Airconvent wrote:Interesting...another new site? Anyone can give a rating with reference to Mersing? eg 0.9 Mers or 1.2 Mers..(new singastro unit of measurement..haha)
Thanks for sharing !
Great report, fizzy!
I've been to Bekok once, during Feb new moon this year. And to the Telok Sari site ('Mersing') many times over the last 12 or so years, the last being around June last year.
I recall that for viewing individual DSOs in the eyepiece, the skies at the Bekok house are only slightly less good than at Telok Sari. So Bekok is certainly a good place to set up a permanent observatory.
For e.g., I recall seeing random galaxies in the Leo region at Bekok through Gary's 127mm refractor. And the DSO objects in Carina were sparkling high contrast images in the eyepiece of that scope.
The main advantage of the Telok Sari site is the open views of almost the whole sky one gets when viewing from the open grassy area next to the chalet. That is what I personally value most. The same type of open skies are also obtainable at the Kahang Eco Farm site. Also, as I recall, the Milky Way was overall quite a bit more distinct as a visual sight at Telok Sari and Kahang: I've seen it as a high contrast expansive object at both those places.
When I was at Bekok, we did not venture out of the house, but I suppose open views can be had from the edge of the town.
Overall, I think the skies in Johor can be excellent when its clear. There is something special there, or maybe it's typical of the tropics.
