DIY Spring Peak star party.

[faulksy]

3 hours ago, estwing said:

Campsites ok with a great crowd but unfortunately there's a lot of white light off non Astro types...and there's a right rowdy lot...

were is yours and steves dobs ? nice pic calv

[kenny k]

Hope you all have a great night tonight as the forcast is looking good.I was very tempted to join you all this evening but working away at the moment so time home over the weekend is precious.

Look forward to getting to this event in the future.

Kenny.

 

 

[Daniel-K]

On 3/24/2017 at 14:22, Paul73 said:

[removed word]....

oh dear

 

[niallk]

8 hours ago, faulksy said:

were is yours and steves dobs ? nice pic calv

[estwing]

Had a good time at camp lighthouse..many thanks must go to Nick for going to the trouble of gathering this rabble!..Two clear moonless nights in good company takes some beating...clear, darker skies to you all....

[cotterless45]

There was wind up Internet up there ,may explain the lack of content so far ! Here goes !
It was great to see over 20 turn up ,in particular friendly faces from our club( Rosliston Astro Group).

We had glorious weather with a stiff breeze on Friday. There was a sky full of contrails, which melted into some milkiness after that . Static homes provided security lighting now and again. But it quietened down later on. Those pitches to the rear having the darkest views.

It's a really lovely site , set in an old quarry. There are pods and Hobbit houses for those who dare not camp. Brrr ! It did get pretty chilly. Walking around and chatting is the only to learn  and keep warm.

Of particular interest were the Monster Dob Mob Dobs . The views of the spiral arms of M51 will stay with me .M13 filled the fov, as did M92. The galaxies showed so much interesting structure .Many thanks to Damien for his time and generosity with the queues.

Even with my 10" (sob)Dob, I caught the "Whale" galaxy and both Leo groups, including the lovely Triplet. We managed both comets, 41P Tuttle at the top of UMa( some confusion there !) and V12 Johnson, faint in the club of Hercules.
It was a delight to catch an observable "Intergalactic Wanderer" ,NGC 2419 in Lynx. The hook of stars pointing to this most distant of globulars. Other Messier's were soon toured, M3 giving super resolution. For a few folk it was the first view of some targets. There were some joyous grins, might have been drink or wind chill !

Saturday night excelled and gave a calm and clearer scene until later ,when mushy haze crept in. During the day it was very special to be able to observe Solar proms from a variety of set ups. A lot of activity up there and down here. Many thanks for sharing your setups and time, very much appreciated by all.
Phew, no mention of binaries (yet). I did nudge a few in the direction of Tegmine ! 
Hoping that we can find a darker site somewhere in that area. For those who fancy a couple of nights, it's lovely. Make sure you book as far away from the statics as you can !

Thanks to all who made this a memorable meeting ,

Nick.

[kerrylewis]

Very quiet today now that most of the rowdy astronomers have left . Nick - you left your hat on the lamp but I have it safe until I see you again or I could post it to you

[Ken82]

Thanks for the experience guys and great to meet you all ! 

[mapstar]

Had a good laugh and great to see old and new faces.

I have just heard that old Nick has been taken ill with a severe and incurable bout of aperture fever.

Glad to share the views with so many even though to me they were pretty mediocre due to the lack of milkyway and ultimately transparency.

Dob row aka truss corner looked very impressive in the afternoon sunshine with some serious kit waiting for the darkness to fall.

The not quite full compliment (missing faulksy) that Meade was huge.

10" to 22" in all their glory

Thanks for a good weekend to all and I hope everyone gets home safely and a good night for Kerry, Paul and the others that have stayed on.

Damian

[cotterless45]

Just taken the aperture fever pills washed down with rum. Things are looking a lot smaller now ! Might need to get an injection before next winter ! All the best ,old Nick.

[kerrylewis]

All the remnants are gathered on my plot now. The inaugural KL star party ?

[mdstuart]

Really enjoyed the weekend. Lots of time with my son Josh.

We had a great LONG walk and back to Dovedale on Saturday.

Thanks to Nick for organising it and showing me that lovely triple in UMA near M106.

Thanks to Mapstar and others for letting me use their dobs as mine would not fit in the car. Loved those faint galaxy clusters. Hickson 56 was the stand out one for me. This is the group that is below and right of the big spiral in this picture.

Back home now after negotiating the closed M5

Mark

[Paul73]

Another big Thank You to Nick.

