Sydney spots for observation

[trader10]

Dear all,

Can anyone share spots/places/parks/locations that are used by amateur astronomers and novices on weekdays and weekends.....

I live on the Northshore and would be interested in find places where Iceinspace and other sky observers gather together to explore the skies.

TIA

..."a smile a day keeps the doctor way".......

[Rick Petrie]

Quite a lot of us on the Central Coast and a few from Sydney come up to the Mangrove Mtn Pony Club every New Moon and is probably the darkest sky near to Sydney.
It is only about an hour and a bit drive from the North Shore and you will meet a lot of nice people, all keen amateur astros.
We are trying to get another night in this coming Saturday night and you would be made very welcome.
There are posts here on IIS on how to get there and who will be coming.
Be good to see you there and as they say the more the merrier.
Cheers

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

I live in the North Shore area...on occassion I make it up to the Pony Club and it is always a worthwhile trip viewing is darker than my backyard and the company is almost always great.

I believe that the NSAS (Northern Sydney Astronomical Society) do some viewing at the Turramurra Golf Club on occassion...although I am a member, I've not attended an evening viewing there yet (I will someday). You can check out their website and get the contact information.

Clear Dark Skies to you!

[trader10]

Thanks for the invitation Rick....this weekend I will be away but I will definetely make the effort once I purchase my new refractor
Should be good in meet the pros there....just a newbie here thou.

wavelandscott,

Thanks for the tip on Turramurra..... here from ICEinSPACE

Northern Sydney Astronomical Society

Meetings: 3rd Tuesday of each Month, sports pavillion adjacent to the Riverview Observatory in the grounds of St Ignatius College, Tambourine Bay Road, Lane Cove. Start 7:30pm.
Observation nights are scheduled to follow the dates of the new moon but members can often be found at North Turramurra Golf Course on any Friday and Saturday night when there is a clear sky.
Beginners very welcome.

nsas AT nsas.org.au
David Moloney 0433 346680




http://www.iceinspace.com.au/54-122-0-0-1-0.html

Thanks guys

[koputai (Jason)]

I'm on the Northern Beaches (Belrose, not really the beach) and head up to the Pony Club every couple of months and it's great. About a 70min drive.
Closer to home I occasionally get the bino's out up between Terrey Hills and Cottage Point, which has suprisingly better skies than Belrose. Have often thought of taking a Dob up that way in the car for a look.

Cheers,
Jason.

[RB (Andrew)]

Looking forward to seeing you at the Pony Club, Trader10, both you and your new refractor.

Here's the link on how to get there:
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...ad.php?t=26142

And keep an eye out here for what's happening each month.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/f...splay.php?f=16

Cheers

[Inmykombi (Geoff)]

Hi Trader 10,

When I lived in Sydney 8 years ago, I never found a darkish location without driving out west away from the city lights.
Now I live up on the Central Coast we meet at the Pony Club along with others that make the drive from Sydney.
Ths sky there is great, A little sky glo from Sydney sometimes, but its much better than what I used to have in Sydney.

You will meet a bunch of great people, and get to see a variety of equipment.

I was a " newbie " to IIS about 12 months ago, and everyone made me feel really welcome when I first visted the Pony Club.
The friendships I have built are tremendous, and now I cant wait to get there on the New Moon visits.

Make the Trek and I am sure you'll love it.

Geoffro.

[trader10]

hi koputai,

Pony Club sounds good to me when I get my gear together.

hi RB,

Thanks for the info...somehow you sound so familiar aren't you one of the mods at hotcopper as well ?

I'm looking at some specials at http://www.uk-telescopes.co.uk and making up my mind on the equipment.

Very handy links RB...thanks for that....will see you at the Pony Club in a near future.... cheers

hi Inmykombie,

Yeap.....Sydney is pretty hazy at times....still a beautiful and nice place to live IMHO... I'm looking forward in meet all you at the club for some great time...

