Brisbane Report #1 - Moogerah Dam on 12-26-19

[terrynak]

Just returned home from Brisbane in Australia this morning (New Year’s Day) after being there since December 15th. The weather during my stay wasn’t as good as I hoped, especially with the raging brush fires affecting the eastern part of the country.

As mentioned in my previous thread, I met Petar, the owner/manager of the Astro Anarchy telescope store, located in the heart of the city:



Boxing Day (26th) looked promising, so Petar and his partner Kim drove me down to one of his astronomy outreach dark sites, Moogerah Dam, 63 miles to the SE of the city. At the site, we met his friend Ron (who had set up with his 16” Dob), plus a horde of Asian tourists who were taking pictures of the night sky.

Cloudy/hazy skies were interspersed with moments of clarity, so I took advantage of the latter as much as I could.

1) NGC 104 or 47 Tucanae (Tucana, mag=4.09, size=30.9’) – the second brightest globular cluster in the night sky (after Omega Centauri), this was naked-eye visible. I had seen it 2 years earlier from the Sydney suburb of Kirribilli as a bright fuzz ball using a 2” F/7 ‘frac at 39x, but with a 3.9” F/5 reflector at 67x and darker skies, I was able to resolve pinpoints of stars, especially with averted vision.

2) Large and Small Magellanic Clouds – Again, I had seen these dwarf galaxies two years earlier at Menangle, a semi-rural site just outside of Sydney, as they were rising up in August. Now they were brighter and more highly placed in the southern sky.

Here's a picture of me doing a naked-eye sketch of the Magellanic Clouds, courtesy of Petar:



3) NGC 1559 (Reticulum, mag=10.6, SB=12.6, size=3.5 x 2.0’) – used 40x; small but bright.

4) NGC 1543 (Reticulum, mag=10.5, SB=13.2, size=4.9 x 2.8’) – used 40x; small but visible with direct vision.

5) NGC 1313 (Reticulum, mag=8.7, SB=13.1, size=9.1 x 6.9’) – used 40x; visible with direct vision.

The latter three DSOs were the first non-naked eye galaxies I’ve seen in the Southern Hemisphere.

Despite the short session and somewhat crowded conditions at the site, it was exciting to experience the Southern skies again.

[Sinerjee]

I’ll be moving to Brisbane either next year or the year after so I’ll be sure to keep Moogerah Dam in mind.
Thanks for the info!

[yobbo89]

Very nice image. A Naked eye sketch! Wow.

I've been to bortle 1 zone and struggled to see anything naked eye because of all the local lp from flood lights from the hotels in the outback, I had to hide behind some bushes with binos. Sounds like you had a good astronomy holiday

[Peter802]

Terry.
Thank you for the report from the Moogerah Dam site.
I guess that the bush fires made a lot of difference to the seeing?
Will you publish your sketch?
Have a great New Year.

[yobbo89]

yes the old saying, sketches or it didn't happen!

[terrynak]

I’ll be moving to Brisbane either next year or the year after so I’ll be sure to keep Moogerah Dam in mind.
Thanks for the info!

You're welcome! Just a warning that a lot of people/tourists go there to look at the stars, so you'll be joining others (and have to contend with some white light as well).

Very nice image. A Naked eye sketch! Wow.

I've been to bortle 1 zone and struggled to see anything naked eye because of all the local lp from flood lights from the hotels in the outback, I had to hide behind some bushes with binos. Sounds like you had a good astronomy holiday

Thanks Yobbo and thanks to Petar at AA for taking image(s). We had to contend with some white light from cars parking in the driveway and the local restroom bldg. (along with the crowds), but otherwise it was dark when the clouds cleared. Moogerah is Bortle 2.

I've had situations where I was observing from the parking lot of a motel located in an otherwise semi-dark site and couldn't see much naked eye because of the parking lot lights, but looking through the scope (and a blanket over my head) there were hundreds of stars.

Terry.
Thank you for the report from the Moogerah Dam site.
I guess that the bush fires made a lot of difference to the seeing?
Will you publish your sketch?
Have a great New Year.

You're welcome Peter. Yes the fires probably did, even though the smoke wasn't visible from the places I stayed in at Brisbane.

Re: publishing sketch - probably not, my sketches are done at the moment rough sketches. Although in the past I used to provide my crude sketches with my reports, if the DSOs were first-time observations.

yes the old saying, sketches or it didn't happen!

