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Astro Kent

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Astro Kent

Astro Kent

Posted
Posted

Hi,

I'm still very new to all this.

I will be purchasing an ioptron star tracker very soon and will practice and learn using it in dungeness Kent.

My question is when would be the best time to view the milkyway and andromeda galaxy... We are planning a week camping tript to the brecons in late October.

I can't find a straight answer anywhere on google.. The best answer yet is (summer months)

Dave.

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Stu

Stu

Posted
Posted

October should be great! I get great views in August later at night, but from this snapshot from SkySafari, the MW should be running directly overhead in the evening in late October. Hope the weather is clear!!

e5y8evad.jpg

The Andromeda galaxy M31 will be well placed then too.

Cheers,

Stu

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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ronin

ronin

Posted
Posted

Although warm(ish) the summer months tend to be lacking any real dark skies, it just stays light too long.

So you really want it when it is GMT here and not BST.

Owing to the general lag of temperature December to March can be cold, but often clear.

October and November can be nicely dark and there can be some decent weather. Recall several continuous warm dark clear nights one November. Being astronomers people actually complained - lack of sleep.

Can have some very nice clear stable nights in January+February time but also very cold.

That means do you mind standing out at say -5C to -10C - have you got suitable clothing to do so without trouble? Over here we often get a cold dry wind from Eastern Europe for a few weeks around March. Almost immaterial of what you wear it gets through, but it also brings clear skies.

Generally for viewing it is Oct to March - more dark.

Weather has to be taken into account.

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  • 3 weeks later...
AndyWB

AndyWB

Posted
Posted

Dave get yourself on this site where this event takes place !

http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/197674-astrocamp-april-2014-brecon-beacons/

I think their website is: http://astrocamp.awesomeastronomy.com/ - but this autumn's is in September. I voted for October, but that might be 'too cold'.

Pah! That's what a beer jacket is for.

The campsite they use is one in Cwmdu - but at the astrocamp they do turn off/shield a number of lights. I imagine it's not as dark normally. Pretty good for light pollution, though - last October I could spot Andromeda with my naked eye, and the Milky way was very obvious.

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Astro Kent

Astro Kent

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I wish we cud go to this event, unless it's on the last week in October then it's unlikely cos of my daughters school.

Has anyone been to this campsite?

http://www.campingandcaravanningclub.co.uk/campsites/uk/carmarthenshire/llandovery/rhandirmwyn

W have been having difficulty finding a good campsite for astro that is open in late October.

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Tommohawk

Tommohawk

Posted
Posted

Thanks for the prompt replies!

I do have stellarium on my ipad but didn't think you could do the forecast views :-(

Does stellarium work on iPhone 3?

 Not sure about Stellarium on ipad, but on PC you can simply call up the "Time" from the left hand menu and crank forward one day or month at a time. Its great for predictive views.

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Astro Kent

Astro Kent

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Not sure about Stellarium on ipad, but on PC you can simply call up the "Time" from the left hand menu and crank forward one day or month at a time. Its great for predictive views.

You can do it on the ipad ;-)

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laser_jock99

laser_jock99

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Posted

It has to be that week it's the last half term of the year...daughter really wants to see the skies too... I checked and it's on a new moon week so even better!

Always check the moon before planning a trip. It's not unknown among SGL'ers to have messed up on this fundamental point in the excitement of booking a trip to 'dark skies'!

Brecon should be good- but parts of Mid Wales are darker- especially looking due south toward the Milky Way

WalesLightPollutionMap.jpg

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dick_dangerous

dick_dangerous

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Always check the moon before planning a trip. It's not unknown among SGL'ers to have messed up on this fundamental point in the excitement of booking a trip to 'dark skies'!

Is it sad that I organise my annual leave around lunar phases?

DD

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Astro Kent

Astro Kent

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That looks scarily bright! And we only have four months to find somewhere to go :-(

Always check the moon before planning a trip. It's not unknown among SGL'ers to have messed up on this fundamental point in the excitement of booking a trip to 'dark skies'!

Brecon should be good- but parts of Mid Wales are darker- especially looking due south toward the Milky Way

WalesLightPollutionMap.jpg

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Astro Kent

Astro Kent

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First thing I did was look at the new moon dates lol... And the last half term date falls on a new moon week :-)

My work colleagues think I'm 'slightly eccentric' consulting a moon chart before booking a week off.......

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PorkyB

PorkyB

Posted
Posted

My favourite months are March and October.  Nice and dark but not too cold.  March has all those nice Leo/Virgo galaxies and the SGL star party.  October has Andromeda and Orion and the Peak star party.

There is something nice about doing a mid-winter all-nighter, I managed one at the end of last December, but by the end of the night everything had frozen and had stopped working, including me.

The summer months have short nights and no proper darkness, but it is nice to be out doing astronomy in a T-shirt.

So, in short, astronomy is a year-round thing for me, but March and October are the best.

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