June DSC

[Tony G]

Hi All,

Well it all seems very quiet on the Blacklands front?
What's happening?

Tony G

[Mike]

Not a lot. Friday night was clear all night but there was also a lot of moisture or something in the air so the light pollution was atrocious. The new toilet block at Blacklands now has bring lights that shine aross the field which doesn't help either.

Last night we all set up but the clouds rolled in and then we watched a spectacular thunderstorm that must have been over the English channel as it was totally silent.

I think Fay and Duncan have got some decent images from Friday night. I forgot my ST4 and EQ-MOD cables so could only do some wide field constellation shots.

Everyone is now packing up as it looks like rain is on the way.

[MarkS]

At home, I had a quick look outside last night before going to bed.  The sky was clear but in the SSE direction there was a big storm with lots of lightning.

At work today

[Fay]

Well I thought the night sky was ok, thurs, fri . We were not expecting anything, as there were fierce winds all day, also very hot, but it seemed to calm down at sunset.

Duncan & Mick have done extremely well.

Duncan did Crescent & extremely nice it is as well. Mick did NGC7000, really a landmark in Mick's imaging, really good image & he is so pleased. 

Me & Mick had problems thurs. Thursday, I could not focus try as I did, I could not get focus.The guiding was fine but it was windy, so perhaps as I was focusing it was all moving mid focus & so always looked out of focus. Friday I was doing The Butterfly Nebula & noticed flared stars at the outer edges. I was not happy & ceased imaging it

There was much discussion as to the cause. Perhaps the spacing had to be different using a different telescope. I rang Bern & he had some tests done once & said that the spacing will always be the same, 55mm to the chip, & that using the 7nm ha filter can affect the light stream, an was know to create artifacts around the edges. I looked at The Rosette which I had done with the same setup, a while ago. I was always quite happy with it & on closer inspection the stars are a bit flared at the edges. I suppose tests should be done using the 7nm, 12nm & L filters, but life is a bit short. Anyway I stacked the 6x600 that I did & wished I had carried on instead of stopping. It will be noisy but will give you the idea, it would have been ok.

The field was quite crowded but the corner we were in was very dark  away from the lights. Carole appeared out the dark at 11pm thursday night, she had come down & set up by the toilets where Doug & Rose joined her the next day.

Up our end was Me, Mick, Duncan, Mike & Cris & a new chap, can't remember his name & Robert for a night, who did well with his hyperstar with the Crescent & Coathanger.

Lots of people but they all shut down early & no problem with their light. They have tidied the toilet block & showers up, but 7 toilets for the womenn is not enough with that many campers. It did have a holiday atmosphere. They have improved & added to the childrens part in the middle of the field.

[JohnP]

Nice report Fay. So any idea what general consensus is regards future DSC's. Have toilets/ lights made it a no-go? I look forward to seeing all the images.

John

[Mike]

There are just 2 showers for the men for the whole site. Ridiculous.

Personally I much prefer Rother Valley.

[Fay]

yes not enough showers & toilets for busy times. There were another couple around the corner. Not sure of the contents as I did not go in there, but I saw Rose heading that way

[mickw]

Ditto
Ditto
I stayed up a little later than the others last night to watch the lightning and have a couple of beers (would have been rude not to)
Somewhere South was really getting hammered with lightning flashes every 2-3 seconds which went on for about 10 minutes.

Blacklands vs Rother
The new lights at Blacklands appeared to be on a PIR so once everybody had buggered off to bed eventually they went out.
The ground was quite solid and had quite a few dips - anybody with dodgy pins would need to tread cautiously at night.
You can also pitch anywhere you like at Blacklands which does have the disadvantage that it can get quite crowded.
On the plus side you do get a good view to the South, East and West.

At Rother with the pitches only on the perimeter it gets less crowded and we are allowed to spread ourselves out more than other campers.  They also don't mind if we "bag" the only offending light.
The only bad bit I can think of is the ground does not like water and does not drain well so stays slippery for some time.
Good views to North, East and West.

Both have facilities - showers/toilets/dish washing facilities (not getting into quantities or decor - Tuesnoad had the equivalent of a hole in the ground and a tap).  Blacklands has a small shop, Rother has a Spar grocers and a chip shop 5 minute drive away.

In my opinion, I think we should continue to use Rother as first choice but when the ground gets too wet, use Blacklands.

[Mike]

I agree with that. Blacklands is a good second choice when things get boggy as it tends to stay a lot drier than Rother Valley, plus there is the dirt track that cars can be kept on if it got really boggy.

[Fay]

I agree with that as well Mick

[JohnP]

Nice one Mick.

That said - I still really liked the 'old-old' fields of Tuesnoad & Penny's. It was good having fields to yourself & being able to do archery, shooting, golf, rally driving, blowing things up etc... used to be a lot of fun - loads of laughs...  Sheep poo was 'crap' though  Penny's was great - walk into Headcorn - 3 or 4 beers & a nice lunch then astro in evening...

John

[MarkS]

As far as I'm concerned nothing beats Tuesnoad!!

But since people seem to like the luxury of toilets and electrics,  Rother Valley is a good second choice except for frequent mist & fog.   When Tuesnoad and Rother Valley are inaccessible due to mud, Blacklands is the sensible alternative.

Mark

[Fay]

Also, please could someone arrange for a diagonal rope to be erected at Rother, for anyone who gets lost coming back from the toilet in the dark     

[JohnP]

As far as I'm concerned nothing beats Tuesnoad!!

But since people seem to like the luxury of toilets and electrics

I prefer trees & batteries..... I would definitely still be up for Tuesnoad if it wasn't for the sheep shit.. My old tent still reeks of it....

[Fay]

I was not struck on Tuesnoad, got fed up with drinking with the sheep.......................