Traveling to Australia...Any suggestions?

[ghazard]

Hello all,

I live in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. I'll be traveling to Surfers Paradise (72km or so south of Brisbane) in a few weeks and I am looking for some suggestions of where I can take my 15x70 binoculars for a good look at the sky. Is anyone familiar with this area? It will be my first trip to the southern hemisphere. Beyond the Starry Nights program I am unfamiliar with the southern sky...so I'm open to suggestions of what to look for in the southern sky as well!

Are there any observatories open to the public or other points of astronomical interest that I could take advantage of?

Thanks in advance!

Greg Hazard
Indiana Astronomical Society Member
10" Hardin Dob DSH
6" Orion SkyView Deluxe EQ
15x70 Celestron Skymaster

[iceman (Mike)]

Hi Greg!
You'll absolutely love Australian skies! I can't give you any advice about things local to Surfers, but there's many QLD'ers that will jump in shortly i'm sure.

Make sure you plan a few all night sessions, so you get to see the best of the SMC and LMC as they rise up higher. If you're up at around 3am you can see Orion upside down.

And of course straight after sunset when it's dark enough, you'll see the whole milky way spanning across the sky overhead.

You'll be blown away!

to IIS and I hope you enjoy your stay in Australia!

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

and downunder Greg. You are in for a real treat.

Surfers Paradise and the Gold Coast generally are very light polluted, but if you are prepared to travel for an hour or so West and South West you will find plenty of dark sites. In behind the Gold Coast is the Lamington National Park. It is on a high plateau which would be good, but the best part is once you get down the west side of the plateau you are blocked from the lights of the Gold Coast. You can go even further West South west to the Girraween and the Boarder Ranges. But I would warn you not to go there. You won't want to go home if you do

There are a number of members in the area so hopefully they will pop in and give more specific advice. Of course you would be welcome to come up the north coast (Sunshine Coast), north of Brisbane where we have much better skies than those south of Brisbane.



Anyway check the map and you will get an idea of what is around the Gold Coast.

[wavelandscott (Scott)]

Welcome Greg!

As I mentioned over on AM, I live in Sydney so can't offer much insight into viewing spots in QLD except to say that when you get away from the coast, it will get very dark compared to the Indy suburbs...and seeing Orion upside down is still a hard one for me to get used to (I grew up not far from where Greg now lives)...

My only other piece of advice if/when you go out into the bush is to watch out for "drop bears"...!

I am sure that some of the QLD locals will offer a good safe (drop bear free) place to see the incredible southern hemisphere skies!

Safe Travels,

Scott Mitchell

[astro_south (Andrew)]

Greg

I live in Brisbane, and I am a member of SAS which is an astro society that covers South Brisbane to the Gold Coast. We have many members who live on the Gold Coast.

My suggestion is to check out the society's website ( www.sas.org.au ) and get in touch with Kevin Dixion (email will be on the website under "Members Contacts"). He will know of any local observing sites and will most probably drag you along with himself and his 16 inch dob for a tour of the southern skies. If you can time it for the dark sky weekend he may well drag you out to our dark sky camp at Leyburn (a bit over 2 hours from the Gold Coast).

Another option for you is to hook up with the Northern Rivers guys just over the border in and around Casino (NSW) - check out the thread in the Star Party section.

cheers

Andrew

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Greg, as you will find when you get here, you can point your binocs almost anywhere in the sky in the Sthn Hemisphere and see something great.

Just get away from the inner city lights. You don't have to travel far in Australia to find dark sky. About 90% of our country is in pure dark sky.

Maybe someone could put up those light pollution maps for you to see. USA and Australia.

Enjoy your visit

[erick (Eric)]

These ones?

http://www.lightpollution.it/worldatlas/pages/fig1.htm

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Yep, that's them, thanks Eric.

[ghazard]

Thanks fellas!

Andrew, I'll definitely check out the SAS site and make contact with Kevin.

You can't beat a trip to OZ paid for by work with evenings/nights free!

Let me know if there are any more suggestions.

Thanks,

Greg Hazard
------------------------------------
Indiana Astronomical Society Member
10" Hardin Dob DSH
6" Orion SkyView Deluxe EQ
15x70 Celestron Skymaster

[StarLane]

Hi Greg,

I am a member of the SAS as well. If you really want to be blown away by the southern sky you really need to go to Leyburn. It's a bit of a drive but it's worth it for sure. Make sure it's a night around the new moon to make the most of it, hopefully you are here around that time?. I grew up in the country, but when I was younger I don't remember seeing the Milky Way as bright and as clear as I have seen it at Leyburn. A couple of guys from overseas make the trip to Leyburn around June each year just for the sky.

In saying that, if you can't make it to Leyburn, you don't need to travel far from the coast to get a half reasonable sky. Any where on the other side of Mt Tamborine is OK. The south western side of Springbrook Mt is good. There is a lookout on Springbrook Mt that looks south, there is also an observatory up there, although I have never been there. Of course it's not as dark as Leyburn, you won't see all the dark fuzzies but you will see the usual high lights. You need darker skies to see the LMC and the SMC.

My backyard in suburbia is OK most of the time, but early in the morning (2 or 3am with no moon) when most of the population has gone to bed and light pollution is minimal does makes a difference. I am sometimes surprised at how much I can see from the backyard (I am about 12km north of Surfers Paradise). Hope this helps and I hope you are not here during a full moon.
Cheers.