Observing in Tassie?

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Dear fellow cosmic explorers,

I am going to Tassie for the first time ever in a couple of days and I am wondering whether to take a telescope or if as my limited research seems to indicate it will most likely be cloudy every night.

I am staying in Cradle Valley in a cabin for 6 nights, then Hobart for 3-4 nights (no need for scope there) and then probably camping somewhere along the south-east coast for another 4-5 nights.

Taking the scope (i.e., the 10" Dob) is a bit of a hassle and it means there probably won't be enough room in the car to take my accordion which I really want to take as well. I could take the 6" Mak but that's small spuds, might as well leave astronomy for another occasion then, I figure. But if there is one clear night and we're on Cradle Mountain and I don't have my Dob, I'll be an unhappy puppy.

So I guess I'm asking people more familiar with Tassie than myself: what are the odds of one clear night out of about 10 in Cradle Mountain and in the south-east corner of the state in the first two weeks of April?

Many thanks,
Steve

PS to Everyone! Do check out Mars while it's in the n'hood! The northern ice cap and surface texture look great. High magnification works best I found. I even got some nice photos! (my XD card reader stopped working though so they are stuck on my camera for the moment )

[acropolite (Phil)]

Steve, the odds are better at this time of year, your biggest problem will most likely be Forestry Tas, they burn everything thats left after trashing our native forests at this time of year. They usually do this on cloudy days so they can't be detected in satellite images as this has become a contentious issue. Even if you don't get a session at Cradle Mountain there are lots of dark areas and plenty of mountains within easy reach of major population areas, for example Mt Wellington is around 15 minutes drive from Hobart CBD if you have some transport although light pollution may be an issue. Tassie is not like the mainland, it's very fast to travel around from one end of the island to another.

[erick (Eric)]

Not sure how steady your scope will be on top of Mount Wellington - it's been blowing a gale up there whenever I visited!

I'm seriously thinking of how to catch some Aurora Australis from southern Tassie!

ps. Hi Steve, good to see you on the site!

[xstream (John)]

Steve,

I would take some bino's, as you know Anna and I have been down there many times but have never taken a scope with us just the bino's which go everywhere but then again having just a 6" Mak with us at certain time would of been nice.
Take the Mak, you won't regret it. Nice to see you online too mate!

[graham.hobart (Graham stevens)]

It's forecast clear for friday night. South East will be great and down the forestier peninsula will be pretty good I reckon-it usually is. I live on the slopes of Mount Wellington and have just had three crystal clear days in a row.
I agree the wind chill and velocity might be a tad unstable for viewing on the actual summit!
Once you are out of the immediate 'cloud shadow of Wellington the sky is usually much clearer-i.e the midlands.
Cheers
Graz in Hobart

[Liz]

Originally Posted by erick

I'm seriously thinking of how to catch some Aurora Australis from southern Tassie!

Me too Erick .... am planning for March 2013 at this stage. Still at Solar max, and have heard that at the equinix, they may be better.


Good luck Steve.

[janoskiss (Steve H)]

Thanks for your replies and the fine well considered advice. I will take my binos for sure and a tripod - leave the scopes at home. If my 6-inch Mak had an AZ mount I'd take it but with all the EQ gear it's almost as bad as the Dob re transport and a lot more cumbersome to set up and pack up. Making a grab-n-go AZ mount for it is something that's been on my backburner for years. Life's too short. But one of these days... I could take Lil' Hubble, my 8-inch Dob, but it's got set-up pack-up issues as well. (I really only made it for the Northern hemisphere observing. Very compact to transport but fair effort to put together and break down. It's kind of like a Meccano Dob.)

Glad to see IIS going strong and still populated with knowledgeable and helpful folk like yourselves!