Cambroon this weekend

astroron (Ron) · #1 06-09-2007, 10:55 PM

Cambroon will be open for observing this Saturday if the weather fines up.
Anyone who was going to Barambah is

to attend, weather permitting

Gargoyle_Steve (Steve) · #2 06-09-2007, 11:47 PM

and as usual Ron will probably welcome anyone who wasn't going to Barambah too!

If it's fine Ron we'll see you I'd say ..... I'm suffering serious astro withdrawal at present, the lunar eclipse only kept me going for so long.

[1ponders] (Paul) · #3 07-09-2007, 07:43 AM

I need a trip in the country too. Weather permitting I'll be there.

astroron (Ron) · #4 08-09-2007, 09:59 AM

The Sun is Shining, the Sky is blue, and it looks like a fabulous day

so all who have been waiting for a night to observe here is your chance

[1ponders] (Paul) · #5 08-09-2007, 10:03 AM

Lookin' reeeeeaal good Ron!! Feelin' Big Kev excited atm. It seems like it's been forever since the last time I got to do some imaging which was at Astrofest.

astroron (Ron) · #6 08-09-2007, 10:17 AM

all I am

:it is sunny:

[1ponders] (Paul) · #7 09-09-2007, 04:05 PM

Well it was a quiet night at Cambroon last night with just Ron, Gordon (friend of Ron's from Bribie Is) and myself. It looked promising, but there were a few itinerant clouds skittering about.

The night started well with a last minute viewing of the Hubble before it faded away, (damn thing came in from the wrong direction that it was predicted for

). Ron and Gordon spent most of the night chasing faint fuzzies ( and I mean really fain fuzzies...sometime just damn faint!!) as well as a few populars....you know M27 etc. The cloud kept appearing and disappearing which kept us hopping in and out of the house for cups of coffee/tea. Quite social actually

I spent the night trialling an imaging scope/guidescope/guidecamera/mount combo that I hadn't used much. It has given me a bit of grief before so I thought I'd spend some time ironing out the bugs. I think I might have to pull the mount down and give it a bit of reconditioning treatment. Nothing serious, just a cleanup a tune up and a grease and oil change.

I did manage to catch a couple of images like the attached Grus Quartet (again....I like it

)

This was taken with the ED80 and WO 0.8 FR and flattener (again

) and 300D. on a GM8 autoguided with a ToUcam 900 through a 60mm Carton refractor (f/7) in side by side arrangement. Focused with DSLR Focus, autoguided with K3CCDTools V3 and interfaced with the trusty ol' StarMate. Exposure also controlled using the StarMate:- 9/300sec@ISO800 @ f/6, dark subtracted and average combined in Images Plus and curved, leveled and otherwise processed in PS.

Gordon left us well before midnight, which left Ron and myself to carry the flame and try to make daylight.

The viewing was a bit off and on after that with plenty of moisture in the air, (thank goodness for dew heaters and hair driers) and high haze at time. Unfortunately it wasn't to be a full night. The cloud moved back in around 3:00 am and that was the end of it. But it was still nice to get back out under the dark skies of cambroon again.

I little bird told me that the Cambroon observing site will be up and running again next Saturday night, so if you missed out this time it could be a good opportunity to catch up with some sorely missed observing/imaging time.