DIY Spring Peak star party.

[estwing]

Highlights of the weekend?...Galaxy hunting,meeting friends old and new and watching Shane finally uses his creation !

[DRT]

Thanks to Stu for this great photo of Monty observing the asterism Amstel 0006 in the campsite beer garden on Saturday

[Paul73]

A couple more quick pics

Solar shootout! Lunt vs PST! Soon lost interest when DRT managed to 'fix' his broken Quark and Stu got his(ish) PST Mod going ???

The, on site Pub opening, delayed the Solar kit evaluation for a while......

Meanwhile a Barlowed Stu got to grips with an unmolested PST.

My little 16" Dob taking a nap before taking  on the big fellas. I don't think that they were worried....

Much galaxy hoovering followed.

It sure is a beutiful part of the world!!

Paul  

[JemC]

Apologies in advance as it is a little picture heavy (about 20)

 

Another big thanks to Nick for organising this event, 

Had a wonderful weekend and once that wind dropped off it was even better and the skies where pretty spectacular once all the contrails dispersed,

 

if i didn't learn anything about astronomy i learned a few things about putting tents up,

shame about the non-astro people that were mingled in with us wandering round with their white light torches, and the ones who had been out for the day then returning when dark with headlights on and not forgetting the family at the side of Derek with their campfire,

 

was a real pleasure meeting everyone and being able to put a face to names,

to name a few
Calvin
Mapstar
Stu
Nick
Kerry
Wookie
Shaun
Derek and Monty
And the gentleman who was in the pod next to me whose name I cannot remember for the life of me, who let me use his 10" Dob when he retired for the night with his grandchildren, 

and a few others whose names I forget (sorry) 

Had a couple of firsts while I was their as well so thanks go to..

Kerry, for showing me my 1st but faint comet 41P/Tuttle through his Vixen 150, a fabulous scope,

Mapstar,  for letting me have a look through the beast at Jupiter( quite low and a little murky but a cracking view, and then some faint galaxy, Awesome is all I can say

Shaun, for letting me look through his Starwave 110 solar set-up,and what a look it was, those proms where absolutely amazing, an image I will remember for a long time

look forward to the next one Nick,

here's a few snaps I took of different set ups and people around camp, 

 

 

 

 

thanks

 

[DRT]

15 minutes ago, JemC said:

 

That just about sums up the weekend  

[DRT]

Great pics @JemC - it was good to meet you too.

 

[DRT]

On 22/03/2017 at 09:40, kerrylewis said:

Derek: I have a full bottle of Port Ellen 1980 - the bad news is that it's a miniature! I'll bring it with selection of others 

A special thanks to @kerrylewis for sharing his very rare Port Ellen 1980 with me - a very nice dram and my first experience from this legendary and sadly demised distillery. 

Thanks, Kerry, you are a true gent

 

[Star101]

Thanks for a great weekend folks. It was a great experience to see so many different scope setups and a chance to see some amazing spiral galaxies, star clusters and Jupiter. And on Saturday to see that sun prominence left a great impression.

A special thanks to Kerry who suggested I park our 8" Newtonian on a very noisy Celestron GT mount along side his amazing setup. And for helping my wife and I find and identify some of the objects we looked for. As well as allowing us to see through his scopes, not one but TWO comets  amongst other wonderful celestial bodies. Thanks Kerry. 

And whom ever ordered the weather...Obviously has friends in high places. We could not have wished for a better weekend weather.

The 18? miles return cycler ride into Ashbourne on the Tissington trail (across the main road) was a tiring but worthwhile experience on such a beautiful day....if only to get the Saturdays Daily Mail Star guide free poster ..as we had left all our info and laptops back home   ( Be warned, its a steady downhill all the way to Ashbourne ( wheeee ) ...which can only mean one thing for on the way back!! ( oh dear ) 

Thanks again

Dave and Sheri.

 

[mapstar]

10 hours ago, JemC said:

if i didn't learn anything about astronomy i learned a few things about putting tents up,

 

When my tent pole decided to give out that little tool kit of yours came in handy with mine being buried in the car and later for wookies mount repairs. 

Many thanks Jem for the help and just goes to show the spirit of these events.  

[wookie1965]

Thanks Nick for organizing this had a great weekend, Met new people Calv, Swampthing, Kerry, Dave, Jem and a couple more who`s names I cannot remember,  great to catch up with old friends Shane, Stu Damian and Nick off course not to mention LeeB only briefly. Thank you to Damian for fixing my mount and Jem for the tools. Thank you to Stu showing through your PST prominence was superb and the sun spots. Biggest thank you is to Nick for the sky tour Saturday night the amount of objects we got in before my back gave out again was brilliant, report later. Just one dampener set up Sunday night on Kerry` Patch with Dave saw Mercury through Kerry`s scope another highlight, unfortunately my mount broke again had to pack up early.   