Thanks guys

[Wavytone]

When I was actively observing, using topographic maps myself and 2 mates had checked out just about every possible dark site from Newcastle to Wollongong and inland to Lithgow. At that time we concluded anywhere in Sydney is a waste of time, and most likely looking spots near the coast turn out to be no good for several reasons.

My preferred site used to be the Mt Banks carpark on the Bells Line of Rd and there were perhaps 5-6 others that made the trek occasionally - however the access road to that site is closed these days. If the Pierces Pass carpark is still open that is also fairly dark - enough to look for galaxies, it's 1h 40m from the CBD.

Also worth trying:
- Hargraves Lookout at the end of Shipley Plateau, just out of Blackheath, very exposed if there is any wind it will freeze your eyeballs in winter and thermals and ski pants are desirable;
- Cathedral of Ferns camping ground at Mt Wilson (large dogs can be a problem);
- the south end of a disused airstrip off Bells Line of Rd before it descends into Lithgow (2h from the CBD) - this site is excellent, little or no dew as its a quartz gravel strip in sandstone country and eerily quiet;
- Hassan's Walls lookout above Lithgow; though the dew there can be impossible if you are using an SCT.

If you can tolerate limited sky, there's a clearing at the south end of Emu Rd, Glenbrook, enough for a quick look. Also the huge camping ground in the National Park off the entrance from Bruce Rd, Glenbrook; though this site is not dark and you may have to pay a small fee to stay overnight.

Further up the Blue Mountains there are:
- several dark spots at the end of side roads off the road down Kings Tableland (before Wentworth Falls);
- a reasonably dark oval at the south end of Leura - this is sheltered from a westerly wind if you want to observe say a lunar eclipse, though the view to the west is very limited by dense high trees. The black soil on the oval means it is dewy, too.
- Medlow Bath airfield.
- Evans lookout, Blackheath (short walk to carry the gear, torch essential). Dangerous in the dark due to cliffs...

Up north there was a useable site in the Watagan mountains though by now I suspect light pollution has degraded it as badly as the ASNSW site at Mt Bowen and the Mangrove Mountain site. Further afield there is a useable area on Mt Gibraltar, above Bowral, if you have some reason to go that far.

These days... I'm confining myself to lunar and planetary from home... deep sky is now a treat when I venture further for a long weekend away with the family.

[RB (Andrew)]

Originally Posted by trader10

hi RB,

Thanks for the info...somehow you sound so familiar aren't you one of the mods at hotcopper as well ?

I'm looking at some specials at http://www.uk-telescopes.co.uk and making up my mind on the equipment.

Very handy links RB...thanks for that....will see you at the Pony Club in a near future.... cheers
Thanks guys

G'day t10,

No I'm not on hotcopper, this is the only forum I'm a mod on.

Can't wait to meet up, hope you get the gear you're after and that you'll make it to the pony club next time.

Just keep an eye on the threads I mentioned to find out when we'll meet up next.



EDIT: Here's the current thread for the Pony club.
http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/s...644#post361644

[scumbag1010]

Why not try Bowen Mountain.
ASNSW have an Observatory there with plenty of room outside for telescopes to be set up.
Bonus is a computerised 40cm scope in the observatory, tea and coffe making facility, toilets and other astronomers

Check out http://asnsw.com/crago/index.asp

[Screwdriverone (Chris)]

Hi Trader,

I regularly go to the Western Sydney Amateur Astronomy Group www.wsaag.org dark sky nights at Linden in the Blue Mountains (about 60km from my home in Kellyville, straight up the M4 and GT Western HWY) to the observatory there and that site is phenomenally dark where you can see the Milky Way glow in all its glory with the naked eye!

They have a number of club scopes that you can view with as well as a monster DOB that comes out on occasion. All walks of experience are welcome, just contact the club members such as Rodney Moulder etc on the website. Casual observers can donate $5 per night to rock up and check out the gear / views from members and visitors and its really good value to have a look at what each type of telescope has to offer.

Give it a look, I dont leave home to go to a dark sky site unless its to a WSAAG night.!!

Cheers

Chris