Your feedback on the IceInSpace StarParty

[ving (David)]

re tara:
actually the IISA ties in with taras "stardude" thingy... funny that. Wouldnt it be great to get it to coincide with one of their kiddies programs...

ISS and stardude present...... (insert some reat name) for kids!

[davidpretorius]

will it do a tour of the country every say 2nd year? Tassie, Qld, WA, Port Lincoln

January is too close to November's snake valley for me, but I would be interested further out to organise a family trip. As you know balancing family and hobby is hard.

[cahullian]

All the sites look good to me Mike and I will be attending no matter where it will be held. Which one would cope with a growing attendance? and will we be wanting to keep the same site year in, year out?
Site 3 even with the winding roads looks like it might be suitable for years. Being exclusive sounds good but will the general public want to join in on all the fun???
There seems to be more to think about as time goes by. Maybe tossing a coin will help

Gazz

[ballaratdragons (Ken)]

Isn't there already an Astronomy event called Astrofest? Bit rude if you pinch it off them.

[davidpretorius]

thats octoberfest doofus and its held in snake valley, lots of beer drinking!

[ving (David)]

actually davo, its astrofest, but it seems everyone uses the name. just google it and find out.

[davidpretorius]

and novemberfest is also held in snakevalley - when mars is big!!!

[iceman (Mike)]

Isn't there already an Astronomy event called Astrofest? Bit rude if you pinch it off them.

Ken, the term "astrofest" is used globally, as Ving pointed out. It's just a generic term like "star party".

It's the IIS part in front that makes it unique.

[Brendan]

Only voted for what i did as i had to haul my sorry carcas out there for the photos , realy im with gazz any where is good.

[Orion]

Hi all, I've been reading this thread with interest and I spoke to George (whom some of you will know) and he told me that Lostock Scout Camp is a good choice. He has been there before. Quite a few years ago his astronomical society held viewing nights for the scouts, but he said that all you have to look out for is not to step in cow dung!

The swimming hole sounds good on a hot afternoon.

George and I are interested in going for a few days and if the Scout Camp is chosen I am sure there will be a few more people that I know that would like to come along.

Is there 240 power there that anyone can use to charge a battery?

[Brendan]

ed,
all options presented will allow the 'buzz click' brigade to run their babies or those that want to image the night away.

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

I would usually attend no matter where but this year I cant ..I think

[Rodstar (Rod)]

I have voted for Lostock, and I will definitely be at the event for some of the long weekend, wherever it its, but maybe not the whole long weekend because of some family commitments.

To my mind, for the event to have that special annual Supernovafest feel (is that a less controversial name?), we do need to get away from city lights and city fools.

If the general public have access to the site, not only are interruptions from car headlights and yobbos likely to be a major headache, but there may be problems with security. If I am staying several days, I will want to do what we do at SPSP, and that is keep the scope set up outside under a tarpaulin, rather than baking in my car during the day. I would not feel comfortable doing that if we are in a site easily accessed by non-IISers.

Being a little bit further away than some sites will no doubt turn some people off. It may also, however, cause those who come to commit to more of the weekend, if they know they cannot just drop in and out. In other words, the remoteness may actually create a stronger sense of community amongst those that go, even if there are a few less.

One benefit of having the event at Dungog is that it is likely to draw people from Sydney, the Central Coast and Newcastle areas. This seems worthwhile to me in providing a difference to existing stroparties which are set up by particular astronomy clubs which are far more geographically bound to one location.

One downside of being remote is getting some catering in for the weekend. Not sure what the solution to that is. Lots of BBQs???

I am looking forward to it, wherever we end up. Even if only a dozen people come, we are going to have an absolute hoot!

[iceman (Mike)]

Ed, that's great the you and George will be there. I'll speak to Ghul and see if we can't get some more NAS'ers to make it for the weekend.

And yes, there will be power to charge your batteries. At lostock there's no power on the field, but there's power at the farmhouses.

Rod makes a good point too, and one we've tossed around in the private forum. While we're trying to please everyone and have it at a convenient location for everyone, dark skies are what star parties are all about and if you have to drive 3-4 hours, it's worth it for pitch black skies - something different than what you get at home (ving! ). Plus, it's for 3 nights - so a 3-4 hour drive when you're staying for 3 nights isn't really that big a deal.

[ving (David)]

why do i get the feeling that at least part of you message was targeted at me mike?

[iceman (Mike)]

hehe, probably because of this

(ving! )

[iceman (Mike)]

Ok i've deleted the poll, as the committee has decided that Lostock Scout Camp will be the location of the IceInSpace Astrofest, 26th-29th January 2006.

I'll start another thread with a new poll to gauge how many people might come, and we can start discussing logistics etc.

[ving (David)]

but thats the middle of nowhere!

wht if there boogey mens?

[h0ughy (David)]

Originally Posted by ving

but thats the middle of nowhere!

wht if there boogey mens?

Astrobelle will be right at home Ving

there's cows there too, and lots of moo poo

[ving (David)]

http://www.mindspring.com/~boycekb/i...milies/Cow.gif-- who me?