Climate Rage

[Tamtarn]

All this cloud but no rain.

I think there should be a short term ban on all new astro gear in Melbourne.
Just so we can use what we have.

Even a star or two would be nice to see.

[§AB]

Originally Posted by DougAdams

But the 20th was a great night! .... or was it the 19th...? Can't remember, you're right, it's been too long. Trough coming over for the weekend... don't hold your breath.

nah that was the 19th.

the 20th had the usual "awesome" seeing. Would've had more luck observing the moon from the bottom of the Marianas Trench. It won;t be a trough, it will be a full blown bloody low pressure system, and will now stay until mid week atleast. It will be YET another cold and cloudy Melbourne Cup, if not wet.

Originally Posted by rumples riot

This hobby is not for the impatient.

Thanks Bird.

Anyone who manages to be patient with Melbourne's climate deserves the Victoria Cross.

Originally Posted by plasmodium

Buy new gear while it is cloudy!
I've always found that the amount of cloud cover is inversely proportional to the amount of night-time moon!

I was toying with the idea of buying a Televue Powermate and 4mm Radian - at the same time - certain climate doom right there I actually wanted to observe the moon, cause it's awesome in a 10" reflecter, but guess what, we missed the WHOLE moon presence

[xelasnave]

Well it has taken me three years to get everything in place...I now have the shed, three scopes on the mount...and the new mount now twelve months old..the dsi's are here and I think the auto guiding will work if I can find a star to try it out on...

Yesterday got caught in the worst storm I have ever experienced..hail covered the ground like snow and disappeared in minutes..which is strange as it usually stays there for a while...
I was on the road when it hit..pulled off and wondered if I was going to be hit by lightning..scared out of my wits.. saw an instant river start in less than 5 minutes..trees were falling.. the hail was travelling parallel to the ground... small and does not seem to have damaged the cars paint work.. but it felt like the windscreen would break... here are some photos which make it look tame. I cleared 5 trees over the road in 2 klms..the last one I could not move but a guy with a chain saw came from the other direction and I made it to the school in time.

alex

[CoombellKid]

Here's a few of the hundreds of chunks that hit us on Tuesday. The old car
got a few dents, but managed to get some rugs and a dona over it. Boy
I tell they're scary things to try and dodge. Thud! Thud! Thud! all around
me. Took some video of it too.

I watched those storms head over from you yesterday we lost power for
several hours. There was one right over you and another form to the south
by the time they hit here they were one. Good to see you got home safely.

regards,CS

[Terry B]

Ouch!
You wouldn't want to be hit in the head wih one of those. We have only had little hail so far this season although we got nailed prety badly last december.

[§AB]

looks like thunderstorms are brewing down here in Melb.

Weekend will be a disgrace, still looks like Tuesday night at the earliest...I'm on 3 month uni holiday so I'm not worried but still, I just think about nights spent at the eyepiece and greeting dawn sitting by the scope doing what I love. How I wish that would be a reality.

and yes, it is currently raining, but still nice at 22ºC

[CoombellKid]

Originally Posted by Terry B

Ouch!
You wouldn't want to be hit in the head wih one of those. We have only had little hail so far this season although we got nailed prety badly last december.

Luckily I had a friends motorcycle helmet here and I wacked that on. It was
a bit a of freak storm. First I heard an almightly loud bang on the house and
thought my neighbour Al might of been throwing rocks but he's about 200-300
meter away. Because when I looked up out of the window the sun was still
streaming through (from the north anways) that's when a couple more
hit the house. Still at that time I didn't know it was hail and run outside to
investigate. Then I run inside for cover, real quick!!! one just missed my
head and exploded on the car when I was trying to cover it, but I was
wearing the helmet by that stage. But I was thinking one of these suckers
would damn hurt if it hit ya direct. They were probably a lil bit larger than in
the photo as I had to wait to try and retrieve one. the big one came down
first for about 5 minutes then there was 10-15 minutes of lil ones and rain.
Garden was destroyed though

regards,CS

[xelasnave]

I have been up home and no damage, in fact it brought down some
"hangers" ...trees I had cut but got hung up in other trees.. the grass is growing so fast because of the extra nitrogen...
It is hard to imagine that drought is common most places.
alex

[§AB]

ok looks like there'll be no summer this year, as there is nothing but cold and cloud forecast for both Melbourne and Sydney. Infact Sydney stands to be colder than Melb over the next 7 days.

Does anyone else hate La Nina with a passion?

[Lee]

Originally Posted by §AB

Does anyone else hate La Nina with a passion?

Yes.... no astro, and my tomatoes aren't ripening well!