Mersing Trip: 29th July

denebman · Post by **denebman** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 10:27 am

Now I believe the old saying that first timers always bring in clear skies in Mersing, maybe I am one of those who bring in good luck

.

However, the trip to me is full of joy and pain. After 2 hours of queueing at Malay custom to check in and more than 10 times of vomitting of my wife due to carsick, it rewarded us with a velvet black sky with milky way stretched from east to west horizon. We arrived at the ob site after 9 pm and everybody got busy setting up their "big eyes" to make up for the delay on the road. During the short period that I set up the tent for my wife to rest, she told me the starry mersing sky is the best cure for her sickness.

As a novice observer, I got a lot of help from the two "human goto", Rich Low and Chris Yeo who pointed my tmb115 in a smart way that many wonders of heaven are within my reach. I had stunning views of swan nebular, wild duck, andromeda, pleaides, M57, double-double, antares, veil nebular (first time to see) and so on. When it comes to equipment talk and visual satisfaction, I found that in many occasions the contrast is over aperture.

This is a really impressive trip with lots of stars, dews, snores (sorry, no MP3) and surprisingly no mosquito at all.

Thanks to Chris, Rich, David and Sinhoe who helped organise the trip and "educated" the police. My special thanks to Vincent (am I right?), his gf (?), Weixing and his gf (?) who provided great help to my wife.

chrisyeo · Post by **chrisyeo** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 10:39 am

denebman wrote:During the short period that I set up the tent for my wife to rest, she told me the starry mersing sky is the best cure for her sickness.

Really sorry that you and your wife had to go through that hassle to get to Mersing. Should have more adequately informed you about the trip. I'm glad though, that the heavens were kind enough to make it a little less painful.

jermng · Post by **jermng** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 10:59 am

Weixing and his gf (?)

Hmmm ... Weixing ... that's new .. it's time to meet up for an ob soon ... You found your Lady in the Moon at last ah?? HAHA ...

river · Post by **river** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 11:18 am

As for the police thing, not to worry. Just some nearby resident worry about their safety when a big group of unfamiliar people gather in their area. So the police asked some question and take down some of our particular. Then they start talking about this hobby and even ask me to point to "Bintang Marikh"(Mars) for them. I had the same experience in Batu Layar a few months back.

Post by **weixing** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:00 pm

Hi,

Weixing and his gf (?)

HELLO!! Don't get me into trouble!! I don't want someone (his husband) to come after me with an axe!!!
It's a lady friend... girl friend not girlfriend... OK!!!

Have a nice day.

PS: Hope his husband don't see this... else she may get countless RED CARD... ha ha ha

Post by **VinSnr** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:09 pm

denebman wrote:Now I believe the old saying that first timers always bring in clear skies in Mersing, maybe I am one of those who bring in good luck .

However, the trip to me is full of joy and pain. After 2 hours of queueing at Malay custom to check in and more than 10 times of vomitting of my wife due to carsick, it rewarded us with a velvet black sky with milky way stretched from east to west horizon. We arrived at the ob site after 9 pm and everybody got busy setting up their "big eyes" to make up for the delay on the road. During the short period that I set up the tent for my wife to rest, she told me the starry mersing sky is the best cure for her sickness.

As a novice observer, I got a lot of help from the two "human goto", Rich Low and Chris Yeo who pointed my tmb115 in a smart way that many wonders of heaven are within my reach. I had stunning views of swan nebular, wild duck, andromeda, pleaides, M57, double-double, antares, veil nebular (first time to see) and so on. When it comes to equipment talk and visual satisfaction, I found that in many occasions the contrast is over aperture.

This is a really impressive trip with lots of stars, dews, snores (sorry, no MP3) and surprisingly no mosquito at all.

Thanks to Chris, Rich, David and Sinhoe who helped organise the trip and "educated" the police. My special thanks to Vincent (am I right?), his gf (?), Weixing and his gf (?) who provided great help to my wife.

wow..no mosquito!! How come last time there were so many commando mosquitos?

Post by **VinSnr** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:10 pm

weixing wrote:Hi,
Weixing and his gf (?)
HELLO!! Don't get me into trouble!! I don't want someone (his husband) to come after me with an axe!!!
It's a lady friend... girl friend not girlfriend... OK!!!

Have a nice day.

PS: Hope his husband don't see this... else she may get countless RED CARD... ha ha ha

haha......then u quickly go find one la. You want to marry your mount and scope meh?

ariefm71 · Post by **ariefm71** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:48 pm

You want to marry your mount and scope meh?

He's already married to them...

rlow · Post by **rlow** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 2:11 pm

Thanks to Klutz and Liuming for their wonderfully delightful and charming reports! We don't mind any errors whatsoever. Hope that others will be encouraged to write in future.

Though I have been observing at more than two dozen oversea dark skies in the last decade or so, I have seen many clear skies, but this is only the third time I have seen the night sky was so absolutely clear that we can see the Milky Way stretching over the whole sky from Scorpius at the western horizon to Cygnus at the Eastern horizon. It is indeed the biggest 'M' object best seen with the naked eye, the most impressive sight of all Deep Sky Objects, and this alone already makes the whole Mersing trip so worthwhile.

Then there were so many meteors seen with our naked eyes, certainly the most that I have seen on a single night, and probably more than all of the rest of the accumulated meteors that I have seen so far! While looking at the Swan Nebula through the Portaball, I saw a bright two-headed meteor flashing by in the field-of-view. David saw that too.

The sky was so transparent that the two major components of the Veil Nebula, NGC 6960 & 6990, were easily visible through the three 8-inch scopes even without any narrowband filter! On other clear nights, they are practically invisible without narrowband filter on the 8-inch scope. Those people who were there that night are indeed very fortunate.

Post by **VinSnr** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 2:19 pm

rlow wrote:. Those people who were there that night are indeed very fortunate.

haha....good to hear that.

My best memories of Mersing is not those clear nites (got experience quite a few already), but it is those little weird things that we do that. Like a group of us eating food under one torch light (dun even know what I am eating) and even once when we faced a terrible thunderstorm. The rain and wind was so heavy that the coconuts trees were like collapsing. Then 10 of us inside one tent together with scopes, bags and all hoping the tent don't give way...haha

Maybe one day I should go back.