2013 Queensland Astrofest

Great review of the Astrofest Michael. Glad you enjoyed.
I haven't been to the Queensland Astrofest but it is on my hit list. You were blessed with good weather I believe.
If anyone is in the Sydney area in April/May the South Pacific Star Party is worth attending. It attracts a similar crowd (many of the same people) and is a three hours drive west of Sydney. The Messier Star party is usually held in March about 2 hours north of Melbourne if you are in Victoria-again it attracts a big crowd. Ice in Space run a starparty about 3 hours north west of Sydney in the Hunter Valley which attracts about 150-200 people (dates change-April this year). A great way to observe through lots of large and interesting scopes and everyone is very friendly. Camping at these events is great fun but as warned bring plenty of warm clothes-and don't forget the mozzie repellent and sun cream !!
Its a very different experience to anything in Ireland with the main focus on observing over a few days. Lots of families attend.

Look forward to seeing some of your widefield shots Michael.

We were very fortunate with the weather. From talking to the other attendees, it was sunnier than normal. Temp in the mid 20s in winter - who can argue with that!
We were fortunate that there were no flies or creepy-crawlies to worry about either. My wife was happy with that!
Good spot for bird-watching actually. They had a feeding table which attracted all sorts of exotic birds.


www.astroshot.com/Aus2013/Birds-1.jpg


www.astroshot.com/Aus2013/Birds-2.jpg

I'll post up some of my widefield shots this evening hopefully.

One of the things I forget to mention was a flashing geosynchronous satellite. It was first noticed flashing at approx 5sec intervals by naked eye at roughly mag 2.
When we got Greg's 18" dob with tracking platform locked on it, it appeared to be moving slowly and flashing at regular intervals.
One bright flash - wait a few secs - one faint flash - wait a few secs and the cycle repeats.
When Greg turned off the tracking, the position of the satellite remained fixed in the eyepiece with the stars drifting across the field of view.
Gradually, over the course of the next 15 mins, the brightness of the flashes gradually decreased.
First time seeing one of these. Pretty amazing to see!

Observing at Twilight

47Tuc and SMC

Exposures: 25x60
ISO: 1600
Focal Length: 100mm

Hi Michael,

Great report I would love to go to one of these events but I hate flying. The thoughts of being on a plane for that amount of time would kill me. Really nice camera and lenses looks like you’re on to a winner judging by the image.

Clear Skies,

Carl.