SAC Burren Star Party 2015, September 11th-12th

Some ISS/Iridium information for the party:

ISS
12 Sep -1.2 06:03:48 10° SSW 06:06:13 20° SSE 06:08:41 10° E
13 Sep -0.8 05:11:28 11° SSE 05:12:33 13° SE 05:14:11 10° ESE

Iridium Flares
Sep 11, 22:09:05 -8.0 46° 74° (ENE) Iridium 66 1 km (E) -8.1
Sep 11, 23:04:41 0.0 10° 26° (NNE) Iridium 25 79 km (E) -5.9
Sep 11, 23:14:27 -0.4 13° 29° (NNE) Iridium 23 74 km (W) -6.1
Sep 12, 05:25:08 -1.6 58° 229° (SW) Iridium 19 25 km (E) -8.4
Sep 12, 22:03:03 -0.9 45° 76° (ENE) Iridium 21 37 km (E) -8.1

Sunset is around 8pm with "proper darkness" lasting from just after 10pm - 5 am. Sunrise is around 7am. The -8 flare on the Fri night is the obvious standout from above.

Hi Everyone,
Only a week to go for this, we're planning to be onsite at 7pm both evenings and we'll be having a BBQ there to tide everyone over until it gets dark, everyone's welcome, bring you're scopes and binoculars if you can.
If you don't have one, the clubs telescopes will be there and generally speaking, people are generous with their own telescopes and time. If you got a scope that you might not know how to use, bring it along and we'll do our best to help out.

Club members be there both night come clear skies or clouds,
Keep an eye out on our facebook page for updates nearer to the time, the club has a bulletin board but that's been superseded by facebook at this stage so don't depend on that for updates, its all FB these days

@Neill, many thanks for putting up the list of events, we've incorporated it into a brief and simple planning guide for the 2 nights, its so things don't get missed. We'll be handing out printouts of this during the 2 evenings/nights, we've deliberately left out DSO's/double stars as this would make this a huge list, we can advise on the night if people seek assistance on items to look at. We're open to suggestions if anyone wants to add something to this list.

If after it gets dark, its blanket cloud and there is absolutely zero hope of the sky clearing, we'll eventually be making our way to Logues Lodge in Ballyvaughan after the BBQ is finished. So if you show up late, its cloudy and no one is there, you'll know where we'll be.

We got a huge crowd last year, easily over 100 over the entire night, so if the weather plays ball, it'll be good observing and great craic, again everyone is more the welcome.

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After 10pm, the sky is fully dark and the constellations to the west are setting, so its a good strategy to capture objects in those before they set any further.

12-13 Sept , Friday night/ Saturday Morning
20:00: Sunset
21:00: Saturn starting to set in the SW horizon, it's possible for goto telescopes to find this in the twilight.
22:00: Twilight ends, complete darkness begins.
22:00 Pluto in Sagittarius, this is setting to the west, so its best not too leave it too long before searching for it.
22:09:05: Iridium Flare, -8.0 46° 74° (ENE) Iridium 66 1 km (E) -8.1, North of the square of Pegasus - between Andromeda/Cassiopeia
23:04:41: Iridium Flare, 0.0 10° 26° (NNE) Iridium 25 79 km (E) -5.9, Auriga
23:14:27: Iridium Flare, -0.4 13° 29° (NNE) Iridium 23 74 km (W) -6.1, Auriga
00:50 Neptune at its highest point (visible throughout all the night time hours)
03:22 Uranus at its highest point, (visible throughout all the night time hours)
04:16 Venus rises in the SE
04:22 Mars rises in the SE (forms interesting wide conjunction with Regulus in Leo and Venus, and Jupiter later on it the morning)
05:25:08: Iridium Flare, -1.6 58° 229° (SW) Iridium 19 25 km (E) -8.4, West of the square of Pegasus - between Andromeda/Canes Venatici
05:49 Jupiter rises in the SE
06:03:48: ISS -1.2 10° SSW 06:06:13 20° SSE 06:08:41 10° E
05:00: Twilight begins
07:00: Sunrise