In my case, I agree with this saying. All new DSOs are sketched and logged, even though I probably won't include them in my reports anymore like I used to in the AF forum.

[Bigzmey]

Nice catches and great photo Terry! I would frame it and put on the wall.

Bummer that conditions were not so good, but you managed a few targets.

[terrynak]

Nice catches and great photo Terry! I would frame it and put on the wall.

Bummer that conditions were not so good, but you managed a few targets.

Thanks Andrey!

Were you able to see 47 Tucanae from Hawaii?

[Juno16]

Hi Terry,

Bigz is right, that is a really nice photo! There is a lot of feeling there.

I have never seen an astronomy store. How cool is that!

Thanks for your report, but the photo steals the show!

Jim

[terrynak]

Hi Terry,

Bigz is right, that is a really nice photo! There is a lot of feeling there.

I have never seen an astronomy store. How cool is that!

Thanks for your report, but the photo steals the show!

Jim

Thanks Jim! Petar, who owns/manages the store right in the heart of Brisbane, took this photo (and many others).

As Yobbo says, he's a top bloke.

[Bigzmey]

Nice catches and great photo Terry! I would frame it and put on the wall.

Bummer that conditions were not so good, but you managed a few targets.

Thanks Andrey!

Were you able to see 47 Tucanae from Hawaii?

No, that's too far south even for Hawaii. Observing trip to Australia is on my bucket list.

[Lady Fraktor]

Very nice Terry, I liked the picture of the stars as well as the toy store

[terrynak]

Thanks Andrey!

Were you able to see 47 Tucanae from Hawaii?

No, that's too far south even for Hawaii. Observing trip to Australia is on my bucket list.

Hope you get there soon. I was fortunate enough to meet someone who could drive me far from the city, where I stood a better chance of getting a break from the clouds and haze.

Recall that my trip to Melbourne last year was a bust, observing-wise (poor planning on my part). Chile would be a better destination, with clear skies nearly every night.

Very nice Terry, I liked the picture of the stars as well as the toy store

Thanks LF! I'll put up some more pictures on my next Brisbane-related thread!

[Kanadalainen]

Great report!

I would love to see those DSOs someday, loved the image of you sketching them.

[terrynak]

Great report!

I would love to see those DSOs someday, loved the image of you sketching them.

Thanks Ian! Hope you can get back to Australia sometime soon. Even better would be Chile, where you won't have to deal with cloudy nights...

[bladekeeper]

Awesome report, Terry! Loved the photos!

[kt4hx]

Very nice Terry. I am behind on my reading and just ran across this one. Sounds like a fine time and you got in some observing despite the current issues down there. I am jealous about seeing 47 Tuc and the LMC and SMC to advantage. While I've seen 47 Tuc it was under very poor conditions from the location I was at near the equator and I've not see the galaxies, though I did see NGC 2070 in the LMC. I was therefore looking at the LMC but could not discern it as such. Reticulum is a nice place for hunting galaxies, I've just not had the opportunity to see it very elevated. Well done!

[terrynak]

Very nice Terry. I am behind on my reading and just ran across this one. Sounds like a fine time and you got in some observing despite the current issues down there. I am jealous about seeing 47 Tuc and the LMC and SMC to advantage. While I've seen 47 Tuc it was under very poor conditions from the location I was at near the equator and I've not see the galaxies, though I did see NGC 2070 in the LMC. I was therefore looking at the LMC but could not discern it as such. Reticulum is a nice place for hunting galaxies, I've just not had the opportunity to see it very elevated. Well done!

Thanks Alan, glad that you finally got a chance to review these threads!

This was the first time I got a good look at the two MCs. In the outskirts of Sydney 2 yrs ago, they were just rising above the horizon. In fact, now I'm not so sure I actually saw the larger one at all back then (based on the sketch I did), though I did see NGC 2070.

NGC 1313 in Reticulum is on the AF Southern Sky Challenge LIst, so I did move up one object there.

Having met a local astronomer who worked in the heart of the city (Astro Anarchy telescope store) made these observations possible.

[StarBru]

Thanks for posting this, Terry! I have always wanted to go to Australia and see the Southern sky. Now that I've seen your photo with the LMC and SMC........I really need to go see for myself!

[terrynak]

Thanks for posting this, Terry! I have always wanted to go to Australia and see the Southern sky. Now that I've seen your photo with the LMC and SMC........I really need to go see for myself!

You're welcome Bruce! Hope you get there soon...