Deep Sky Camp - 17th to 20th August

[Rocket Pooch]

Well by now everyone should be on their way home, I popped down there on the bike, not a great move considering how hot it is.

[Carole]

Had a good overnight stop at Blacklands.  Because of the hot weather and school holidays it was pretty packed with the inevitable fires, and torches around not to mention cars driving in and out with headlights blazing and unfortunately they put us right by the entrance which meant we got the full impact of this, plus the security lights which came on each time a car or person went past.   Mike has had a word about a different location next time.  

Only Mike and Petra, and me and Fay were there last night and only Mike and Petra and Fay on the Friday night.

Really damp last night, and this morning it looked like a fog had descended on the camp and the sun did not shine through until after 10am.  

We were all imaging, so fingers crossed for some results - watch this space.

Carole

[JohnP]

Cool glad some imaging got done despite conditions. I got home late yesterday after a day at the beach with the kids & set up. Last night was tons better than Friday night. Got a bit of imaging done - Actually fell asleep & didn't wake up till 3.30am so got more subs than I had planned..

Look forward to seeing your images - John.

[Fay]

well it was so hot!!!! on the friday there were so many fires they must have worsened  the ozone layer! lanterns, smoke & car headlights everywhere. it was like the night before Agincourt!

Friday was not  too good a sky. I was stressed, as evening fell, because of the above. Any way, had a go but my subs looked very foggy so gave up. went to bed, or tried to, around 11.30, went to get in bed & it was all wet!!! my hot water bottle had leaked!!! had to throw the sleeping bag into he outer tent part, pillow was wet, bed was wet. so had to pad the bed out with clothes so I was not laying on too much wet. put my thin thermals on & slept in the duvet, which i had taken in case it was cold!!!!

Saturday night, dew was around when it was  still light, it was like there had been a down pour as the evening went on. Bed was wet again this morning due to it touching the side of the tent!
Was doing 1200 sec subs of the veil. cygnus was at the zenith , i dont think,my dew band was working as subs were coming out with large dark circles in the centre. deleted 3x1200. guiding was very good but suddenly veered off, which is what happened on the next two subs, so more deleted. it is a big loss when doing 1200 sec subs!! that is the trouble. would have been a good capture, i will put one sub on, but did not end up with many. Camera was en route to going into mount, also.

cool box plug blew up before i went to DSC, so was a bit worried about food poisoning. put a couple of ice packs in there, and then a bag of ice on saturday.

So, have to check out dew band & the coolbox.

Chris picked me up so I could see his new home,  chickens & veg, very nice indeed, enjoyed  the visit

[JohnP]

Blimey fay all in all not too good then - I think Tuesnoad would have been better...

[MarkS]

I think Tuesnoad would have been better...

Packed campsites are not really ideal - not much you can do at peak times, though.  Funnily enough, on my regular Sunday morning cycle ride I happened to cycle past Tuesnoad this morning - just one solitary caravan in the field.  No electric hookups though.

I managed to set up here at home last night but had lots of technical problems with either the DSLR or long exposure cable not being recognised.  Traced it to a broken connection in the LX lead - which I then re-soldered.  Started imaging at half past midnight.  The sky was a bit milky with a very average 20.85 on the Sky Quality Meter.  Milky Way was bright but only visible down to 15 degrees above the horizon.  Temperature was 20C which is far too warm for a DSLR so I'm not going to get any good results.

Nevertheless it was good to be imaging again after so many months.  Really looking forward to Kelling Heath next month.

Mark

[Carole]

Really looking forward to Kelling Heath next month.

Yes at least you don't have to worry about car lights and torches etc (unless you haven't got your DSLR LCD turned down properly - won't forget that in a hurry!!!)

I was wondering about that strange fog we had this morning.  Could it have been a sea mist that had come inland, or is that not possible that far from the coast?  I don't think I have encountered anything like that before during a heat wave.  But at least it meant we weren't roasted in our tents.

Carole

[Fay]

I think it could be the heat and so much moisture the night before

[MarkS]

I was wondering about that strange fog we had this morning.  

A local phenomenon I guess.