Geoff wants to SEE things the RIGHT way up for a change
geoff
You have it all wrong Geoff.
Its just that I dont mind seeing things upside down and back to front in the Dobs.
I can tollerate it for a short time, but I get nausious after a while.
Besides that, I pine for that "whirring sound" aahhhhhhhhhhhhh..
Its just that I dont mind seeing things upside down and back to front in the Dobs.
I can tollerate it for a short time, but I get nausious after a while.
Besides that, I pine for that "whirring sound" aahhhhhhhhhhhhh..
How do you get by with your reflection in the bathroom mirror?
terrific roll up - hope the new comers enjoyed their evening - and turn up again next month
thanks to Andrew and John for bringing the 25" along
the CAT died - but we managed to find a couple of "field mice" to help put her in the sky where we wanted her to go
had to use the mice cause Gazz didn't turn up with any Hedgehogs - oh well.
the Mary Rose got her fair share of lookers during the nite - and good looks they were too - thanks Rod
"Cuban Corner" was lit up after midnite and wofted fragrantly over the field
Geoffs coffee pot attracted a few too many takers - didn't leave much for me ! - had to resort to the "red box" brand - have to get in earlier next time
dew caused a bit of havoc late in the nite - so bring the hair dryers next month (or contact that bloke that has all those spare resistors - private joke folks, sorry)
Deeno, as well as finding the COMET for Mike that he wanted to image, predicted meteor showers for the after midnite brigade.
quite a few kept us looking to the heavens till around 5am when Deeno's camera ran out of puff and we decided it was time to lock the gates and go home
What a great night last night! The conditions were very good. Transparency was slightly down for the location, but seeing was quite steady.
Quite a turnout, there must've been about 20 people there , maye even 25.
I was determined to image Comet Boattini, but it was just one of those nights where drift aligning took ages, and finding the comet itself took even longer.. I couldn't see it in the finderscope, and there was nothing recognisable near it to help me with star hopping. Anyway I eventually found it and rattled off an imaging run - hopefully it'll turn out ok
I then did some piggyback widefield with the Canon350D and the 50mm f/1.8 on the Antares/Rho Ophiucus region until I was too tired to go on (about 3am). By the time I packed up and got home and crawled into bed, it was 4am. My wife wasn't too happy as she knows I'll be tired today
Got some lovely views of Jupiter through Rod's, Joe's and Deeno's scopes. The best views were had through Joe's 10" RCX with his binoviewer. Just lovely seeing Io's dark shadow crawling across the disc.
Andrew Murrell had his 3RF 25" scope there, but unfortunately he had problems with the power to the servocat. But they eventually got it disengaged to do some manual push-to viewing. I had a look at Centaurus A when it was near zenith, and man it was a long hike up and down the ladder
Was a very dewey night, and got quite cold (about 4.8deg) when I packed up.
But the company was, as always, exceptional. Had a great time with everyone, and hopefully the many newbies that came along had a great time too.
Thanks to evryone for the great company last night.
The sky was really steady when the temperature dropped, which made for some nice views of old favourites.
The Ring Nebula in Lyra was lovely as I have not seen it for many years.
Jupiter was well worth the wait until it rose higher in the sky.
Some beautiful cloud detail was seen by all who viewed it.
And this was my first full shadow tranist from start to finish which was just lovely to see, and after the shadow, just to see IO itself creep out from the outer disc of the Planet was also worth the wait. Being my first, I was very surprised at the speed of the Transit.
The dew was only just kept at bay by my heaters, but My trusty SCT still managed to make it to about a 3.30am pack away.
A few Meteors were seen here and there but they were fast little buggers and some were a little on the dim side, but still worth the wait.
I will be back for more cold wet feet, dripping dew, and maybe some of these elusive Hedgehogs next Month....
See you all then
Geoffro.
Last edited by Inmykombi; 04-05-2008 at 03:14 PM.
Reason: spolling mistakes again
Great to see such a good turnout of scopes on such a clear if not damp wintry evening.
The views through the dueling large aperture dobs are nothing short of incredible so, thanks Rod, Andrew and John..
My 10" dob cast a lonely figure most of the night while I enjoyed checking out everyone else gear. Saturn through Joe’s bino's being some of the best views of the ringed planet I've experienced.
The Smokers Lounge was well occupied thanks to the stogies provided by Rick from a recent trip Stateside. Cheers mate
As the evening dwindled into the wee hours of am, the eta-Aquarids threatened to fire up with an increase of meteors, that was until RB had me motivated to get the camera out and not a single shooting star was captured in several attempts as the attached photo demostrates!
A night filled with camaraderie and good natured humor (Did I mention to anyone I directed Mike toward his lost comet?)
Wow what a great night indeed.
I'm glad I made it in the end and enjoyed the views through all the scopes.
Great to see JohnB and Andrew as well as Garry.
Always a pleasure to look through The Mary Rose and through Joe's Bino-viewers, which make you feel like you're falling into the EP's.
Just such a great atmosphere with everyone so willing to share their scope time and have a good ol' chat.
Always enjoy a nice cigar with the boys and thank you to Geoff (inmycombie) for shouting me a nice Cuban.
