Did anyone make use of the surprisingly clear skies tonight? =)
Well, I took the chance and brought my grab&go scope downstairs to the clubhouse's 2nd floor balcony for a quick peek. Amazing views of the Moon, Mars, M45 and the Hyades .. managed to catch Venus just before setting too .. =)
Anyway, point of this post is .. a security guard came up and asked me what I was doing, so I showed him Venus, mars, the moon etc ...He was pretty amazed by the sights and we started talking and he offered to help me switch off the balcony lights .. =) Talked somemore and he said next time if sky is clear and he's on duty, can help to switch off the irritating spot lights around the pool ... =)
Well, it pays to make friends with the security guards eh? Share our hobby with them ... they'll help us .. =)
Anyone have similar experiences? =)
Jeremy
Making friends with Security
Hi jerm, I was obing at queenstown tonight 2! Perhaps very lucky, the sky was clear after 10pm, and through HUMTUM managed to find m45, m41, m35, m37 and m42! Haha...
Also managed to persuade my friend to stay thru with me till 1am plus to wait for the Saturn, view it in 75x. Cool!
Too tired now, and tmor gotta work... arggh
Also managed to persuade my friend to stay thru with me till 1am plus to wait for the Saturn, view it in 75x. Cool!
Too tired now, and tmor gotta work... arggh
~Clear skies don't occur every night, so date your BIG LENS out when the chance comes~
Haha! I must agree strongly on this! 
Had a similar encounter at my poly about 2 years ago.. The ob site that I found for the weekly observations, a carpark, was just outside the security guards' office, so it's not uncommon to see them eyeing on us every now and then. Since the ob site is a carpark, there were several occasions where the guards would warn us about safety.. Offending them will be the worst solution, so I decided to abide by their demands and have those 'plastic stands' placed to block the roads during every observation.
After the 'storm' is over, some of the security guards slowly became curious at what we were doing every week with those 'bazookas', so they started asking me questions. I happily told them about what objects we would see with those huge telescopes, and also updated them on events like the Perseids and Geminids meteor shower. I remembered one of them told me that he too had an interest in astronomy since young and he even asked if he could join us to take a peek through the telescopes! Haha.. Of course I was more than pleased to! Soon, I made really good friends with most of the security guards back then, and then a thought came to my mind. Maybe I can ask them to switch off all the lights in the carpark? Sounds ridiculous right? 
Hehehe..Anyway...I tried my luck and was surprised that they are more than willing to switch off…half of the carpark lights? Some of the security guards and I were staring at the nightsky pondering..the carpark still don't seem dark enough..sky still looks obscured.. So we discussed and they 'experimented' with switching off some more lights.. Fun experience I must say.. 
And finally, by the following week when my club members and I headed for the carpark as usual, we were all welcomed with a splendid view of the sky! Compared to previous observations, that evening sky was filled with so many stars that seemed to be 'smiling' at us?! Never felt that 'shiok' before..Hohoho.. As we walked further down, we realised that all the lights in the carpark had been switched off!!! :o That was certainly one experience I will never forget..and of course, I have the security guards to thank for.. 
But that’s not all! They were even willing to switch off the lights in other carpark areas near the ob site, and of the tennis court or basketball court should we intend to do our observations there as well! I was really heartened…Since then, I always made it a point to be friendly and make friends with the security guards..
Alright, end of the long report...
Cheers,
:cheers:
- ALPiNe
Had a similar encounter at my poly about 2 years ago.. The ob site that I found for the weekly observations, a carpark, was just outside the security guards' office, so it's not uncommon to see them eyeing on us every now and then. Since the ob site is a carpark, there were several occasions where the guards would warn us about safety.. Offending them will be the worst solution, so I decided to abide by their demands and have those 'plastic stands' placed to block the roads during every observation. After the 'storm' is over, some of the security guards slowly became curious at what we were doing every week with those 'bazookas', so they started asking me questions. I happily told them about what objects we would see with those huge telescopes, and also updated them on events like the Perseids and Geminids meteor shower. I remembered one of them told me that he too had an interest in astronomy since young and he even asked if he could join us to take a peek through the telescopes! Haha.. Of course I was more than pleased to!
Soon, I made really good friends with most of the security guards back then, and then a thought came to my mind. Maybe I can ask them to switch off all the lights in the carpark? Sounds ridiculous right? Hehehe..Anyway...I tried my luck and was surprised that they are more than willing to switch off…half of the carpark lights? Some of the security guards and I were staring at the nightsky pondering..the carpark still don't seem dark enough..sky still looks obscured.. So we discussed and they 'experimented' with switching off some more lights.. Fun experience I must say.. And finally, by the following week when my club members and I headed for the carpark as usual, we were all welcomed with a splendid view of the sky! Compared to previous observations, that evening sky was filled with so many stars that seemed to be 'smiling' at us?! Never felt that 'shiok' before..Hohoho..
As we walked further down, we realised that all the lights in the carpark had been switched off!!! :o That was certainly one experience I will never forget..and of course, I have the security guards to thank for.. But that’s not all! They were even willing to switch off the lights in other carpark areas near the ob site, and of the tennis court or basketball court should we intend to do our observations there as well! I was really heartened…Since then, I always made it a point to be friendly and make friends with the security guards.. Alright, end of the long report...
Cheers,
:cheers:
- ALPiNe
Cool ... =)
M42 and friends were not up yet when I packed up .. had to go out ..HAHA .. =) Could hear thunder even though it was so clear ...
ANyway, by the time I came back home Orion was pretty high in the sky but I was too tired ...
Hoping for another clear night tonight .. then I can collimate my SCT!! =)
Alpine: Yeah, it's great getting the guards on your side eh? =) hee hee ..
M42 and friends were not up yet when I packed up .. had to go out ..HAHA .. =) Could hear thunder even though it was so clear ...
ANyway, by the time I came back home Orion was pretty high in the sky but I was too tired ...
Hoping for another clear night tonight .. then I can collimate my SCT!! =)
Alpine: Yeah, it's great getting the guards on your side eh? =) hee hee ..
The 1st time I brought my Meade 12" via Johor Custom I was a bit aprehensive although I did prepared some documents ready for any eventuality. The Meade 12" was in my boot and looked quite meanacing.
I opened my boot & a custom officer prepared to check. The first thing I told him that I'm going to Mersing for a Star Gazing event as the dark sky there is anytime better then Singapore. He pondered a bit and started asking questions about the coming Leonid Meteor Shower (I think) and taking star photo. We chatted for a while and passed him a card and let me go without further checking.
I opened my boot & a custom officer prepared to check. The first thing I told him that I'm going to Mersing for a Star Gazing event as the dark sky there is anytime better then Singapore. He pondered a bit and started asking questions about the coming Leonid Meteor Shower (I think) and taking star photo. We chatted for a while and passed him a card and let me go without further checking.
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zong
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Yup, guards are our best friends if we can get them on our side.. and equipment is so expensive, having them around can also help to guard the equipment
Last time i was in NJC, school rules forbade us to leave later than 9pm, but i got our guard interested in obbing so we often left only at 10pm. Still considered lousy skies at that time, but better than going off at 9pm, ain't it?
Last time i was in NJC, school rules forbade us to leave later than 9pm, but i got our guard interested in obbing so we often left only at 10pm. Still considered lousy skies at that time, but better than going off at 9pm, ain't it?