Is there a dark(ish) site close to St Ives...

[JohnH]

Hi all,

Here's a question for the upper N.shore observers out there....

I have just run a second observing session for my daughter's primary school, I had to gamble on the clouds a bit but we got away with it on the 15th and had good views of Venus and Saturn plus the Jewel Box. The high cloud and bright lighting prevented us looking at anything else (plus we ran out of time too!) but the interest level was high, Saturn captivated most with long looks at 200x in the 8" drawing many ooohs and ahhhs.

I plan to run another session at the sports field later in the year for those who did not get a chance to come to one of the first sessions but for those who would like to see more I wanted to get out of the lights as much as possible.

For example from my back yard (Hornsby Heights) I get a good view of the Milky Way but from the sports field you can only just make out the 5th star in the southern cross.

So where could I go - dark as possible but within 30 mins of St Ives and suitable for a small group of children and their parents (say ~30 total) to have a BBQ and then look at the night sky. Ideally we get access to 240v power but that is not essential...

Any ideas?

[MadMonk]

Been to Bobbin Head a couple of times... after 19:30 when the traffic dies down a bit it's decent, except for the Sydney glow at lower S altitudes...

Tom

[JohnH]

Hmm, Didn't think of that one - it would be good for the kids in summer time - how about the view of the sky - too many trees? What about access after dark?

[MadMonk]

Depending on where you set up, don't expect to see anything memorable below 15-20° because of either the hills or the fog (this time of the year...).

Access after dark is no problem as Bobbin Hd Rd is a public one - after sunset NWPS close the road barriers leading to the BBQ areas though, so you may have to walk a few metres with your kit.

Apple Tree Bay just down the road is even darker but the hills are a bit steeper too, and most yachties switch on their cars' high beams when they enter, which can be quite annoying.

Then again, it is a wharf, after all....

Tom