Super Trooperstown

I know one of the financial guys in Coillte and he was saying that some gun clubs have keys (to hunt astronomers out and about in the dead of night???) and it's not that difficult to pitch a key request. Reminds me of the night some guys were lamping deer and didn't spot me down the track in Cloon

I'll ask the Coillte guy again when I see him.

John

Procuring a key to one or more Coillte sites would give us 2 major advantages:

1. It would give us a greater range of sites to choose from, as it would make the 'closed' sites available to us.
2. It would greatly improve the safety aspect, as we'd be able to close the gates behind us, thus preventing unwelcome encounters with unsavioury types in cars, pickups, etc.!

I'd say it'd be well worth pursuing this with your contact, John.

I remember out aurora watching with you one night near Djouce and the same thing happened (strange lights getting closer and closer across the moor...). This seems to hapen a lot

must be my magnetic personality Al . . . attracting auroras AND strange lights . . . hmm . . .

Same some litter - evidence of certain activities, not a place to go on your own.

no evidence of abandoned litter last night John as there is a forestry workers hut close to the road entrance so I guess they remove any detrius that is left there. We drove a bit down the track away from the road and it's a perfect spot with room for a lot of cars.

John

Come to think of it one of the best observing (naked eye) nights that I had was on the mountain skills week long course. One night you go camping to do night navigation. Where we' camped was at Lough Iolar, (Heart Shaped lake on Tonlagee O 090 022). There isnt a light for about many miles (though you can see Kippure and Dublin lights so just look south!)

I've always wondered people if someone could organise a trip for all of us to head off somewhere, hostling it for a day or 2 to somewhere remote, bring the scopes etc, and have a camping cum observing session break somewhere. It is cheap, and almost all of us have cars.

As a side note, I once stayed in a hostel somewhere near Enniskerry about 6 years ago. Lovely view of the Sugar Loaf way off. It was kind of up the side of a hill, not far from being able to look over a valley. Can't remember the name of it, but I also don't remember there being much light pollution, if any, at all!

Could this be something someone from a specific area could look into, and the rest follow? I always look forward to camping out on the TAS site, but its not the same because civilisation is so close...



Seanie.

We drove a bit down the track away from the road and it's a perfect spot with room for a lot of cars.

Hence the potential 'litter' problem...

We appear to share this hobby with courting couples, drunks, and night watchmen.

And people burying bodies.