|
|
|
|
| IMG_1508.jpg Joan Castleman catches up on her vacation reading on her Nook and takes in some warmth from the Sun as others set up their telescopes for the night. |
IMG_1520.jpg My EM-11 and FSQ-85 were polar aligned the night before and are set up for another evening of imaging. (See more here) |
IMG_1521.jpg The imaging field at Astrofest. |
IMG_1523.jpg |
|
|
|
|
| IMG_1524.jpg | IMG_1527.jpg | IMG_1534.jpg | IMG_1535.jpg |
|
|
|
|
| IMG_1537.jpg Terry Cuttle prepares for a night of viewing. Terry was very generous in giving Joan and I viewing tips to the Southern skies and facilitating views of smaller objects through his TV76 and 8 inch SCT than were possible through my 85mm refractor and binoculars. When my EM-11 died after a software glitch toasted the power supply line, Terry lent me the use of his GM-8 to mount a camera and lens to photograph the Southern Cross. |
IMG_1559.jpg Joan Castleman (left), Anne-Louise Surma-Hawes (center) with Toliman and Wendy Colvin (right) at 2010 Queensland Astrofest. |
IMG_1562.jpg
David O'Driscol gives an afternoon talk on spectrophotometric studies. |
IMG_1564.jpg Paul Russell prepares his telescope and laptop for an evening of astrophotography with Alan Meehan in the background. |
|
|
|
|
| IMG_1568.jpg Joan knitting on the observing field. |
IMG_1570.jpg
Bob Stephens checks out his laptop from his imaging control tent on the imaging field. |
IMG_1572.jpg | IMG_1578.jpg John and Diane Hughes with Tony Surma-Hawes (center) holding Toliman relax for a minutes near sundown. |
|
|
|
|
| IMG_1579.jpg Tony Surma-Hawes with son, Toliman. |
IMG_1580.jpg | IMG_1581.jpg | IMG_1583.jpg
Laurie Billman stands next to his home built telescope drive. |
|
|
|
|
| IMG_1587.jpg
Bryan Middleton with his 20 inch f/5 SDM Dobsonian telescope. Joan and I had just flown in from the subtropical Summer heat of Florida to Winter in Queensland and were bundling up in sweaters/jackets as evening approached. We were amazed by Bryan's apparent impervious resistance to the cold as he walked around in shorts and sandals. Bryan generously shared stunning views of NGC104, NGC5128, the Jewel Box and other Southern celestial delights with Joan and me. |
IMG_1589.jpg
Details of Bryan Middleton's support trailer that he converted from a used handyman's utility trailer. |
IMG_1590.jpg
Bryan Middleton's support trailer with solar panels, sleeping quarters with red lights, and storage batteries: The very model of a self-sufficient astro trailer with all the comforts of home. |
IMG_1591.jpg Storage batteries in Bryan's trailer. |
|
|
|
|
| IMG_1598.jpg
Luke gets ready for the evening. |
IMG_1617.jpg Terry Cuttle speaks on the 2012 Solar Eclipse that can be seen from the northern tip of Australia and on observing solar eclipses in remote locations. His talk was chock full of tips useful for observing with a light weight travel kit. |
IMG_1618.jpg This was a joke notice (only a little bit). The Astrofest guide advised registrants to bring along a hot water bottle. Joan very wisely insisted on getting a hot water bottle with cover in Brisbane before coming to Astrofest. I got one at Target. The first night at Astrofest went down to freezing, and I hadn't purchased a thick enough sleeping bag for Joan in Brisbane. It was the coldest that Joan had been in a long time. I was OK. |
IMG_1879.jpg Terry Cuttle takes the last sequence photo (self portrait) in a time-lapse he was completing from the night before. |
|
|
|
|
| IMG_1880.jpg | IMG_1889.jpg Julian West explains his home made spectrograph to a judge in the telescope making competition. Julian won first prize in the contest. |
IMG_1898.jpg
Astrofest participants stay up all Friday night observing on their telescopes, and then get up the next day and compete in the telescope counter weight toss competition. |
IMG_1900.jpg |
|
|
|
|
| IMG_1910.jpg | IMG_1916.jpg | IMG_1921.jpg Tony Surma-Hawes awards first place prize to children's competition winner, son Rigel. |
IMG_1923.jpg Best pre-school child competitor with father. |
|
|
|
|
| IMG_1926.jpg
Best female competitor |
IMG_1930.jpg Best male competitor |
IMG_1935.jpg
David Wiltshire, Univeristy of Cantebury gives the keynote talk Saturday on "Dark Energy and Cosmic Structure" |
IMG_1943.jpg Line up of 30" and 20" SDM Dobsonian telescopes on the occasion of John Dobson's 95th birthday. |
|
|
|
|
| IMG_1948.jpg
Photo opportunity and aperture envy. |
IMG_1950.jpg Boys with big toys. Tony Surma-Hayes takes photo of son, Toliman, with SDM telescopes. |
IMG_1951.jpg Kevin Dixon with friend. |
IMG_1957.jpg |
|
|||
| IMG_1959.jpg | |||