Brisbane/SEQ Last Quarter Moon Star Party @ The Grove - Page 3

dhumpie · #41 22-09-2005, 05:27 PM

I think it will be a swell gathering. You should try to make it Jeanette and we can give your new dob the test run

Darren

Iddon · #42 22-09-2005, 06:00 PM

ditto

jjjnettie (Jeanette) · #43 22-09-2005, 10:43 PM

Sorry, but you'll have to wait until the next time we all get together to play with my new toy. Have a great time on the week end.

mch62 (Mark) · #44 24-09-2005, 08:38 AM

OK any one coming tonight had better bring the Aeroguard.
Was in the Observatory last night trying to get programs working and felt a bit anaemic after wards .
The warmer days have woken the Mozzies up.

looking nice and fine both here and on the Sat pics but will keep an eye on any developments.
About the only downer is some smoke from burn off's in the state forests.

Mark

Striker (Tony) · #45 24-09-2005, 08:44 AM

Np Mark.......I will be their around 5pm.

astro_south (Andrew) · #46 24-09-2005, 08:57 AM

I should be out there and setting up from about 3:30pm. I might bring out my 4" ST refractor as well.

dhumpie · #47 24-09-2005, 09:56 AM

I will probably leave here by 4pm so should be out there by 5pm latest. Bring the C6 since Andrew is brining the 4".

Darren

Striker (Tony) · #48 25-09-2005, 09:09 AM

Hi guys,

Had a good night last night....plenty of laughs as usual.

Thanks Mark and Andrew for organising the night.

I only took some widefield shots with my Canon 20DA on a tripod.

Here's 1 x 30 second frame 3200 ISO....very happy considering it was taken on a tripod....you can see the smoke cloud coming from the bottom right....their was a little smoke around but really didn't affect the night at all.

Here's a pic of the team who turned up also.

Thanks Guys.

astro_south (Andrew) · #49 25-09-2005, 10:30 AM

Thanks Tony and thanks to everyone that came out - a good night was had by all I think. Also, thanks to Mark for supplying the venue

The skies in the early part of the night were very good with Antares easily split in my 12.5" and the companion was also discernable in dhumpie's 6" newt. Around about 10pm a whisp of cloud / smoke came over but it didn't interfere too much with the observing.

The usual suspects on anyone's observing list were observed (47 Tuc, M4, M8, M20, M17, M16, M11, M15, M57, M27, Grus Quartet, Tarantula, Fornax Cluster, Saturn Nebula, Mars.....you get the idea)

I also observed the supernova in NGC1559 in the 12.5" dob quite easily.

As Tony mentioned there were quite a few laughs, one in particular was in the taking of the group photo in Tony's post. In the dark Tony was struggling to set his swanky new 20Da to timer so he could be in the shot too. We stood there for at least 5 minutes (probably closer to 10 mins) watching him push this button and that button broken up by the camera flash going off intermittently (some of which he warned us about - others were a surprise!). There were plenty of suggestions from the crowd as to how a disposable camera / cheap point and shoot camera would of had this shot minutes ago, there was even a suggestion that Darren could get up and sketch us quicker than Tony could get his pic to work, and a further suggestion that a nice oil painting could be done in the time also.

There were a few people there with scopes on order, so maybe next time we will fill Mark's available space in the olive grove with scopes!!

Iddon · #50 25-09-2005, 10:45 AM

Guys - sorry I couldn't make it. I had a family event that afternoon that went much longer than planned, and once finished I did not have the time to make it over.

Mark - will post that laser and CD to you ASAP.

[1ponders] (Paul) · #51 25-09-2005, 10:07 PM

Glad to see you guys had a great time. Sorry I missed it. Tony how about putting a few names in your photo to introduce some of the new faces.

iceman (Mike) · #52 26-09-2005, 06:13 AM

Great shot Tony, sounds like a nice night and I agree with Paul, names on the photo please!

We were clouded out on the central coast so I'm glad you guys got some observing in.

dhumpie · #53 26-09-2005, 01:52 PM

Yup it was a great night filled with good observing and even better banter (and laughs courtesy of Tony and his swank camera

As Andrew mentioned we observed all the usual suspects, plus a few news ones to add to my "have seen and drawn" list. Finally bagged NGC 7793 in Sculptor. Nothing impressive there. Just a smudge of light with a hint of a starlike core in the 12.5". Highlights of the night would have to be the wide field scan of the milky way through Mark's 20x80 on Tony's tripod (nice and relaxing "overview: of our home galaxy), seeing the central bar and outswept arms of NGC 1365 through Andrew's 12.5" and the use of Xeelee's 60mm Bushnell to prove that small scopes do make an impact at dark sky sites. Resolution was eveident in the Ara glob in the 60mm!

Anyway,
Darren