13-14 Sept , Saturday Night/ Sunday Morning
20:00: Sunset
21:00: Saturn starting to set in the SW horizon, it's possible for goto telescopes to find this in the twilight.
22:00: Twilight ends, complete darkness begins.
22:00 Pluto in Sagittarius, this is setting to the west, so its best not too leave it too long before searching for it.
22:03:03: Iridium Flare, -0.9 45° 76° (ENE) Iridium 21 37 km (E) -8.1, North of the square of Pegasus - between Andromeda/Cassiopeia
00:50 Neptune at its highest point (visible throughout all the night time hours)
03:22 Uranus at its highest point, (visible throughout all the night time hours)
04:16 Venus rises in the SE
04:22 Mars rises in the SE (forms interesting wide conjunction with Regulus in Leo and Venus, and Jupiter later on it the morning)
05:11:28: ISS 13 Sep -0.8 11° SSE 05:12:33 13° SE 05:14:11 10° ESE
05:49 Jupiter rises in the SE
05:00: Twilight begins
07:00: Sunrise

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The following is a list of when a constellation crosses the meridian, in other words, this is when they're highest in the sky, so are best viewed.
Obviously, you can track down DSO's and double stars in constellations when you like, and many constellations are still well viewed several hours either side of the meridan time.
The intention of this is to help you draw up an observing plan, especially for the more southern constellations which have a narrower window of opportunity.

22:00 Sagittarius, Hercules, Ophiuchus, Bootes, Cygnus, Delphinus, Sagitta, Aquarius
23:00 Capricorn, Equuleus, Delphinus,
00:00 Cepheus, Lacerta, Pegasus, Aquarius, Pisces Austrinus
01:00 Pegasus, Aquarius, Pisces
02:00 Pisces, Pegasus,
03:00 Cassiopeia, Andromeda, Pisces, Cetus
04:00 Andromeda, Triangulum, Aries, Pisces, Cetus
05:00 Persues, Eridanus, Taurus, Orion, Auriga, Gemini (sunrise on the away, so its best to get in the eastern constellations now before the sky brightens)

No problems Dave. Below is the approx sky location for each of the flares.

Sep 11, 22:09:05 -8.0 46° 74° (ENE) Iridium 66 1 km (E) -8.1
Sep 12, 22:03:03 -0.9 45° 76° (ENE) Iridium 21 37 km (E) -8.1
North of the square of pegasus - between Andromeda/Cassiopeia

Sep 11, 23:04:41 0.0 10° 26° (NNE) Iridium 25 79 km (E) -5.9
Sep 11, 23:14:27 -0.4 13° 29° (NNE) Iridium 23 74 km (W) -6.1
Auriga

Sep 12, 05:25:08 -1.6 58° 229° (SW) Iridium 19 25 km (E) -8.4
West of the square of pegasus - between Andromeda/Canes Venatci

Good luck with the event. New moon weekend, so hoping for clear weather up North to get out for a few hours at the weekend myself.

Thanks Neill, I've added the details.

also, for more details including parking plan and GPS co-ordinates, see
www.shannonsideastronomyclub.com/sac_burren_starparty.htm

btw guys, we don't run strict starparty rules at this event,
in otherwords, we don't scream and shout if someone inadvertently shines a white light or turns on a laser pointer.

So if there are any imagers coming, please make yourself known to the guys in the committee, cos if we know your'e there then we'll refrain from using the laser pointers as much as possible, we don't want to ruin your hard earned images. : cheer:

the weather is looking bad the next few days, but this is good as there is a clearance behind it, so I think we'll get some viewing over the weekend

Well, I'd image everyone has seen the weather at this stage, so we've cancelled the observing and BBQ this evening and will give it a go again tomorrow, hopefully by then this weather will have passed.