Mt. Parnon - report

And as for the cloud called "Milky Way" here is my favourite photo
www.astronomia.org.gr/Coppermine/display...p?album=5&pos=22

As for your regrets don't worry I'm sure you'll come back soon!

Yiannis - if its at all possible I will be there again next year. To share such Beautiful skies with good friends in such a beautiful environment - this is what life is really about. I really cannot thank all my new Greek family enough for adopting me - the best people I have met for many years.

I've already started collecting air-miles for next years trip. I'm back in London again on Tuesday. Just need another 30K miles to do the same trip again next year - hope they have loads of problems they need me to fix :!: and that they don't make me fly Ryan-Air. Vive l'Air France. :lol:

John,
this vixen of mine could be Frank's for two nights so I can be
a rover astronomer for one weekend
Do you remember the crowd around this telescope and Leon
said: "Dave Lillis has the same for a finder!"

Well - there you go Frank. To be honest all you need is to piggyback with a fast wide angle lens, Yiannis mount (HEQ5) will take care of tracking and rotation. Result, if I know you, will be a superb shot.

Yiannis (John) is the Joker in the pack. He will crack you up :lol: a truly great guy with a very Irish sense of humour. My advice to all heading over is to try to learn some Greek before you go. I can normally pick up languages with a few days exposure, but Greek is the exception to date (probably due to the alphabet) as I have nothing to anchor on, normally I can start to learn a language by reading road signs etc. but this is impossible if you don't know the relevant alphabet, and as it is not Roman based you will be hard put to recognise any familiar sounds. The expression "its all Greek to me" is very true. Anyway they all now know how to toast as Gaeilge - Sláinte. Just make sure you bring plenty of Black Bush.

You know, I think the Greek alphabet is awesome!, I used it alot in maths, well, practically every subject in college, it never put much thought into the fact that it is used as a working language, stupid as that sounds.
I cant wait to hear what it sounds like in conversation.
When Leonidas was over, I heard him mentioning a few names of the constellations in Greek and they sounded more elegant, like they should be.

going back on topic, that pic is just awesome, I'm bringing my 7x50s+tripod and a red light and a my trusted pocket handbook. The thought of scanning the center of the milkyway with that sky just fills me with ... yipee! :oops: :lol:

Dave,
Just imagine what the 20" Obsessionator could do to skies like that. You wouldn't have to feed it for the rest of the year.
To be honest though my 15x70s did the job for me. If you can take your eyes off Saggitarius and Scorpius long enough to look at anything else let me know........ truly breathtaking constellations that I feel let down not being able to see them from home. Roll on July and summer hols in Fuengirola when I get to meet them again. I wonder if I could change our summer hols location to Kastanitsa would 'er indoors object too much - probably. Should have married an astronomer - Dave Grennan are you free?

John,
Believe me when I tell you I sat down and tried to work out a way of getting the 20" there, I even passed a thought of getting the ferry to Le Harve and driving, totally mad ! I'd want to be heading off next week to make it for the start of July. I just don't trust the shipping companies and I have no boxes, err... crates to put it into.

John, we are friends now, and you will always be welcome to Parnon and Kastanitsa.

Dave, yesterday I had a telephone call from George Nikolidakis, said he is coming to Parnon in July. So everybody will have the chance to observe through his ATM 20" dob. Experts from our club, EAE, who have star-tested this scope, assure me that it's an exceptionally well crafted and optically superb 20" telescope!

Construction/Photographs:
geonik.homeip.net/home/Workshop/20DobCon...abid/55/Default.aspx

Optics/Mirror Data:
geonik.homeip.net/home/MirrorData/tabid/107/Default.aspx