 

 

 

[swamp thing]

Pics as promised 

We've landed...........

Cal (estwing) presenting Nick with a token of our (dob mob) appreciation for his work in setting the meet up......  Cheers Nick 

Some of the guys taking advantage of the solar opportunities.

Our illustrious leader doing his own version of solar 

Pigs in blankets ???? 

Damo's 22" getting frisky with a 10"  

And Nicks new 24" lightbridge

Thanks everyone (again) for a great star party  

 

[Stu]

Great pics Steve! Love the 22" vs 10", puts it all in perspective!

[Stu]

Much better journey home today, only 3 1/2 hrs vs 6 on the way up!

Looking forward to next time!

[Moonshane]

I learned a brand new recipe for breakfast from Calvin (Estwing). Porridge with onion. What's that? Ohhhhhh honey on. Thanks Alan. 

Superbly organised Nick - thanks a million. I'll upload my report soon but I have a few rough sketches to redo first! I spent most of the second night sketching around the pan of Uma. Lots of lovely NGCs there. I sketched one the first night that I thought was comet 41P but I was wrong. I think a few others did the same - it was a face on galaxy with a brightish core just below a diamond of stars. Can anyone ID it by any chance? I have not managed to locate a candidate yet.

[estwing]

Porridge and 'oney aren't the only bizarre combination discussed at PSP....Dolphin n Wasp anyone?

[gtis]

my first attempt

[Pig]

1 hour ago, estwing said:

Porridge and 'oney aren't the only bizarre combination discussed at PSP....Dolphin n Wasp anyone?

Sounds nice Calvin...... can you save the eyes for me  there my favourite.

[Pig]

19 minutes ago, gtis said:

my first attempt

It always amazes me that Alnilam is almost further away from its two companions than they both are from Earth

[Stu]

21 minutes ago, gtis said:

my first attempt

Very nice too!

[gtis]

couple more photos

[mdstuart]

Before I forget I also enjoyed seeing some of the most perfect star testing airy disks I have seen in and outside focus.

Mark

[faulksy]

10 hours ago, mdstuart said:

Before I forget I also enjoyed seeing some of the most perfect star testing airy disks I have seen in and outside focus.

Mark

who,s was that mark ?

[kerrylewis]

Hello everyone

Back by lunch after an uneventful journey, the only hold up was in Ashbourne- not the easiest place to drive through. Goodness knows what it's like when the tourists descend.

Firstly, a big thanks to Nick for instigating the party and arranging such good weather. 

Sunday was very quiet but the 'remnants' had a good chat and a relaxing day. The night was iffy, although we did get Mercury, and there was enough cloud around to put us off and we adjourned for an early night. 

Derek - I enjoyed our chats and the whisky. Perhaps instead of a Tak I'll buy a full bottle of Port Ellen! 

Shaun- good to see you again, and I hope that you are back to full health soon.

Wookie - good to meet you and your wife for the first time. I hope you get your mount sorted soon but as I said, I think it's time for an early letter to Santa requesting a nice AZ mount. Not sure what I'm doing in your picture ! Trying to find north? Maybe make a good forum pic? 

Dave and Sheri - really good to see a couple sharing the hobby and I was glad to be able to help. What was that stuff that we used to pour into noisy gearboxes? You need some in that mount of  yours  but  as long as it works I suppose! 

JemC - nice to meet you too, and glad we found the comet 

Joe - great to meet you and your family on Sunday and to see an enthusiastic young astronomer. If you get half the pleasure out of it that I have, you will have  a lot of fun by the time you get to my age! But you'll still be learning!

Finally (I think) - special thanks to Paul73 - I owe you a meal. And good to see the flowery tent still making us smile 

Cheers

Kerry 

[kerrylewis]

Forgot to mention the Dob Mob! Always great to meet and talk to you chaps with your major cannons still still searching for those distant galaxies. Enjoy your next Skye trip.

Sorry for the Oscars acceptance speech - if I've missed anyone else out blame it on the deteriorating grey matter 

[JOC]

Lovely photo's folks I've enjoyed reading about your exciting weekend and looking through the pictures.  I hope it was warmer at night than it was here!  I love the big Dobs, though they seem rather more like a lifestyle choice than a hobby!  I've transported my baby Dob twice in the last couple of weeks and just the collapsed 8" telescope, stand and kit seems to fill my considerably big Octavia Estate - if I ever camped as well I'd surely need the trailer and a top-box and even then I'd be short of space as I normally take all that anyway when we camp!!!  Q.  Are the big Dobs motorised, they look rather too large to be 'nudgeable'?  Anyhow it's been great to have enjoyed this vicariously so thank you for posting the reports and pictures.