oldfruit Posted April 15, 2013 Share Posted April 15, 2013 Whatever do you mean Dave?? Lol you've got the idea Ron.. Thanks for the encouraging comments guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted April 16, 2013 Author Share Posted April 16, 2013 Be careful out there Mark, its a bit wild and remote, is anyone meeting you there? I would be happier if you didn't go alone.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Well, the offer is open to anyone else that wishes to come. Guess you are all too Chicken! The forcast looks good for tonight so i will be heading down to the Wainfleet dark site today (Tuesday) and aim to be there about 8 pm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MakkaPakka1 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Ill go along. Been a short while since I did some decent stargazing. Dunno about staying untill the moon sets, being a weekday n all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Your company would be most welcome Owain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MakkaPakka1 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Great, ill see you down there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tibbz2 Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Obviously I won't be able to come but looking forwards to your report on the site! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 Hope it goes well tonight Mark & Owain! The wind is suppose to calm down as it gets dark tonight! Give a report and see if you can compare it to Gib Point? Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted April 16, 2013 Share Posted April 16, 2013 (edited) Firstly many thanks to Owain for keeping me company tonight. Secondly, we did not see another person or car all night so hope this will always be the case. I arrived at the Wainfleet site at 8pm to find Owain waiting for me. The evening was looking promising with broken cloud and a gradually decreasing breeze. We got the scopes set up and waited for it to get dark and i had a quick look around with the bins. You can see quite a lot of land across The Wash and whilst i could easily identify Hunstanton, i could not tell which other places were in view. I think we could see more from this site as the view across is a little obstructed at Gib Point by bushes . As it started to get dark i could see that the Moon was brighter than i had expected so was not sure how useful tonights tester session would be? Scope used mostly tonight was my 12 inch dob. Sure enough the sky was a little brighter due to the 30% lit Moon. M3 was first up. This was easily visible before it even got fully dark with a compact but resolvable core and fainter outer regions. We did return to this one later in the night and it looked much brighter. I was curious to see how visible M51 was from this site and also with the Moon up. I was actually suprised that it looked really good, both cores bright and easily visible with the outer regions showing well and hinting at the spiral nature of this object. (Looked as good as last time we saw it at Gib Point Paul). M81 and M82 were nice and bright and viewed withing the same low power view. M13 looked spectacular tonight, Owain actually said Wow when he looked through the eyepiece. Stars resolved all the way to the core and again the "propellar" was visible visually. I turned the dob towards the Virgo galaxy cluster. Without even using the telrad there were already fuzzies within the view of the eyepiece. I just had a quick scan around and everywhere were more and more galaxies. Too many to try to identify tonight so i shall need to return to do some more serious observing here. We had a quick look at "the sombrero galaxy". I saw m64, also the sunflower galaxy. Owain also showed me an impressive looking Saturn through his scope tonight, just a shame it was so low down. We also saw the ISS pass tonight about 9.40 pm. We packed up about 11.20pm as there was a lot of hazy cloud coming and we felt that we had acheived what we came to do. All in all an enjoyable session but now to get to the point of the whole exercise. The sky was (despite the Moon) nice and dark, more so as the Moon got lower. There were several small areas of minor light pollution, the main one being from the direction of Skegness. This direction is North from the Wainfleet site so i do not see it as being a problem. The other areas were Hunstanton and what looked like in the direction of Boston, though these were not very noticable visually. There was also some light reflecting onto the cloud from behind the embankment, possibly from the village, again, on a clear night i do not think it would be too noticable. From what i have seen tonight the Wainfleet site does have the edge over Gib Point for darker skies and also a much more observable Southern horizon though this would be better confirmed when there is no Moon at all. This is just my opinion and i do not claim to be an expert in these areas, and i do feel it would be better to have more members present fo the next session at the Wainfleet site as you may or may not agree with my findings. Edited April 16, 2013 by oldfruit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest MakkaPakka1 Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Really enjoyed last nights viewing. Thanks for pointing a few things out to me. The more I go stargazing with ELAC the more I learn from it. Looking forward to unlocking more from my scope, but I'll have to invest in some decent eyepieces (and a decent star atlas) as we discussed last night. Many thanks again. See you at the next meeting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 Great stuff, thanks for giving it a go, mark how much LP do you get from Boston? Its not that much nearer than Gib point is it?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Good report Mark, thanks. It seems a 'Moonless' night is needed to really test it then? I was out last night and the Moon plus those small clouds made quite a difference!! Also glad it was quiet too!! Thanks Mark (& Owain!) Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Great stuff, thanks for giving it a go, mark how much LP do you get from Boston? Its not that much nearer than Gib point is it?. I am guessing it may have been from Boston? It was not too bad at all and was only noticable due to there being a bit of low cloud at times and the site being so flat. Good report Mark, thanks. It seems a 'Moonless' night is needed to really test it then? I was out last night and the Moon plus those small clouds made quite a difference!! Also glad it was quiet too!! Thanks Mark (& Owain!) Ron I think it would be better on a moonless night Ron, that said though it was pretty impressive last night. If what was visible with the Moon last night is anything to go by then this site would be very dark on a Moonless night. I for one would like to use the site more often. Really enjoyed last nights viewing. Thanks for pointing a few things out to me. The more I go stargazing with ELAC the more I learn from it. Looking forward to unlocking more from my scope, but I'll have to invest in some decent eyepieces (and a decent star atlas) as we discussed last night. Many thanks again. See you at the next meeting. Glad you enjoyed it Owain, was good to have your company, thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Justinshaw Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 sounds very good there, will Gib Point still be used though? