Planning Stargazing Breaks

[NAFK]

A friend and I have the brass-necked audacity to believe we can organise - weeks in advance - an astronomy camping trip; in autumn/winter; in Scotland. We're thinking of taking some tents, our scopes, cameras, a cattle-herd's worth of sausages and plenty of weighty, woollen clothing down to Galloway forest park sometime before the year's out.

My question is....how do the rest of y'all approach an endeavour like this? Just pick a weekend and hope for the best, ready to abandon the plan at the last minute should a meteorological spanner materialise within the works? Or is there some witchcraft, that I'm neither privy to nor can even imagine, through which we can anticipate the likelihood of co-operative weather some weeks in advance?

Feel free to populate the thread, not just with advice, but also with any anecdotes about when you've gone to some trouble to organise an excursion, only for the skies to pee on your astronomical picnic.

[pete_l]

If the weather doesn't deliver, you could always have a fallback plan of a mountaineering holiday in Norfolk. I mean, what are the chances that BOTH could be impossible?

[NAFK]

If the weather doesn't deliver, you could always have a fallback plan of a mountaineering holiday in Norfolk. I mean, what are the chances that BOTH could be impossible?

Ha! Yes. Or a spiritual retreat to the Reeperbahn.

[singlespeedman]

I would say plan for the best and if the clouds come in then you should still be able to get some awesome pictures of the landscape itself. There is plenty to do up in Scotland when it is cloudy and if you get lucky the clouds might break and you can revert to plan a.

I had a fishing trip planned with 4 others who all pulled out due to adverse weather forecasts the day before. A mate of mine came along as I was too stubborn to give up and we both enjoyed a very warm night with clear skies and awesome fishing despite all the predictions saying it would be the exact opposite.

Go for the viewing but still enjoy the camping

[swamp thing]

Hi

I always plan astronomy breaks to coincide with the new Moon.

Apart from that it's just a lottery whether the weathers good or not.

If Scotland is to be the destination, it would be wise to have some alternate things to do whilst it rains.

I normally take fishing gear with me.

Regards Steve

[Collyer911]

hi there

i was going to start a similar thread on this,

i,m looking for great campsites around the country where i can take my scope,

and get some really dark skies,

in particular i was looking for this week thursday and friday,

although i was going to use bbc met site to try and get good skys,veiwing.

so if it all goes wrong i,ll let you know!

andy

[NAFK]

hi there

i was going to start a similar thread on this,

i,m looking for great campsites around the country where i can take my scope,

and get some really dark skies,

in particular i was looking for this week thursday and friday,

although i was going to use bbc met site to try and get good skys,veiwing.

so if it all goes wrong i,ll let you know!

andy

Galloway forest park (the park we're planning to visit) has the darkest skies in the UK, and is among the darkest skies in Europe.

I can't say if it has any campsites, but in Scotland there are technically no trespassing laws so you can camp wherever you want as long as you're not inconveniencing anybody (although this freedom is under threat around some lochs). There's also an astronomy centre somewhere within it's vast perimeter.

[Collyer911]

cool,

i read that its legal to "wild camp" anywhere in scotland,

my father in law has been up there and raves about it....

galloway park that is,

so i just might make my way up there...

andy

[NAFK]

Cheers for all the replies so far. Fishing is certainly something my mate would relish as an alternative. I, however, haven't handled a rod since the days when I was still excited by a 10p mixture. Might be fun, though.

Also, the "new moon" tip! Ludicrously, that hadn't crossed our evidently dull minds!

[stev74]

As already stated make sure it's a new Moon weekend, I find this site helpful for planning just remember to set the location - Moonrise, Moonset and Moonphase for United Kingdom – England – London – coming days

If it's Galloway you could try the same campsite that the Star Party is at.......... or go to it, although it's only 2 weeks away and I'm not sure if there are any places left - http://stargazerslounge.com/star-parties/127986-3rd-galloway-starcamp.html

I've been to a few Star Parties now the last 2 set up through my observing group were clouded out but we weren't camping we hired a highland cottage. Between us we had a projector for movies (sci-fi of course) and a xbox with kinect and plenty of beer and whisky so they were good weekends anyway.

I was also at Cumbria 1 and 3 Star Parties with clear skies on both occasions. We arrived at Cumbria 3 in a thunder storm and had complete cloud cover until 9pm (ish) then it was like some flicked a switch and we got amazing clear skies for the rest of the night..... and eh plenty of beer and whisky.

So I would just pick a weekend and stick with it, hopefully you will get clear skies at some point. Baader Solar Film is handy to observe the Sun if it's clear through the day, just make sure you follow all the safety instructions. Make sure you have other things to do if it is cloudy..... and eh plenty of beer and whisky!!

I find a nice single malt helps on cloudy or clear nights!!

[Collyer911]

As already stated make sure it's a new Moon weekend, I find this site helpful for planning just remember to set the location - Moonrise, Moonset and Moonphase for United Kingdom – England – London – coming days

If it's Galloway you could try the same campsite that the Star Party is at.......... or go to it, although it's only 2 weeks away and I'm not sure if there are any places left - http://stargazerslounge.com/star-parties/127986-3rd-galloway-starcamp.html

I've been to a few Star Parties now the last 2 set up through my observing group were clouded out but we weren't camping we hired a highland cottage. Between us we had a projector for movies (sci-fi of course) and a xbox with kinect and plenty of beer and whisky so they were good weekends anyway.

I was also at Cumbria 1 and 3 Star Parties with clear skies on both occasions. We arrived at Cumbria 3 in a thunder storm and had complete cloud cover until 9pm (ish) then it was like some flicked a switch and we got amazing clear skies for the rest of the night..... and eh plenty of beer and whisky.

So I would just pick a weekend and stick with it, hopefully you will get clear skies at some point. Baader Solar Film is handy to observe the Sun if it's clear through the day, just make sure you follow all the safety instructions. Make sure you have other things to do if it is cloudy..... and eh plenty of beer and whisky!!

I find a nice single malt helps on cloudy or clear nights!!

my kind of observer!!!!

[NAFK]

Single malt whisky will certainly feature (see my avatar!).

A classic, peat-reeking, Islay in the open air on a crisply cold and clear night...middle of nowhere...scope trained on something beautiful. Now there's a thought that will keep me going for a few weeks.

[Lorne]

If you dont get to Galloway star party, Im sure there will be a Cumbria 4 in November. Just check the "Community/star party" section of the forum.

[umadog]

Ooh yes! Whiskey is a great back-up plan! If you just want a holiday, then make back-up plans in case the observing doesn't pan out. However, if your major goal is the night sky I would suggest you plan accordingly.

If you must plan in advance then choose a location where the odds of good weather are greater. Norfolk? Better yet, south of France? Aim for 4 nights or so if possible. That way you stand a greater chance of having a clear night over your stay.

Personally, I prefer to leave things to the last minute if my observing spot is going to be somewhere with unreliable weather.

[NAFK]

Travelling to the south of France would challenge my modest means, I'm afraid. And the time available to us is incompatible with a worthwhile trip to Norfolk or France, unfortunately, regardless of solvency.

So Scotland it must be.