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The curse of a UK based astronomer in Namibia


DirkSteele

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I am currently on the edge of the Kalahari desert in Namibia for two weeks of stargazing. The Kalahari is one of the driest places on Earth, yet on the day of my arrival, we were hit by six (yes six) heavy thunderstorms on the first night. That is virtually unheard of here and certainly not in September ("rainy" season starts around Christmas time usually).

I guess dedicated astro trips come wrapped in freak weather, much as new scopes come wrapped in clouds!

Fingers crossed for the rest of the trip.

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OK, now I know I am cursed! We had more thunderstorms last night than the night before. Though I do spy a touch of blue in the sky now.

The one minor positive (for someone who wants to look at the stars) is that if this keeps up, I will get to see the incredible rare event where the desert turns green as all the dormant, subsurface vegetation springs into life for a very brief time.

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OK, now I know I am cursed! 

,

to see the incredible rare event where the desert turns green

Gosh !

that sounds like a cue to a Monty Python tune "Always look on the bright side , ,  ," !

We will of course expect lots of luverly pics, be they of stars or green things :)

Fingers are still xxed ( but for all the good that is doing ,, I think we need to improve our technique ! )

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I'm guessing that thunder kept you awake thereby removing the only possible benefit of cloud on the first night which is stocking up on sleep :) Hopefully the rest of the trip will be clearer/drier.

James

Always had a thing for thunderstorms so found myself climbing out of bed to watch but if it that had not been the case, sleep would have been very hard. Forecast shows promise from tomorrow onwards. Fingers crossed.
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Matthew,

Sorry to hear of the poor start to another trip out, my wifes boss is there or on the way as I write, so if you see animals dropping dead he could have shot them.

I don't know about there firsthand but I have seen some really special storms in the tropics, pink lightning.

Alan.

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Now I can see Sagitarius over head but have thunderstorms on three sides. Giving me a glimpse of what is to be but not letting it be tonight. Last thing I want to be doing is standing next to a big hunk of metal with the speed these storms have been moving at.

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Now I can see Sagitarius over head but have thunderstorms on three sides. Giving me a glimpse of what is to be but not letting it be tonight. Last thing I want to be doing is standing next to a big hunk of metal with the speed these storms have been moving at.

Best wishes for a decent stretch of good weather. Looking forward to more great reports like your last trip.

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I was in Namibia last August and didn't see a drop of rain at all, the ground was so dry. Unbelievable skies compared to back home in the UK.

You could set up your camera and have a go at capturing some lightning images, that would be cool?

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Matthew,

I had a similar thing earlier in the year with storms on three sides of me except it was Arcturus overhead. I also had one day about the same time with a beautiful clear sky to the East and pouring rain on me, a cloud line across the sky that you could not have drawn better with a big pencil.

It must improve this is just not Namibia.

Alan.

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