creepy questions for dark sites

[GrahamL]

scary stuff JJJ this stuff happens everywhere , I forgot about what happened down the road the other day .
http://www.northernstar.com.au/story...an-discovered/
Dark sites in the country don't bother me much , but breaking down or out of the way spots near the cities are a bit dodgey imo .

[Forgey (Paula)]

I was out imaging in my backyard at about 3am a few months ago, it was a clear night and the moon was out.
All of a sudden I could hear a woosh woosh sound, I stood frozen. Crap (not the words i was thinking). I looked up and saw this big bird flying in circles above me.
That was enough to freak me out and i packed up and went inside lol
Now I grew up in the county and I loved it, being out there in the dark on the farm it didn't bother me. But I don't like the city. And I wouldn't go anywhere alone.

[Paul Haese]

One thing that has always felt good to me is standing in the dark whether it be on my own or in company in the scrub. There is an eeriness in the dark but it feels natural to have that eerriness about.

I guess this boils down to how comfortable you feel in life. I spent years in the bush in the Army and love it silky black skies. I love the solitude it delivers to my soul. It is a feeling several million years in the making. It is natural and wonderful. However, I do sometimes wonder if tonight is the night the aliens come and get me (what a prize they would get).

I don't need a Mike Sidonio, I have me or sometimes I have a Virgs (I think Virgs is bigger than Mike) Just being there with someone who loves the same thing is the wonderful part; in that you are sharing together.

I can understand why some people are afraid in dark conditions on their own. We as a society have been indoctrinated to have lots of light about us at night now, fed loads of creepy stuff from the media and most don't have defensive skills to draw on. It is why we will always have light in our cities, because people cannot come to grips with being in the dark.

The reality is that you rarely see anyone at a dark sky site, especially in real remote areas. I take questions about finding dark sites from new people as people looking for simply that. They live in light polluted sites and want to know where most people go to see the heavens.

So Silv, don't be afraid of the dark but always act safely. If you are unsure take a friend.

[Astro_Bot]

Originally Posted by Shark Bait

C'mon Allan...don't give in to the fear. Mmmmm, that is the way of the dark site, it is.

Ha!

[Nikolas (Nik)]

Has anyone told silv about the drop bears?????
http://wallabydown.com/wp-content/up...2011/03/11.jpg

[Varangian (John)]

Originally Posted by tlgerdes

If it is a truly "dark" site, and something goes wrong, you just walk off into the darkness and lie down on the ground and wait till morning.

No one is going to find you in the dark.

Unless they have a torch...which they'd probably have you'd imagine.

[Astro_Bot]

Actually, it's pretty hard to find people in the bush even with a torch. Although I haven't had anywhere as much experience as Paul, I have done some night exercises and been that person lying in a gully while a search party walks past a few feet away. If they'd had NVG, it might have been different, though.

[jjjnettie (Jeanette)]

All this talk of being alone in the bush is giving me incentive to pack the car and head west for a night or two.
Has anyone got suggestions for a good spot?

[MrB (Simon)]

Originally Posted by jjjnettie

All this talk of being alone in the bush is giving me incentive to pack the car and head west for a night or two.
Has anyone got suggestions for a good spot?

Haha I was getting the same urge!

[Auspom (Scott)]

I too fear dark sites.. I mean to say, I'm clumsy in the daylight and astro gear ain't cheap.
Seriously though, I think you're more likely to get into trouble in an inner city pub than a dark site. Just use your instincts. Having said that, I wouldn't be too happy if my wife wanted to go to a dark site on her own (not that she'd want to).

[AstralTraveller (David)]

I didn't see the threads referred to in the OP but I'd take the view that serial killers recruiting via astro sites is an extremely remote possibility, but not zero. Looking at it logically it's just not good 'business' but who's to say weirdos are logical. Still, how many attacks have there been? (even worldwide??) That's not to say that there is no risk but I think the drive to the site is more dangerous.

Regarding feeling safe in the bush at night, I'm quite comfortable in the 'remote' bush but at bit more on edge close to towns. I'm defining remote as being distant from a built up areas and out of he range of yahoos. Becoming comfortable takes time and probably entails being freaked out a couple of times, just to teach you that that sound is just a roo/wombat/horse/possum/bird etc (creaking branches are good too). But once you're comfortable it's an addictive glory.

Closer to town you can have the occasional unpleasant experience but I've yet to have one that felt dangerous. Mostly it's hoons doing donuts. Occasional young lovers find they need to seek a more private location (though not always). One night a car full of obviously intoxicated (and I don't mean booze) young blokes pulled up. That took us by surprise because they coasted up quietly with the lights out and got close before we heard them - which shows they could still reason. It seems we had been freaking them out and they wanted to know what we were up to in the dark. They made us promise we'd tell them if we saw an alien and then made their way back to their partying. We were only a small group but I'm glad I wasn't alone. It would still have been safe but the worry would have ruined the night.

I used to observe alone a lot but I was young and brave - and reckoned I knew the bush around the area better than 'them' and was fit and fast. Although these days I observe with at least 1-2 others, I think I'd still observe alone but I can well understand people not being comfortable with that.

