Isle OF Wight observing this week?

[LDUNN1]

Anyone on the Isle of Wight this week Observing? I'm in Shankling & looking to hook up with anyone else observing this week.

[Keiran]

I was over near Alum Bay last weekend, I hear you got yourself an AP Have you taken it with you?

[LDUNN1]

Hi Keiran,

I have my astro kit with me 'just in case' ......i'm on a caravan site & thought it might be dark enough to setup just outside van - but there is too much tree cover around the caravan, and where I have found a clearer view of the skies within the sites grounds, there are also a number of strong security lights.......hence my post to see if there was anyone else, or maybe a group meeting on the island this week, that I could meet up with.....bit of a security risk setting up in the dark on your own....plus I'm scared of the dark ;-)

Pity we were not both over here at the same time.

......tonight looks cloudy though.......& last night it was clear, but I used it as a reccie looking for a suitable location to set up (& found none).

.......I hope to be at TH on Saturday mind....you going to be there?

[Keiran]

Im not sure, I will have to see how things go, have a good week over the island.

[LDUNN1]

Cheers Keiran, guess I'll have to wait & see what weather is like for Sat anyway......guess that is what you are planning too.

No observing yet over here - I could, & probably should have tried on the first night, as it was clear, but it was cloudy last night & tonight is not looking that great either.....but we will have to see......looks like I'll be observing from the site anyway, & will have to put up with the light pollution.....it is worse than from my back garden.....it is different though - I think the light pollution here is localised, but otherwise the night sky looked great, where as at home my back garden is dark & shielded from most local light sources, but you can't see much due to all the light from the rest of soton......if that makes sense.

Well, I hope to see you Saturday of a perfectly clear night ;-0

[Keiran]

I dont know if you are all booked for shanklin or not, but you may want to try Chine Farm

Camp site tariff | Chine Farm, near Brighstone, IoW

Very dark as it is at the back of the island, and sits right on the cliff, looking south over the sea...

[LDUNN1]

yeah, we are all sorted - have been for several months.

We are in Shanklin, but today visited blackgang chine.......not far from the place you sent details of.

On Sat night just gone (it was clear) I got the feeling that the sky was quite dark - when I got a location where I was shielded from most of the security lighting I could see the milky way easily & many more stars than from my garden.......but the problem was that even when shielded from the security lights I could have still set up & run without a redlight - such was the brightness at ground level.