Telok Sari's many advantages

[starfinder]

Having been to a few places for star-gazing, I have more fully appreciated the attributes that our regular observing site at Telok Sari has, even though light pollution there is increasing esp near the horizons.


For example, I was at the South Pacific Star Party last April (2007) in their New South Wales observing site called Wiruna. Although the skies there are darker esp near the horizons, I think the observing site at Telok Sari has these advantages over Wiruna:


(1) There is less obstruction, at most 5 or so degrees in any direction, plus a handful of coconut trees. Wiruna has a lot of trees (forest) in the near distance in many directions.


(2) The ground at Telok Sari is composed of a pleasant field of short-grass. At Wiruna, it is quite sandy in most places, and that sand can pose a nuisance when the winds are up.


(3) Telok Sari has a very plesant setting: right next to a beautiful beach, with bays and off-shore islands. The moment you get there, you are in a holiday mood. The wide open spaces are a real welcome. Wiruna is in not a very welcoming location: an open area at the top of a small hill surrounded by trees in the middle of nowhere.


(4) Because Telok Sari is located near the Equator, you can observe objects in both the far Northern and far Southern constellations, unlike most places set in temperate regions where you have access to one but not the other. Having said that, the increasing light pollution has hampered many areas in the far North and esp far South.


(5) Telok Sari is set in the warm tropics, whereas like most astro sites around the world, Wiruna is set in a temperate region. The differences are as follows:

(a) Temperate location:
When there are long dark nights to see the stars, it is in winter, and therefore very cold. Viewing out in the open can be uncomfortable. Even in April, it was got very cold and windy last year and I had to retire at around midnight to seek refuge.

When the weather is warmer, it is in summer, and therefore there are only a few hours of night and twilight lasts a long time.

(b) Tropical location:
There are a good 10 hours of darkness every day throughout the year, and nightfall comes fast as twilight hours are short.

The weather is a very comfortable 20-25 degrees Celsius at night throughout the year.


Therefore, an observing site set in the tropics has a quadruple advantage over a temperate site: warm weather, long hours of darkness, throughout the year, plus the ability to view both far northern and southern constellations.


Perhaps one disadvantage of Telok Sari's location is that it is often not suitable during the monsoon months of Nov-Feb. I am not sure if Wiruna has such restrictions. Plus I must repeat that the skies at Wiruna are darker, so much so that I saw a lot of dark nebula there such as the far-flung Emu; though at Telok Sari, the skies are also very dark high overhead. In terms of seeing and transparency, I can't say much because I was at Wiruna only one night, and I was told it was not a very good night compared to the previous night in terms of seeing. Telok Sari has its good and poor days.



There. I really think we should treasure the gem that we have access to that is Telok Sari!

[acc]

Agree with many of the points that Gavin wrote there. Though getting to Mersing is a hassle, a clear night there, even for just a few hours, makes the trip worthwhile.

Regarding the weather, its true we somehow take for granted the reliable, long hours of darkness and comfy night temperatures. I remember "fondly" how I once attended a star-party in sunny california wearing a just a pair of jeans, l/s-shirt plus a light jacket. After night fall, the temperature dropped rapidly and just three hours later, I had to stop observing and retreat into the car cos' I was freezing and my teeth were clattering away...

[Airconvent]

Hi Gavin
Where is tis Telok Sari?
Can drive there? Is it nearer than Mersing?

[acc]

Hmm Rich I thought we just went there last weekend?

[weixing]

Hi,
Just make sure you don't mention "Telok Sari" to any Malaysia government officer when asked... just said "Mersing" will do. It's quite a sensitive area and will not be fun if they start imagine what are we doing there with all these equipment.

Have a nice day.

[starfinder]

Hi Gavin
Where is tis Telok Sari?
Can drive there? Is it nearer than Mersing?

Hi Rich,

Ya, as Acc says, the site I am referring to is the one we've always been going to:
http://www.singastro.org/web/mediawiki/ ... hp/Mersing


I suppose many of us refer to it as "Mersing" as an abbreviated reference, which strictly speaking refers to either Mersing town, or Mersing district. Telok Sari (Essence Bay in Malay) is the specific name for the bay (telok) area we observe at, which is in Mersing district.

I remember when I first went to this observing field with Remus' group around 2000, we used to refer to it as Tanjong Resang. However, since Tanjong Resang is the headland (tanjong) at the southern end of the bay, plus the name of a kampong there (Kampong Tanjong Resang), we soon stopped using that name, and instead refer to the observing field area as "Telok Sari" instead.


Now... my own pet name for that observing field is "Padang Bintang", meaning Star Field!


(Malay-English translations from a dictionary)

[hommel]

Gavin,

You mean this is the site where we were approach by those military
personnel with their m16 rifles back in 2000?

[kingkong]

You mean this is the site where we were approach by those military personnel with their m16 rifles back in 2000?

wow... you guys should have pulled rank... surely there were some pretty senior saf people there... they have to recognise rank even if you are pow....

[starfinder]

Gavin,

You mean this is the site where we were approach by those military
personnel with their m16 rifles back in 2000?

Hi Jeff,

Oh no, the place you are referring to is the other observing site at Batu Layar (near Desaru) in southeast Johor. Telok Sari is in Mersing district in northeast Johor near the Pahang border.

I have never encountered military or police personnel at the Telok Sari observing site all these years. Not sure if others have.