I had a great time ..the pillars of creation live were a treat .
I must buy a good quality sleeping bag though the two cheapies
just didn't cut it in the lower camping area with the ice
I have just arrived home after staying at a mates place 25kms up the road from Duckadang, I had a great time with the time spent 50-50 between yacking and observingI spent a good couple of hours Saturday morning talking to acropolite (Phill) one would think we had known each other for life.
Thanks for the BOAGS Phill nice drop
I left the 16" ready to go and quite a few people had a great time observing with it.
It was great to catch up with Glenc, Houghy,and others to many to mention.
Great to meet you all, and look forward to meeting all again next year astroron
First I'd like to say sorry to Brendan. I was one of the smokers who was annoying him. I did pick up every butt in my area before leaving, I don't expect others to have to do it for me.
I had a beaut time. It was wonderful to meet up with everyone.
An excellent portfolio of photos Jeanette. Even though it was only 2 days ago, they bring back many fond memories. Nice one of the H0ugh in action, looking through his lens looking at you looking through your lens.
I note that in the first batch, there are heaps of photos of ultra-large dobs - a sign of plans to upgrade the Annie Jump Cannon perhaps?
The smokers annoyed me too... Didn't notice a problem last year though.
Reading some of these reports makes me a little regretful of not grazing the telescopes more. Ah, it can't be helped I guess.
Just as a side note, is the astrofest website crashing anyone else's browsers(I.E & Firefox) for no apparent reason?
Hmmm... haven't noticed a problem at this end, might be because of the java timer going into positive? Don't know what we need to do about smokers.
I had a blast at this years Astrofest. I did the most observing and imaging a an Astrofest for years. I took some people shots too, but I have a few astroshots I want to share.
Shot with Canon 400d, kit 18 - 55 mm lens:
LMC Friday morning single shot, LMC merged 3 shots in PS CS2, Maall and large clouds ascending, Taurus rising with Mars merged 3 shots.
Managed to get an extremely good bargain, I'm too embarrassed say how good. I bought a C90 and after borrowing a Schmidt cass to t-ring adapter from Dennis, and a t-ring to canon adapter I had a play. Considering there is a slight problem with the baffle tube degrading the star images, difficulty in focusing, mounted unbalanced on Terry's excellently aligned mount, I got this result:
All in all, feeling pretty good, even if we haven't finished unpacking.
Well said Brendan re smokers. Thanks to those that smoked away from the fields and picked up butts.
Thanks also for all the images that have been posted. Thanks for the free ear plugs too!!
And thanks to the people who shared their big scopes with everyone.
Thanks also to the organisers, well done.
You guys on the organising committee did an awesome job this year, yet again – thanks! I’m sure there were a few problems and niggles, but overall the totality of the event was simply outstanding and it really was great to see everyone there.
I didn’t do too much imaging this year; a few equipment/operator problems so mainly spent my time visual observing (sorry Brendan – I have now formally come out!) and chatting to people who dropped by my hutch.
Whilst my head was buried in my observing hutch trying to chase down a guiding problem – I was probably a little terse with my answers when people dropped by – my apologies for this, I was otherwise occupied.
Please pass on my thanks to the committee members and their band of helpers for making a very crowed and busy event so enjoyable for so many – you guys rock!
I had a great time ..the pillars of creation live were a treat .
I must buy a good quality sleeping bag though the two cheapies
just didn't cut it in the lower camping area with the ice
Brrrr! What you sleep on is equally as important in terms of keeping the cold at bay. I use the closed cell camping mats as an underlay in the tent and then a self-inflating Thermarest to provide the luxury and comfort of my bed at home.
In the UK, I once used an inflatable air mattress, but found that it did not provide any thermal insulation so I got cold from the ground despite a nice warm sleeping bag. It was -10 deg C outside at the time!
Here are some of the (few) images I managed to capture on Tuesday evening. The colours in the doubles are really lovely and it was terrific to have the opportunity to take an image of Albireo as at home, it is blocked by some trees and drowned by the light dome of downtown Brissie.
Jupiter is a little shabby - I thought it looked more promising than that when I captured the avi. Oh well, at least my tripod didn't get a free kick!
A fantastic week... thanks Jeanette for the photo of Jarrod... I was kicking myself for not being prepared with a camera. He was so excited about receiving that award... a big "thumbs up" and thank you to the judges and organisers for their support and encouragement.
And thanks to everyone at the event... we had a wonderful time. Can't wait for next year...
Here are some of the (few) images I managed to capture on Tuesday evening. The colours in the doubles are really lovely and it was terrific to have the opportunity to take an image of Albireo as at home, it is blocked by some trees and drowned by the light dome of downtown Brissie.
Jupiter is a little shabby - I thought it looked more promising than that when I captured the avi. Oh well, at least my tripod didn't get a free kick!
With smokers - there should be a designated area, far enough away and down wind so as to not pollute the non-smokers air, with facilities (maintained by the smokers) to dispose of their butts.
Annoys me everywhere I go....
Great photos guys!
Since I started it, can I make the suggestion that there are no more comments on smoking on this thread.
My comments in the "Ban smoking at astro events poll" apparently upset some and the thread has gone to the moderators. I do not want my comments to hijack this thread or get it locked.
Before the poll thread was locked, 29 out of 33 said there should be a designated smoking area.
Anyone who had problems with smokers please email privately or contact the Astrofest organisers.
Anyone who have problems with my comments / views can also email me privately.
I will not be making any further public comments on smoking or responding to smoking posts until I hear from the moderators.
..the pillars of creation live were a treat .
I spent a good couple of hours Saturday morning talking to acropolite (Phill) one would think we had known each other for life.
