can't quite remember now, on a search for some missing skiers in the Snowy Mountains, it was about 0200 and we were up near the area of the abandoned ski lift above Thredbo, we had stopped the Skidoo's and were listening with the engines off when the 3 of us heard a strange rustling sound and you could literaly feel the hairs stand up on your arms and the back of your neck, there was not a cloud in the sky and the clarity was amazing. To our south the whole sky had lit up with the most amazing aurora, curtains of red and green moving across the sky, all we could do was stand there and watch.

Oh yeah, we found the missing skiers about 2 hours later, they too had stood and watched this incrediable spectacle.

Cheers

JohnG

Feargal · #11 30-09-2006, 11:54 AM

My most unnerving observing site was in western Sydney, off the old freeway. A dirt road led to a paddock, at least far enough away from direct light interference. I set up and observed alone, then remembered with a chill some gruesome murders had occurred not far away. Then, behind me, came the sound of breathing; being rattled I took some time to muster up the courage to turn around, only to be confronted by a horse, leaning over the wire fence, its face not 30cm from mine (guess it was just tryiong to see I this night time idiot had brought some sugar). I was so surprised I fell over!

That happened again to me in the Upper Hunter, on a cliff top site, where I was ambushed by an echidna; I couldn't see I was wearing a bandana or not.

I pick my observing sites more carefully now.

Fergus

fringe_dweller · #12 02-10-2006, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnG

when the 3 of us heard a strange rustling sound and you could literaly feel the hairs stand up on your arms and the back of your neck,

wow! an audible aurora!!! do you have any idea how unbelievably rare they are!?

those auroral displays related to the tail end of solar max in the early '80's are legendary, I know of more amazing anecdotal personal accounts of this period, than the other two recent solar max's combined! must of been some beauties!

I have already related my weirdest experience in an old thread, but will repeat it again - its my favourite.

Was watching the 2001 leonid meteor storm from the dark clear skies in the lower mid-north of SA, on a section of the Heysen trail, with 3 other people.
I spent no small amount of time chatting and remarking to what I thought was my mates dark sillouhette, who had taken a blanket from the car and wrapped it around himself to keep him warm, only maybe 6 feet away.
When after a while I started to wonder why his motionless form wasnt replying much, I thought he was maybe in a funny mood maybe coz he was very cold (non-AA, and hadnt brought the clothes I told him he would need).
But then he suddenly started to hop away down the track, past the others, by then I was totally bamboozled, and yelled out after him 'Ross'! "ROSS!" "what are you doin?'"

then I heard a voice from inside the car behind saying "Yer! what!!?"

A large kangaroo had wandered into our very noisy animated midst, in the total darkness!! and stood there watching the shooting stars with us (I am sure I saw it looking up), for maybe as long as 5 to 10 minutes! I find that strange as I would think that it was unusual behaviour for a 'roo to approach and mingle with a group of noisy humans, and then stand there motionless and upright for that amount of time, and then calmly bounce off!?? their not not known for there curiousity? and he definitely wasn't there when we arrived, would of seen him in the headlights and torchlights, and we had been there some time by then.

Glenn Dawes · #13 03-10-2006, 12:33 PM

Hi gang,
I love this stuff, so here's a few more of mine (because you didn't ask for it).

* Doing the last NACAA in Adelaide quite a number of delegates were observing naked eye from a nearby oval. Everything was going fine, until the automatic sprinkler system came on around 10pm. I didn't know amateurs could move so fast in the dark!

* quite some time ago I was observing on my own in a paddock, on a property near Oberon (one of the best dark skies I have ever seen). I had been stuck in the car most of the evening while a storm raged. It stopped, and I set up. It was quite a strange feeling, for there were continual flashes from the storm in the distance, and a little unnerving at times. Suddenly, something pushed me in the back and turning around all I could see was a large black mass, standing between me and my torch (talk about nearly jumping into orbit!). A cow had come into the paddock (which I had thought I had locked) - maybe he wanted a look?

* During a flight to the USA I was invited to the cockpit and spent the time observing the sky with the flight crew with all the lights, including the instrument lights, turned off. I wonder what the passengers would have thought if they knew? It wasn't a bad view considering we were looking through glass.

Regards

Glenn

Heian (Mark) · #14 03-10-2006, 12:54 PM

One of the more memorable experiences Ive had was on a property at Bungonia. A low lying fog rolled in and sat from ground level to about 1m. It sure did look weird with telescopes and people sticking up out of the fog. The seeing conditions were fantastic, picking up many Virgo galaxies with the 7x50's, despite the fog....