Have you guys been here:
Linden Observation Site
105 Glossop Road, Linden, NSW, 2778
Is this site locked the gate during normal nights? Or can I just walk into the area and observe night sky?
WSAAG are holding observing nights on Saturdays around new moon, such as today. Visitors are welcome, for a small contribution. The site has an excellent northern horizon, and they also have a massive 30" Dob there, recently fitted with Argo Navis and ServoCat and given a general makeover by Reter Read of SDM.
Overall the Linden site is not as spacious and flat as the Airfield, but can still accommodate a fair number of people. If you've never been there before you should arrive well before dark the first time.
The most useful tool I've found for deciding if it's likely to be clear/cloudy on the day are near real-time hourly satellite images from the Brisbane storm chasers. It's much higher resolution than the publicly-available BoM images, and with practice you can easily track weather systems, low and high cloud bands, fog or storms across Australia. The facility to animate the hourly images is incredibly handy, as is zooming in to state level (NSW 09:33am image attached).
Use the animations of visible light images during the day to track the progress/development of a weather system, bearing in mind things like patches of fast high clouds crossing a whole state in a few hours, much faster than a frontal system! You can use the IR images to track high cold clouds overnight, but the low clouds (e.g. fog, or Melbourne winter cloud off the ocean) don't show up well in night-time IR over land as they're near the same temperature as the ground.
Today looks very promising - keep an eye on the high cloud over the SA/NSW border in case it extends eastwards later on, but the front modelled in SkippySky as bringing a lot of cloud has already fizzled almost entirely . If this continues, I'll hopefully head up to Katoomba for near sunset!
What's the form on departing late evening? I'm intending to leave maybe about 11pm, so I can get home and rested before a golf comp in the morning, but I don't want to disturb other observers!
You can leave any time you like. Just warn people before starting your car, so they can look the other way or close their eyes. And make sure you don't need five other cars to move in order to get out
WSAAG are holding observing nights on Saturdays around new moon, such as today. Visitors are welcome, for a small contribution. The site has an excellent northern horizon, and they also have a massive 30" Dob there, recently fitted with Argo Navis and ServoCat and given a general makeover by Reter Reed of SDM.
Overall the Linden site is not as spacious and flat as the Airfield, but can still accommodate a fair number of people. If you've never been there before you should arrive well before dark the first time.
Cheers
Steffen (WSAAG member)
I see.
I have not been both places (Linden and Katoomba Airfield) before.
They are not far away from each other and not sure which one to go, should does not matter? I am from St Marys area.
Thanks Andy, I have bookmarked that too. That is brilliant!
Ive been to Linden before. No one is stopping you from going there but personally I don't think its a dark enough location. Its decent though. Good view of the north. Not that great a view of the south unfortunately.
I've given up on the forecasters. All three forecasts I'm seeing (BOM, Apanel, SkippySky) are 100% wrong about the current conditions at my place right now. The storm chasers' satellite images are (naturally) spot on.
Just spoke with Rod at the Airfield. No go for tonight. He doesn't fancy chances of anything but over 50% cover for tonight.
Sorry lads. I'm not up for a 200km round trip for playing dodge ball with clouds. Peter's just pulled out too. I certainly don't want to get folks hopes up for tonight, so I'd rather say no good for this month,
Damn I just finished packing the car too, like morton down 3 flights of stairs. All good Alex, I might still head out but to Hargraves. Anyone up for joining me there?
Damn I just finished packing the car too, like morton down 3 flights of stairs. All good Alex, I might still head out but to Hargraves. Anyone up for joining me there?
Yeah ill meet you at Hargraves. Not much else planned for tonight.
Just spoke with Rod at the Airfield. No go for tonight. He doesn't fancy chances of anything but over 50% cover for tonight.
Sorry lads. I'm not up for a 200km round trip for playing dodge ball with clouds. Peter's just pulled out too. I certainly don't want to get folks hopes up for tonight, so I'd rather say no good for this month,
Alex.
Just loaded the car but likewise, not going to take the chance with a 3hr round trip
. If this continues, I'll hopefully head up to Katoomba for near sunset!