It's the quietest that I've ever seen the Dob Mob. It must have been the shock of actually being able to use their scopes at a Star Party!! Thanks for being so generous with your scopes guys. Damien's scope has ruined me........ M13.......

Plenty of Solar work too.

No pictures of the flowery tent this time???

Paul

[gtis]

Just like to thank nick for organising the star party good to catch up with Damian from our local group and to meet the rest of the star gazers from SGL hope to do it again had a really good time at the eyepiece thanks to Damian for letting me look down his dob and Kerry for looking at Jupiters bands

[Pig]

A big thank you to Nick for organising a great venue and for giving us all a chance to get together, it was good to meet up with everyone again and also meet a couple of new faces including Ken, Jem, Pete, Dave and someone guy named Damian who had spiral arms  
It felt a bit unusual attending a star party and spend so much time observing...... The 360 degree view allowed me to bag loads of Messiers and thanks to Nick's guidance I managed to see the Galactic Wanderer, 2 comets and split some difficult doubles and triples.
The sunshine also allowed for some decent solar observing where some nice prominences where on display,  I also had the opportunity to try some binoviewers, a first for me with solar and something to think about for the future.

Shaun.

[faulksy]

nice one boys. sounds like you all had a great time, and the weather was kind, which is the main thing

[cotterless45]

Great stuff Shaun ! A pleasure to see so many smiles when observing ! Think we were lucky not being in the line of fire from the Stalag style security lights. Really enjoyed looking through your class gear , especially Solar, just mesmerising. Your mount is really amazing,

all the best ,

Nick.

[swamp thing]

1 hour ago, Paul73 said:

 

It's the quietest that I've ever seen the Dob Mob.

Paul

We didn't have as much chilli this time 

Cheers all for a riot 

Put pics up tmz.

[Timebandit]

3 hours ago, mapstar said:

       

              

 

I think the Dob Mob have been leaving those big Dobs to close together. 

Look a " Baby dobby " has appeared     ?

 

The weather looks great lads . It sounds that all the good folk at the meet had a great weekend and got some decent targets in.

[Stu]

Safely back in my temporary refuge in Bakewell. I'm afraid the promise of roast beef won over a night with Kerry and Dave

Great weekend, enjoyed the site despite the lights but second night was actually pretty good. My kit worked out very well, especially second night when I got SkyFi up and running and was able to hit the galaxies with the C925; some great views!

Caught the comet (C41 Tuttle etc) in both the 925 and the Tak. Not the most exciting but hey, it was clear and I saw it!

Nice solar too in both days. Tak with Herschel Wedge and 102mm Peter Drew Special PST Mod side by side on the AZEQ5, both with binoviewers. Excellent views!

It was a bit breezy at times, but that kept the dew off which was a blessing having forgotten the dewstrip and shield for the 925!

Great to catch up with everyone, and a big thank you to Damian for allowing me to drive his dob for a little while last night! Nuff said! Luvverly jubberly!!

[mapstar]

More pics of Truss corner. I'm sure there will be a few others

Thanks to Nick for all the organisation. 

[Pig]

5 hours ago, cotterless45 said:

Great stuff Shaun ! A pleasure to see so many smiles when observing ! Think we were lucky not being in the line of fire from the Stalag style security lights. Really enjoyed looking through your class gear , especially Solar, just mesmerising. Your mount is really amazing,

all the best ,

Nick.

Thank you Nick that's a great compliment coming from such a knowledgeable guy like yourself  I booked tomorrow of work and I hope to make a stool like the one you let me use, very handy indeed.

[DRT]

Thanks for a great weekend guys.

It was great to have so much opportunity to observe and the campsite was a great find - thank you, Nick!

 

[faulksy]

3 hours ago, mapstar said:

More pics of Truss corner. I'm sure there will be a few others

Thanks to Nick for all the organisation. 

who's the shifty looking guy in the top picture, looks like he has just robbed something

nice pics mate, shame there is one missing

[JoeP]

On ‎23‎/‎03‎/‎2017 at 16:59, JoeP said:

How many are going!? I just tried to book and they're full. Shouldn't have waited for the forecast.

As it turned out, when I called again on Friday they had a space! I arrived Saturday afternoon and had a great night. My pitch seemed to be on the other side of the site, with a bright light directly opposite me. Still, at least it was clear!