Toa Payoh Sidewalk Astronomy tonight outside Courts - 18 Jun

Alright, this is for sharing of your observation experience. Or, if you are arranging gatherings, star-gazing expeditions or just want some company to go observing together, you can shout it out here.
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knc
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Re: Toa Payoh Sidewalk Astronomy tonight - Thu 16 Jan 2014

Post by knc »

Thanks Gary, for the sidewalk sharing session. Looking through your 10" dob was an eye opening experience, and your enthusiasm is an ongoing inspiration.
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Gary
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Re: Toa Payoh Sidewalk Astronomy tonight @Starbucks - 29/1/2

Post by Gary »

Weather permitting, we will be conducting a sidewalk astronomy session at Toa Payoh Central tonight.

Date: Wednesday, 29 Jan 2014
Time: From 8:15 PM onwards till late
Venue: Open ground in front of Starbucks (NOT library)[Google Map]

Take note of the venue, it is outside Starbucks (NOT our usual spot outside the library)!

Image

Primary focus: Pleiades and Jupiter! We will be deploying our telescopes for free public viewing. And testing the potential of this new sidewalk location in Toa Payoh. :)

Check my twitter page for latest updates --> http://www.twitter.com/astrosg

So come join in the fun with or without telescope! Feel free to chat with us about Astronomy!
http://www.astro.sg
email: gary[at]astro.sg
twitter: @astrosg


"The importance of a telescope is not how big it is, how well made it is.
It is how many people, less fortunate than you, got to look through it."
-- John Dobson.
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Gary
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Re: Toa Payoh Sidewalk Astronomy tonight @Starbucks - 29/1/2

Post by Gary »

Thanks to all who came for the event. What an amazingly clear night!

We had a nice shootout between James' Celestron Ultima 2000 8" SCT and the 10" Dob. Very nice details on Jupiter! With the seeing conditions of that night, it can hold its own compared to the 10-incher at similar magnification.

Good to hear more unbiased observations of seeing Orion Nebula in green at a light-polluted spot and sightings of E F stars in the trapezium. Smaller crowds than normal due to new location + reunion dinners + CNY spring cleaning. But it gave us more time to explain things in further detail and catching up with friends old and new. Overhead some interesting chat among pentax and canon photographers regarding astrophotography. :) Special thanks to VIP Zong Yao for gracing the event. Glad to observe with you again one year later in Toa Payoh! :)

The moons of Jupiter made an interesting oblong shape with one moon at each corner. We had a great time doing afocal planetary photography with our handphones.

Once this Toa Payoh Central (HDB Hub) stretch of renovations is fully completed, it should be even a better place for sidewalk - proximity to MRT and lots of alfresco F&B options to get into the laid-back sidewalk stargazing mood.

Some photos of the event:

Image

Image

Single handheld phone pic shot of Jupiter & moons through non-tracking 10" dob. Magnification about 195x. Cropped only. No further image editing.
Image
http://www.astro.sg
email: gary[at]astro.sg
twitter: @astrosg


"The importance of a telescope is not how big it is, how well made it is.
It is how many people, less fortunate than you, got to look through it."
-- John Dobson.
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bornfree
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Re: Toa Payoh Sidewalk Astronomy tonight @Starbucks - 29/1/2

Post by bornfree »

where is the rectangle moon alignment picture?
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Gary
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Re: Toa Payoh Sidewalk Astronomy tonight @Starbucks - 29/1/2

Post by Gary »

bornfree wrote:where is the rectangle moon alignment picture?
I think someone else caught it on their phones before this photo was taken.
http://www.astro.sg
email: gary[at]astro.sg
twitter: @astrosg


"The importance of a telescope is not how big it is, how well made it is.
It is how many people, less fortunate than you, got to look through it."
-- John Dobson.
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Gary
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Re: Toa Payoh Sidewalk Astronomy tonight @ TPY Library - 19

Post by Gary »

Weather permitting, we will be conducting a sidewalk astronomy session at Toa Payoh Central tonight.

Date: Sat, 19 April 2014
Time: From 9:30 PM onwards
Venue: Open space in front of Toa Payoh Public Library [Google Map] [Street View]

Come see Mars and Saturn through our telescopes! Free and open to public!
http://www.astro.sg
email: gary[at]astro.sg
twitter: @astrosg


"The importance of a telescope is not how big it is, how well made it is.
It is how many people, less fortunate than you, got to look through it."
-- John Dobson.
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Gary
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Re: Toa Payoh Sidewalk Astronomy tonight @ TPY Library - 19

Post by Gary »

Thanks to everyone who came for the sidewalk session!

Great views of Mars, Saturn and Moon! The ND filter proved useful in observing Mars through the 10" dob. Able to observe the albedo features minus the bright glare. Managed to first light the 25mm made-in-japan circle T Ortho eyepiece, very sharp (thanks Alvin!). My best view of Mars so far. The apparent size of Mars in the dob looks like Jupiter in my smaller aperture telescopes. Able to slowly enjoy the gradients of bluish patches on Mars. Exquisite!

Had fun interacting with a group students from Sri Lanka. They were very into astronomy and kept observing, asking questions and taking photos of the telescopes. Learnt new stuff from interacting with them (e.g. days of week in Sinhalese).

Glad a few twitter followers who stayed nearby finally managed to take a look through our telescopes.

Hope to find time to upload my handphone shots of Mars, Saturn and Moon.

Image
http://www.astro.sg
email: gary[at]astro.sg
twitter: @astrosg


"The importance of a telescope is not how big it is, how well made it is.
It is how many people, less fortunate than you, got to look through it."
-- John Dobson.
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Gary
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Re: Toa Payoh Sidewalk Astronomy tonight outside Courts - 18

Post by Gary »

Weather permitting, I will be stargazing at open grounds outside Courts Toa Payoh tonight.

Date: Wed, 18 Jun 2014
Time: From 8:00 PM onwards
Venue: Open grounds outside Courts Toa Payoh [Google Map] [Street View]

Come see Saturn and stars through telescope(s)! Free and open to public. All are welcomed.

There's a pasar malam going on outside Toa Payoh Public Library. You may enjoy some nice finger food there. :)
http://www.astro.sg
email: gary[at]astro.sg
twitter: @astrosg


"The importance of a telescope is not how big it is, how well made it is.
It is how many people, less fortunate than you, got to look through it."
-- John Dobson.
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Gary
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Joined: Tue Sep 30, 2003 7:06 am
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Re: Toa Payoh Sidewalk Astronomy tonight outside Courts - 18

Post by Gary »

This is a brief report and pics of 18 Jun sidewalk at Courts Toa Payoh.

Thanks to all for coming, especially Hong Lian for helping out with his dob. Able to spend more time explaining stuff to a smaller weekday crowd - how to read sky maps, pros and cons of different types of telescopes, ...etc. Good views of Saturn and Jewel Box. Saw Martian ice caps again in the dobs.

Highlight of the evening was encountering 2 police officers on patrol. They had a great time looking through the dobs and understanding what we are doing. They walked away without even asking us to show any identification. Thanks to them, some of the residents sitting around there who have been watching us from a short distance couldn't endure their growing curiosity anymore. They came and queued behind the police officers and patiently waited for their turn to take a look through the telescopes. Needless to say, nobody dared to cut the queue! :P


Image

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Single shot phone pic of Saturn through 10" dob, slightly enhanced in photoshop.
http://www.astro.sg
email: gary[at]astro.sg
twitter: @astrosg


"The importance of a telescope is not how big it is, how well made it is.
It is how many people, less fortunate than you, got to look through it."
-- John Dobson.
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