[2stroke (Jay)]

I've came across a few weirdo's that's for sure, though rapist and serial killers i doubt. I would never take anyone i've meet online to a dark site unless they were known by people which i knew and spoken for. I really think that if you believe you should be packing a 9mm glock, or that bently pump action 12 gauge, you probably shouldn't be going out to a dark site by yourself LMFAO

[AstralTraveller (David)]

Originally Posted by Auspom

I too fear dark sites.. I mean to say, I'm clumsy in the daylight and astro gear ain't cheap.
Seriously though, I think you're more likely to get into trouble in an inner city pub than a dark site. Just use your instincts. Having said that, I wouldn't be too happy if my wife wanted to go to a dark site on her own (not that she'd want to).

I use my instincts and don't go into inner city pubs . My wife wouldn't go to a dark site by herself either, she drags me along to set up scopes and keep the roos at bay.

[Ric]

I'm lucky, as I live on a farm my dark site is two steps off the verandah. I'm quite spoilt to have a powered site with amenities.

I also have two killer attack cats, that is if they can ever wake up and drag themselves away from the fire and further than the crunchie bowl.


Like Paul, I've still yet to see the aliens but they are welcome for a cuppa.

The only weird noises are the possums growling and the roo's coughing up something I probably don't want to see anyway.

[bartman (Bart)]

Its not only dark sites you need to worry about.....
A few years back I came home from work around midnight and turned lights, tv and aircon on, poured myself a drink grabbed a smoke and headed outside to my little courtyard. Looked up a the sky and thought about getting the scope out for a bit of a gander.
Nek minut, I saw this young man walk around the corner into my courtyard not 2 meters away from me.
I yelled a few expletives, threw my glass at him, and ( for some unknown reason - adrenalin???) chased him. He bolted .......
It could have turned out different if I didnt cause all the noise!
This is an inner suburban unit.....

If ( and when ) I would venture out to a dark site by myself, I would scout it out during the day, check out google earth or nearmap to see if there are any signs of burnouts etc and to see how remote it is. Also pick a day during the week, not the weekend....

Cheers
Bartman

[smithcorp (Brian)]

Bloody hell! I may be one of the people who prompted these creepy thoughts (first post, no equipment yet, asking about dark sites near Sydney for my daughter - gurk!). I never even gave a thought to another interpretation for it!

I ain't a weirdo, I promise! Just want to see my little kid's face when she finally sees a sky full of stars, after a lifetime looking up from our Sydney backyard at a handful of visible stars.

The first time for me was at Singleton army base and I was astounded. The sensation of seeing the milky way (and shooting stars!) has stayed with me to this day and I can't wait to share that my little girl, who has become enamoured of Voyage to the Planets on ABC and Prof Brian Cox on Blu-ray and is spellbound at the Moon through my old binos.

Reminds me a bit of a funny story. A few years ago I worked for a few months in Iran. I grew a beard to fit in better there, and on the way home, another bearded male colleague and I stopped off in Bangkok to visit a Thai work colleague. He arranged for his nephew to show us around a temple and after witnessing some stares and Thai people abusing the nephew for seemingly no reason, it dawned on me that we looked like a coupe of very dodgy s_x tourists. Most uncomfortable...

smith

[silv (Annette)]

yes, your thread triggered mine, smith.
and there were, as I mentioned, other threads before yours:

new member, dark site, in the city or close by, female company, no equipment.

I am relieved that no one really shared my concern for these IIS threads.
I gladly succumb to that shared reality.

But me having these thoughts proves that, statistically, this is possible to happen. Coincidence only, that I am a 5'2" female and therefore picture myself as the victim and not as the villain in this scene.

One could therefore also say: I am a sicko - but a harmless one.
But only I am allowed to say that. Alright?!

[smithcorp (Brian)]

Funny, until this thread I hadn't actually given much thought to the question of 'safety' while stargazing in that way, but I imagine it can be a real one if you're alone or in a very small group in an isolated area.

[stardust steve (Steve)]

I not sure about people trolling astro forums looking for potential prey. BUT you do need to keep your wits about you when at dark sites. I will share an experience i had.
This Easter i was at dark site, looking at skysafari and noticed the moon was about to rise above the horizon. So i quickly packed the scope and camera and headed off to find a good view of the Eastern horizon. I found this one spot. No gate, no keep out signs, nothing. So i drove in and set up.
After taking pics for about 15mins i was startled by a 4WD with spot lights blaring come speeding in, locked up the brakes. This guy jumps out, straight on the front foot yelling swear words and asking what the f i am doing. By this stage we were toe to toe, i replied what the f does it look like? i'm taking pics of the f'ing moon. It was on for young and old.
It turned out he was the owner of this desolate paddock and took great offense for me being there. I am 6'4 and 90kg, the other guy was a tad shorter and a tad heavier and i was thinking it was going to come to blows this guy was so mad. After what seemed like 5mins of me defending my hobby and him defending his baron paddock he finally left with one final threat of firing a gun over my head.
I took that as my cue to leave.
It has is no way put me off going to dark sites but we do live in a crazy world full of crazy people

[Satchmo]

How about embracing a bit of pronoia..

I've personally never had any problem in 33 years of finding dark spots to look at the night sky.