Observing Reports from my trip to Australia

[marekc]

Hi Everybody,

I'm an amateur astronomer from the San Francisco Bay area of the U.S.A., and I had a wonderful observing trip to Australia this year. A friend and I flew in to Sydney on August 28th for a ten-night observing session in Coonabarabran. Within an hour of arriving at our observing site, I had decided that this 'once in a lifetime' trip was going to be the first of many 'once a year' trips if possible. I am already laying plans for next year's holiday.

Here in the S.F. Bay Area, there are a lot of amateur astronomers. Several clubs co-exist around here, some more formal than others. Perhaps the least formal is called 'TAC' - The Astronomy Connection. We consider ourselves a 'non-club club'. The TAC website is a lot like iceinspace, in fact. It's located at www.observers.org.

I posted observing reports ("ORs") to the TAC page while I was in Coona, and also after I got back. I thought that it might be fun to post links to those reports here on iceinspace, in case anyone wants to read the perspective of a northern hemisphere observer taking an observing holiday in the SoHem. As you can see from the last couple of reports, I got pretty carried away with my enjoyment of the whole experience. What a great time!

p.s.: Apologies for any errors in my understanding of 18th and 19th century Scottish and Australian history. This'll make sense if you read the last of the posts.

Hopefully these links will work properly:

http://observers.org/tac.mailing.lis.../Aug/0306.html

http://observers.org/tac.mailing.lis.../Aug/0382.html

http://observers.org/tac.mailing.lis.../Sep/0062.html

http://observers.org/tac.mailing.lis.../Sep/0148.html

http://observers.org/tac.mailing.lis.../Sep/0151.html

http://observers.org/tac.mailing.lis.../Sep/0152.html

Thanks for having such a great country! (Oh, and NZ rocks, too - I spent several months there in 1996...)

Marek Cichanski
Palo Alto, California

[davidpretorius]

thanks for letting us share Marek.

we will have to line your next holidays up with a star camp!!!!

[Starkler (Geoff)]

A great read !
Thanks for sharing

[[1ponders] (Paul)]

Thanks Marek. You've helped me appreciate all over again the wonderful skies we are fortunate to be able to view, down under the equator.

[fringe_dweller]

Wild reports mate! loved 'em
a few omissions - I couldnt see a mention of the "Jewel Box" NGC 4755 (anyone remember the main side window view in the original star trek series of the jewel Box, that used to crack me up - anywhere they went in the universe there it was) there, or remarks on the naked eye colours of the stars that make up the cross on a really good night - I could go on - you will have to come back in summer - even with the shorter nights - it is a joy to observe in shorts and a t-shirt as you know { no mozzies in SA - no water, so very few mozzies in the sticks at night }
we get the last outer planets the best too not that anyone seems to care about that one
Orion/Sirius I think even favours us a fair bit more too

I am a little curious what makes a US observer come to Oz/NZ to see the southern sky rather than Chile (dont get me wrong I am extremely glad you chose Oz and you are promoting it as the place to go :-)) ) as Chile is more on your time line and has the added advantage of higher elevations amongst other things I guess

I have noted that *very generally* Europeans tend to go to Namibia/South Africa - Japanese observers come to Aus/NZ - and the Americans tend to go to Chile to see southern skies - I just assumed it was so you dont get jetlag and they are the closest to them
Cheers
Kearn

[seeker372011 (Narayan)]

enjoyed reading your reports and maybe next time you can plan to catch up with some IIS people at one of the observing nights at kulnura..skies not the equal of Coona but still

[ving (David)]

thank you, please come again
nice report.

[dhumpie]

Nice to see that more and more of your northerners are coming down under to observe. Oz has some of the most pristine skies in the world so you made a great choice. And great reports by the way. Do come back you hear

Darren

[astroron (Ron)]

Hi Marek, thanks for the great reports I realy enjoyed reading them I know what it is like being alone under the Milky way on a cold August night and just being amazed at its glory, and as you say to have two naked eye galaxies in ones own backyard is something to behold.
We look forward to welcoming you back next year,let us know in advance so as we can give you a big welcome .astroron