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 sounds very good there, will Gib Point still be used though? This is not something that has really been discussed yet Justin, though from the comments of the other guys it looks possible that we may well use both sites? Both sites have their pro`s and con`s so i guess that this is something we will all be looking at together to decide what is best for everyone. Which site gets used is not about the individual, it is about the group so i am sure we will all get to voice our opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest @ndyC Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 After reading your report Mark,I think that this new site should be considered for frequent use due to the increased uninterrupted horizons and improved darkness as after all thats what we all want when we go out with our scopes especially when astro imaging. Gib point for me would always be our main site as it supports what ELAC is clearly achieving,which is to provide an area for local amateur astronomers to meet in a relatively accessible area and provides the facilities which encourages all ages and sexes. We could include a few dates in the calendar for this new site so we can see how it goes and go from there as a group. I am very proud to be a member of ELAC and this new site can support what we offer to any potential new members, as for me, its the company around the scope which is as important as what's above it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 After reading your report Mark,I think that this new site should be considered for frequent use due to the increased uninterrupted horizons and improved darkness as after all thats what we all want when we go out with our scopes especially when astro imaging. Gib point for me would always be our main site as it supports what ELAC is clearly achieving,which is to provide an area for local amateur astronomers to meet in a relatively accessible area and provides the facilities which encourages all ages and sexes. We could include a few dates in the calendar for this new site so we can see how it goes and go from there as a group. I am very proud to be a member of ELAC and this new site can support what we offer to any potential new members, as for me, its the company around the scope which is as important as what's above it. That is exactly my way of thinking Andy but the matter has yet to be discussed so as yet i am unsure how everyone else feels about it. I do feel though that using both sites is a move in the right direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 The problem as I see it is, there is is usually only one new Moon each month (two sometimes I know!) so we are between a rock and a hardplace!! On the one hand we want to encourage newbies ( of both sexes) and on the other a dark site should be as dark as possible for viewing? I think personally that if we were meeting at Gib point and it was a really good sky, we would talk about how much better it would be at Wainfleet and wish we were there!! Not an easy one?? Cheers Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 All depends on the weather etc Ron, as was so well illustrated on Saturady night. We still met up at Gib Point but due to the weather we decided to have a ride down to the new site for a look. I for one would be happy to attend our regular meetings at Gibraltar Point, the sky is good there too! But would do any additional observing sessions at Wainfleet. The truth is we meet once a month at Gib Point. I want to go to a dark site more than 12 times a year (weather permitting) so would happily use both sites. The social side of astronomy is as good as the practical side so meeting other members at Gib Point at our monthly meetings and having the option of more serious observing or imaging sessions at the Wainfleet site at other times seems a good option. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbird Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 At Far Ings we have a fixed meeting date, ie 1st Monday of the month, where there is some light pollution and then there's a second meet at a nearby dark site if weather conditions are favourable. We do have a meeting room at Far Ings, meaning the fixed date is not weather dependant, but obviously that incurs a cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 Seems a good compremise Mark and would keep the status quo! How much notice is possible for Wainfleet just the weather I guess? Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 At Far Ings we have a fixed meeting date, ie 1st Monday of the month, where there is some light pollution and then there's a second meet at a nearby dark site if weather conditions are favourable. We do have a meeting room at Far Ings, meaning the fixed date is not weather dependant, but obviously that incurs a cost. A valid point Paul. We do need somewhere to shelter if the weather is iffy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmic dave Posted April 17, 2013 Author Share Posted April 17, 2013 By my way of thinking Gib point has served us well, its very user friendly and all ou regulars seem to be happy with it. As we have several ladies the come to most meetings I would like to keep meeting at a site with loo's I wouldn't be nice if our lady members had to squat behind their cars. I guess I'm saying I really don't want to put anyone off elac. The new site is great by the sounds of things and I'm happy to have the odd meet there and specials astronimcal events there ie meteorwatch on so on. Its also fantastic that we now have two dark sites to use, its great to have a fall back if anything happend and we could no longer use gib point. Im happy to keep gib point as the main meeting place but also use wainfleet every now and then... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldfruit Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 (edited) Sounds like we are all thinking along similar lines by using both sites. We just need somewhere to be out of the elements if the weather takes a turn for the worse etc. Answers on a postcard please. Edited April 17, 2013 by oldfruit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+RonC Posted April 17, 2013 Share Posted April 17, 2013 We can get 4 people in the loo tent at a push!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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