Also enjoyed motivating Deeno into taking some long exposures to try and catch the eta-Aquarids, funny though they always appeared when we were taking the dark frames
Very nice photo non-the-less mate.
Also a big thanks again to Geoff (Owl) for organising the pony club facility, putting the red buckets on the neighbour's garden lights and ordering the perfect weather.
As some of you found out, I made it there afterall before 8pm. Overall I had a great night and enjoyed it (until I left for home about 11:30pm). Apart from the dew and the touch of winter in the temp, I thought the seeing conditions were pretty good - sure beat the light pollution I get at home near the Mingara. Rick it was good to catch up with you again. How did Doug find the night overall? Rod thanks for the muffin, and a big thanks to all who let me have a view through their scopes . I hope to see you all up there next time and beyond.
Sounds like I missed a great night. I traded my car in so my daughter could get herself some new wheels and therefore made myself carless. Maybe next month if I have wheels.
Probably the best night I have had as far as the exceptional goodwill and generosity showed by everyone and the quality seeing conditions for most of the night. Jupiter was worth the wait to view the transit of Io and crisp views of the surface detail. Argo navis performed well but still have some small adjustments to make.
Great to catch up Tony and looking forward to checking some peeks through your scope next time. I think Doug enjoyed himself immensely as it was all very new to him. I'm sure he will come again and maybe he could be a contender for a new scope down the track.
Thanks to all for the views through their scopes again.
Cheers
I almost forgot to thank Greg I think it was, who loaned me a brand new Tarpaulin to keep my tripod off the grass and away from the moisture.
Greg, I hope I got the name correct, I have a bad memory for names.
I shall return it next trip up the Mountain.
Oh and Deeno,
I dropped the contrast and adjusted the brightness and colour etc. on your time exposure, and found that you have both captured another Comet ( Comet 2008 D1. Cuban ) and indeed a few good meteor trails as expected.
Geoff
Probably with a little more adjustment to the contrast and brightness etc. you may have been able to bring out the deep red glow around the coma of the comet and capture the magnificent dust trails (or is it smoke trails).
But what would I know?????
The meteor showers though could do with a little more twitching -don't you think Deeno?
Very ingenious though Geoff. Your imaging skills are impressive.
Thank you all.
It was a great night but what makes it really special is your company.
Rod, the 26 Nagler field lens was dripping wet when I inspected my eyepieces the next day, as it does not have contact with moisture in my SCT I will have the Mary Rose to blame for that....only joking - it just evaporated out with a help of a hair dryer...but it shows another minor advantage of SCT's - no dew of field lenses...
Special thanks for Andrew Murrell - the owner of the 25", great views trough your scope....and I got me a Miele dishwasher at a special price as well - this has been a great outing for me - how may times can you see a in a group of 20 people one person that manages a store that sells Miele and another who repairs it.
Love my Denk Binos ....- it is an off and on again affair.
Sounds like a great night had by all ! I wanted to attend but had allready been up at Mangrove Mountain all that day flying and had to return to Berowra to feed my dogs and then the sofa nabbed me.
Thanks all for a great night of comradery under the stars.
Yes, Joe's binoviewer strutted its stuff again, with Saturn looking particularly outstanding.
Thanks Joe, also, for the Polish beer, and for the loan of your 26 Nagler. I am increasingly of the view that the 26 Nagler+Mary Rose combination is a marriage made in heaven. I think the slightly higher magnification and contrast vis-a-vis the 31 Nagler makes the 26 a better choice for me.
It was great to have a few new faces. Mike brought a karate mate James+ James' two kids. I gave them a sky tour, and it is fair to say that they were pretty excited by what they saw. As expected, Saturn and Omega Cent had the biggest impact, but they also enjoyed the Sombrero, the Tarantula, the Jewel Box, etc.
I encountered some frustrations because of the annoying yellow street light, and there was a lot of sky glow about, no doubt due to the moist conditions interplaying with the sky glow from Sydney. I was disappointed in my efforts to hunt down some galaxy clusters in Coma Berenices, as I could not get nearly as clear a sense of a multitude of galaxies as I did under the darker skies of Ilford. I think I will be heading to darker skies a bit more often now, having had a taste recently at SPSP of just what is possible when you get right away from the city lights.
It was the latest night ever for me....I crawled into bed at about 1/4 to 4. And my lovely wife needed me to get up to unload the car so she could use it at 7am Sunday morning......guess who was utterly sleep deprived on Sunday!
I will be in Coonabarabran in June, but I hope those who do make the Pony Club next time have a great night.
I am increasingly of the view that the 26 Nagler+Mary Rose combination is a marriage made in heaven.
Interesting observation Rod; I have found the exact same thing with my scope (14" F/4.6). The 26mm T5 seems to work extraordinarily well in it. I think it is partly because it is producing about the maximum useable exit pupil for me (5.6mm).
I considered the Pentax XW 30 as an alternative, but I suspect the resulting exit pupil is slightly too large with the 14" (6.5mm). It too is a wonderful eyepiece in the right scope though.
You can hob dob with us anytime you like though!!
are nothing short of incredible so, thanks Rod, Andrew and John..
) 
I'm sure he will come again and maybe he could be a contender for a new scope down the track.
