Taking the day off too, even the missus has to get a lift to town lol
I checked a couple of mornings ago and o'l Sol clears the tree line
in the east here 10min prior to tranist time. So it'll be up early wif
hot coffee and hav a look at Saturn now it's starting to get
up there. I'll have the 8" with baader film and PST setup ready.
Thought about imaging it, but I'll leave that up to you lot and
enjoy the Transit. Hopefully the sunspot group should near the
limb would be quiet a look seeing Mercury transit a flare... hmmmm
maybe I should get the camera ready.
with a forecast of rain, rain and more rain my time would be best spent in bed sleeping
i'll get up to see if its clear anyhow but it doesnt look good
We have been having afternoon storms up here. We've had 4-5 inches
of rain over the last week and a half, which is great!!!! tank has water.
But I am hoping it stays with the same recipe which has been clear
of a morning!!! but it dont look promising. Actually it been crap all year
up here have had maybe a half dozen so so nights.
.....................Definitely don't want to miss this!
OK, the aircraft hire for the whole day is $1429 for a 6 seater aircraft to go as far as dubbo or coonabarabran from Cessnock and ample room for gear and such, 4 people or 5 could go (that would make it under $400, what is a memory really worth ), and one scope (dob) being strapped in one seat. since the eq6 packs down in bits I could take the two mounts and 4 scopes - C8 ED80 MC5 and the PST add batteries and a few power leads and could get 240v at the airport , but somehow I find this hard to justify (no takers thats why)
did I mention it only takes an hour to get there............
Fair Dinkum!! I couldnt believe the forecast from saturday night on Austar weather channel! They said Monday fine, tuesday fine and wednesday rain and thursday fine...the following day the forecast was Monday fine, tuesday rain, wednesday late thunderstorms, and thursday scattered showers....
I think the astrophoto gods hate us for some reason!
Okies! Will try to.....if this rain goes away and precipitates somewhere else! I wasn't gonna do a public viewing cos my last two (two events i planned last year for Mars) were also washed out! This time i had a mild interest and thought "why not!?" .....seems like i keep jinxing it!
LOL
PS....we've had nearly 3 inches of rain over the weekend....might pull out my model yachts and seek out a dam! Maybe i'll get a clear sky and no wind then!
Well our society rated a mention on page 3 of the Newcastle Morning herald today with the article attached. I have also been approached by two radio stations to do an on air interview regarding the event. Well we are getting some good exposure for our Society, hopefully it will result in increasing our clubs membership and awareness in the community…. Also weird morning this morning, it started clear with a hint of cloud on the horizon then within an hour of sunrise it was fully clouded over as the sun heated up the atmosphere. Now its just wall to wall cloud. Fingers crossed for Thursday!
I was going back through some stuff to give some media in Newcastle and I found something I forgot about, taken the 7th may 2003 this was some of my very first astrophotography. (not much has improved since then.. ) ahh the memories of rushing up to strezlecki lookout and quickly setting up the scope after work........ gee glad I am taking the whole day off on thursday
I heard that a member of the Newcastle Astronomical Society of Australia (NASA will be 'on air' at 9.40am 2NUR FM this morning Wednesday 8.11.06
to give a talk on the 'transit of Mercury' with a viewing being held on the Nobbys foreshore, but I think you all know about that?
Good Luck with the talk David!
Which direction is the clear coming from? If we go north, will it take longer to be clear? Maybe we should drive West.
Dave/Andrew, What do we do!?!?
The BOM forecast for SE Qld indicates that anywhere around Brisbane and within 4 hours from Brisbane, is going to have rain and thunderstorms for Thursday. Charleville, some 7 to 8 hours west, shows as fine for Thursday.
Oh well, I guess I'll enjoy others enjoying the transit and will get to hopefully see some nice photos and animations.
What can I say but thank you? 
No matter if you don't, but I'd be very grateful!
), and one scope (dob) being strapped in one seat. since the eq6 packs down in bits I could take the two mounts and 4 scopes - C8 ED80 MC5 and the PST
add batteries and a few power leads and could get 240v at the airport
, but somehow I find this hard to justify
