Feb 24-27 DSC

[MarkS]

Where will it be?
Is anyone going?
Mark

[Whitters]

Count me in

[The Thing]

It's been dry so Rother Valley must be a viable option. Whichever it is I'll be there! Mind you the BBC weather man won't say what's happening after tropical Thursday  .

[Mike]

I'll be there.

[julian]

AND ME     

[Fay]

I still have a cough, so thinking of not going at the weekend. may visit on saturday if it is at Rother

[Mike]

I've just spoken with Jackie at Rother Valley who says that the field is in a decent state and she says as long as we don't have any torrential rain between now and Friday everything should be fine.

The main gate will be closed, but just open the smaller side gate, go inside and unlock from the inside.

There are some works going on over the weekend around the site but they shouldn't affect us at all.

[mickw]

I've also been in contact with Jackie and forwarded all the proposed dates for the year.

And again I shall be on the missing list

I've noticed that more people seem to be going when I am not - Is it something I've said 

[Mike]

I've also been in contact with Jackie and forwarded all the proposed dates for the year.

Thanks, she did say she was concerned no-one had contacted her this year.

I've noticed that more people seem to be going when I am not - Is it something I've said 

Never mind - we will sit and supp beers and think of you

[MarkS]

I'm hoping to get there shortly before 8pm tomorrow.  Unfortunately I can't make the OAS meeting tonight.

See you down there!

Mark

[Rocket Pooch]

I won't be there, we are somewhere else!

[Mike]

A gang of us tonight have decided that on Saturday for lunch we are going to pop along to one of the local pubs for a beer and a bite to eat. If anyone wants to pop down for the day and join us then you're welcome. We will pop off some time between 1pm and 2pm.

[Mike]

Anyone down there yet?

[RobertM]

Damn, I can't make it either.  Why oh why is there always something organised on DSC weekends 

[julian]

Anyone down there yet?

I'm leaving at 6pm     

julian

[The Thing]

Been here since 4:00. Curry is warming up. The ground is just like Marks garden last week...

Mind my scope as you drive in!

[MarkS]

The ground is just like Marks garden last week...

You mean full of astronomers?

Mark

[The Thing]

That's a new euphemism for rabbit sh.t!

[Fay]

Hope you have a good night. will probably pop down to see you tomorrow

[Whitters]

First DSC for 18 months 

[Sergio]

Hi,
Planning to get there at around 1sh, and hopefully join for the lunch on the pub
S.

[Mike]

Ok Sergio. Look forward to seeing you.

The field is quite muddy by the way so bring boots and a change of shoes.

It's quite a dry mud, like clay, so it sticks to your boots.

[Mike]

Well we had a superb DSC this weekend. Friday night was clearish and then got cloudy so we sat around in our chairs looking at the sky, drinking beers until it clouded over and then went to bed.

On Saturday we had 5 visitors (Fay, Sergio, Kylee, Doug & Rose). Then a group of 7 of us went over the bridge to The White Hart for an excellent lunch. Later that night it cleared and was clear all night long. Most of us stayed up till around 3am when some drifted off. Julian stayed up till 4am and it was around 5am by the time i'd gone to bed.

There were, of course, the usual round of technical problems from just about everybody but I think everyone managed to get some images and i'm sure you'll see them up on the forum soon. Mark managed to get the highest reading ever from his SQM.

I'll do a full report and post it to the website tomorrow.

Mike

[MarkS]

Mark managed to get the highest reading ever from his SQM.

We started off with a normal SQM reading of 20.7 at 8pm with a temperature of 3C but by 3am the temperature had dropped to -4C and the SQM had risen to 21.15
The sky really was a good one!

Thanks to Paul for jump starting my car in the morning because I'd flattened the car battery entertaining everyone with rock music during the evening!

Mark

[Rocket Pooch]

Good to hear it went well, that pub is not a bad one and the beer is even ok   did Mick drive over for any?

[The Thing]

The visitors were most welcome and I hope Kylee and Sergio went away knowing a bit more than when they arrived. We all saw a lovely crescent moon with a nearby Venus.

The night was a right laugh, especially Mark running his car battery down blasting rock across the field. I move we adopt amaretto as the official tipple of winter DSCs! And we all managed to do imaging.

[mickw]

The White Hart for an excellent lunch

beer is even ok   did Mick drive over for any?

The sky really was a good one!

Oh great 
Food, Beer and great skies and I'm left at home up to my shoulders in bloody boxes 

[Sergio]

Guys,

it was a great experience for me and I even managed not to step on any cables 

Thank all of you for your patience with my questions. It was very helpful.
S.

[MarkS]

A couple of images from DSC.  

The first shows Jupiter (on the left) Venus and the moon (with the Bananascope!)
The second shows the new light on the adjacent Indian Restaurant  

[Rocket Pooch]

Is the Banana scope there for scale

That light looks quite bad!

[Kylee]

A thoroughly good day thank you. I look forward to staying over and getting really stuck in 
See you all soon
Kylee

[Fay]

cant believe that light, Mark!

[MarkS]

That light looks quite bad!

Luckily it doesn't shine directly into "our" corner of the field but it does add to the general glow from that direction.

[Rick]

Yeah, that's a pretty unpleasant light source to have near a dark sky site...

[mickw]

Might improve when there are some leaves on the trees

[Tony G]

That light looks quite bad!

No it don't. It's a great beacon to guide us to Indian heaven..................go into the light!!!!......go into the light!!!!



Tony G

[JohnP]

blimey - light looks terrible - reminds me of those 5000W floodlights you used to have out the back of your house Chris...? If that lights gonna stay on it'll be a right downer.. bit like the light at that camp ground in Romney....

[Rocket Pooch]

Ha ha John, I had forgotten about them.

I know how to sort this out, we all turn up and tell them to turn them off or we will not order food.

Second thoughts I'd need the light to get me back after a currey and 8 pints of Cobra, nom nom......

And, Fay can find her way back from the loo as well, that's a positive. I still remember our little lost lamb.

But Dita von Fay will not make a show because that light will drown out the show?

Hmmmmm, lots of positives and negatives?

[Carole]

OMG, that's ruined a nice dark site.

Carole

[MarkS]

I think they were designed to light the whole of their car park.  To be charitable, it was probably installed during the day, so no-one really knew how far the light was spreading.  A slight adjustment to its angle would make a lot of diffence.

We tried an experiment where we spent 10 minutes in the camping area within the wooded area, to see how much darker in was.  We found that our eyes definitely adapted to the dark and we could easily see much fainter objects.  It really makes a difference to be shielded away from the glow of the various lights in the area.

Mark

[Mike]

I guess it's time to start recee'ing some alternative campsites.

[JohnP]

Maybe someone could show them the photo next time... or perhaps send it to the owner of the campsite..

[Mike]

John,

I have done that. Jackie has replied again:-


Goodness that photo says it all!

I'm afraid our tree cutting probably hasn't helped either.

I have inspected the light this morning and though it has always been there I think they have changed the angle so it shines much further. There wasn't anyone around who could speak decent English - so I'll try again over the weekend. We decided it would be easy for us to scale up a ladder and adjust the angle (or remove the bulb!). I'm sure we'll be able to get it sorted.

Have you ever considered using the wooded area or would it not be suitable?

Best Wishes
Jackie

Well at least they are willing to help us out.