It's a no brainer to post this here, as it's directed to the people on IIS I like so much, and especially Glen who runs this thread and shares PM's with me often.
I'm in the middle of a significant investment in astronomy, and one I am very happy to share with the Bretti/Pony Club regulars.
Going forward I need a more permanent observing spot, and I've found that this year out at Coolah. On average it rains every second day at Bretti, but less than once a week at Coolah. So it makes sense for me to have my permanent setup out there where it can get used every new moon.
I plan to meet with the Coolah council next week and propose a long term plan for a permanent setup in the form of a shipping container to house my gear. I will let you know how that goes.
I have learned to like Coolah very quickly. You can observe to a flat horizon in every direction and I have had SQM readings up to 21.91. So I am torn. I enjoy the company of everyone at Bretti, but I am going to focus on Coolah from now on. So I guess this post is a bit like an apology for skipping out on Bretti trips.
I have already got people from all over the world lined up to come out and look through my new dob next year. If we couldn't at least get the occasional trip organised by everyone to Coolah I would be disappointed.
And yes, next week might not be so good at Bretti. I am going to Coolah on Thursday the 10th. If anyone would like to come along and check it out please PM me and I can give you all the details.
Finally, to Al, Rick, Glen, Rob, Geoff, Geoff, Arthur, I really enjoy your company and I hope you take this post in the spirit I give it. I really hope we get to do heaps of observing together in the future.
Sounds very positive Allan. A location that almost guarantees clear skies is most appealing. The other important concerns for tent campers in particular are facilities such as water, toilets and maybe showers.
Those with vans are probably less concerned about these things but tent camping in lousy weather ain't much fun...regardless of company.
Allan at your meeting with council appeal to their sense of business could this be of some benefit to the community. Hey one day they could promote it as the place of the Big Telescope...excuse my sad sense of humour.
John, this spot does not hold much appeal for the campers, it's definitely an astronomy first location. It doesn't have the ambience of Bretti for example. But it's hard to imagine a better observing spot anywhere, and I've spent a bit of time this year trying to find them.
One advantage I can see immediately is year round observing, particularly through the summer which is too hot for camping. I plan to stay in Coolah under the air conditioner through the day and drive out to the spot before sunset. That's where hopefully the shipping container will come into its own, as I will open it up and wheel the assembled dob out and be ready to go in minutes.
I don't plan to spruik this spot at all, and would prefer to keep it on the low down. That's why I posted it only here for just the Bretti followers to see. I would be concerned if the wrong people started using the site without permission and ruined it for us. The first time I camped there I had a visit by the police wanting to know what I was up to. So it was a good thing I had gone through all the right channels with council and had the contacts to back it up.
Plus there's my thought of the gear that will be out there, and I don't want too many people knowing about that. But like I said I am happy to give the details out in a PM if you are interested.
Allan, since you asked about them, here are some photos of the new snow boots, with a headlight in the shot to provide some scale. I stuck them in this thread because I can't attach photos to PMs.
They are XTM brand, and I got them from Snow Central online. Get your sizing right, mine just fit. Some of these snow boots come in limited sizes but these seem to have awide range of sizes.
No Allan, they use Euro sizing so just understand that scale and how it compares to your usual US or UK sizes. My normal shoe size is US 10, or UK 9.5, so that is a Euro 44 - which is what I bought. They feel a little big with normal cotton Bonds socks but with the thick Exlorers they are just right.
Geoff to your question, the sole is flexible. Velcro side panel closure, allows pants to be tucked inside if desired.
Update on the extended forecast: Tuesday -Wednesday look to be clear but Thur-Fri cloudy and possible rain. Clear again on Sat- Mon. So it would appear (at this point) to be a broken week with no more than two good nights in a row.
Spoke to Skull yesterday and he's planning on going up on Thursday. Have not heard anything further from Fizics (who was planning on Tuesday originally) or anyone else. Well yes actually Allan is going to Coolah.
I am waiting for early next week before I make a decision about when I might head up there. I had thought Thursday but if that is in the cloud period I might wait till the weekend.
Weather forecast seems to be improving and charts and Sat photos don't show any major cloud coming our way. I am packing the camper today. Can we get a show of hands for those planning on heading to Bretti sometime this week?
Jo and I have just recently returned from our 16 day, mainly freedom-camping, expedition covering three southern states (and a territory).
Now back home, a few jobs have been allocated by SWMBO.
Sorry! Probably not going anywhere this week.
Waiting to see about maybe next week.
Ok Allan understand. I think Fizics might be trying to go to Coolah later this week. I might just stay home this time, save some money, and image from the observatory (no power management issues or generator neded at home), and I am expecting a call from the guy that bought my 16" dob who is driving up from Victoria to pick it up.
BTW Sky Quality Metre reading from my observatory last night at 2am (when I was packing up) was 20.86 - good enough for my purposes, and not too far off a real dark site.
Sorry to sidetrack @glend (I can't make it as I have to be on a plane to Perth in the morning) - Allan, without knowing the exact positioning of the site, do you get any sky glow from Dunedoo, or even Dubbo?
My general ignorance at play, but Coolah looks relatively close to both places on the map.
EDIT: In saying that, you mentioned high 21's on SQM. That is not shabby at all!
BTW Sky Quality Metre reading from my observatory last night at 2am (when I was packing up) was 20.86 - good enough for my purposes, and not too far off a real dark site.
That's a really good figure. I doubt you would get much better than that at Mangrove Mt.
I'm not far from you to the south, and we get fairly good light blockage as well, but I don't know if it is to that extent.
You must be in an excellent location, or have shot out / covered up all of the street lights!
G'day Shane. There's no hint of a light dome in any direction. Coolah is probably 15km away, but it's population is less than 1000, so not much lighting from there. Dunedoo is about 50km away, so no problem from there either.
When I was in Dunedoo earlier in the year I could see light domes in the south from the mines. At Merriwa same thing coming from the East. That's what prompted me to keep trying further north and I had success at Coolah. It's the closest place I could find that has essentially perfect conditions. 3 hours is probably a little further than I was hoping for, but anything less and you end with the light domes. Plus I really wanted to get to the western side of the Great Dividing Range to get away from the coastal weather influence.
Have you got room for another at Coolah during this new moon period....
I saw you at Lostock this year and last year when that massive storm hit....
Anyway now that Bretti attendee numbers for this new moon are dwindling I was contemplating Coolah but just didn't want to invade your space without permission....
I have a recently acquired CUB hard floor Camper and was looking to trying it out as well as getting some decent views of Comet Catalina and generally some fun for a few days.....
Does the ground at the Coolah site allow for tent pegging, how level is it and is the sky canopy clear of trees.
Please let me know either by the forum or via a pm if its ok to go so I can pack the Colorado....
John and Skull, I've been called away to Dallas leaving in 5 minutes. So I'm sorry but Coolah is off this weekend. I'll get in touch when I've got time to spare.
...excuse my sad sense of humour.
