Ok, to begin off, let me thank all the people who made this trip a success. Despite all the odds that we are facing for this trip(election, bad weather, mas, remus's ict), the trip was still a success. Firstly i have to thank the organisers, remus and carole for doing a gd job with the planning and execution of the entire trip. Next would be those who helped coordinate the trip, both ntu side and np side, for getting the members, equipment, payment and neccessary logistic settled. Of course, last but not least all the participants who attended for the trip, despite all the odds.
We left singapore very early. Way before lunch time. Managed to reach custom at around 12pm. Somehow got stuck at the SG custom due to the declaration of the items. But somehow it managed to resolve itself after some waiting.
Crossed the malaysia custom shortly, somehow after Jan 22, the white cards are no longer in use, making custom clearing alot faster. We reached the usual petrol station at around 2pm. Very much earlier than i was expecting. The usual road up to mersing took us another 1.5hr or so. Managed to reach mersing town at 3.30pm. Had our lunch at kfc as usual. After the trip we went over to machi's place. For those who were wondering, there's not alot of queue at the custom, quite fast. Election didn't really bother us much, just that traffic was slightly slower in kota tingghi.
The trip started off with an solar ob, thru the cute little PST(still on loan from LEE, yes i will go over ur place and drop off the PST tml. many many many thanks for the loan of the PST). I guess some of the newer participants have never had a chance to look thru the pst was granted quite an eyeful. 5-6 prominences could be seen. most of them on top of the sun, some towards the sides.
Remus and Alfred(np lecturer) arrived slightly after us, somewhere ard 5pm. We had some fun watching the coconut man get the black thrash bag put over the lamp post to shield out the light. Some of them tried to help, but found it to be quite a diffcult task. We did not go back to the usual field, instead we were obbing from the grass patch in the chalet, somewhere behind the dining area. For those hardcore mersing goers, do note that somehow the usual field had their grass grown much longer than previously.
We managed to get our equipment set up before sun set. Skies was blue in the afternoon, but closer to evening it started to cloud up. Very very windy. We decided to go for dinner first, since skies weren't that clear. Kept our fingers crossed. Somehow, after dinner when we went out, it was very very very very clear. I guess most of the 1st timer were extremely happy with it.
My mission for this trip was vastly different from all my previous trips. So this wun be much of a observation report, but closer to an account of a newbie venturing into the mystery world of AP. Managed to get the setup up and running. Did my 2 stars alignment on the synscan. But somehow slightly after, the ra axis failed. Seems like due to the colder weather there in the field, the mounting for the motor had contracted causing the motor to slide off and lose contact. An allen key quickly rectrify this problem. Managed to get up and running.
Tried doing a drift alignment. My 1st time doing it. Put in the 12.5mm reticle with the barlow, big problem. The stars are just jumping ard in the fov. Tried tightening everything, couldn't get the vibrations out. Seems like the wind was too strong. Remus too had a problem with the wind even with his massive g11. Quite demoralise at this point. Somehow Alfred and zong ye were still there struggling with their drift alignment. Remus as usual managed to get it done in few minutes. I tried taking out the barlow, much better now, at least it doesn't hop ard that much. Spent the next 1hr or so trying to get the drift alignment right. Clouds came in and out during the period. Somehow i only had to do the latitude adjustment, newbie luck?
Tried doing piggy back, but didn't turn out well. Quite a few challenges involved, involving mechanic problems and framing problems. Firstly, due to the fact that the camera is held on with just 1 screw, i couldn't get it to stay in place without rotation around. Prolly would have to get something to tie it down the next time round. 2ndly, framing isn't easy at all, there's no camera angle adjuster, so ur stuck to the extremely wierd angle of the GEM. Gave up on that, moved on to prime focus instead.
Took out the diagonal and in went the dslr with the flattener. Tried doing focusing, not easy. Viewfinder was dim and small. Eyeballing managed to get me somewhere near. Somewhere on the 5.8cm marking. I tried taking a few shots of the orion neb. Happiness, something registered on the camera. 30 seconds shot at iso 800 revealed some nebulousity. Subsequently i tried shooting at 1min with my remote control and my handphone's stopwatch. Even more nebulosity seen. I guess this is wat made most people addicted to AP, gratification. The feeling of seeing results, tangible results.
Orion was getting lower and clouds started pouring in in that direction. I tried moving over to eta carina. Took a few more shots at iso 800 1min. Decided to tried playing ard with focus. Moved down to 5.7cm marking, no gd, stars were obviously defocused in the lcd. Moved up to 5.9cm marking, much better. Decided to stick with the 5.9cm marking until i find another better way to focus. For those who are wondering abt the marking thing, my WO focuser has markings on it. After a while, i realise i have an iso 1600 setting. Tried that at 1min. OMG, could make out the keyhole in the eta carina neb. The image was much noiser, and the amp glow was very obvious(sucky nikon d70s eh?)
Soon after, it got cloudy and i gave up for the night. Visual was no go either. Packed up the p8 as well. It was around 3am at that point. Me and zong ye decided to sleep out in the field. At around 4am, we were greeted by sudden rain. Few drops landed on us and stopped immediately. I quickly ran towards my p8 and grab it. Took it back to the room. Soon after, it rained. Somehow i was given a chance. There was actually a brief warning rain. Few drops of it and a short pause of maybe a few minutes.
Bed time for now, at least until room service(remus?) told us it's breakfast. Had breakfast, played some cards with the np guys. Did some washing up. Shortly after lunch i charged my battery and myself(z.z) Woke up somewhere in the evening, 5pm or so.
Due to the very strong wind, remus and zong ye had moved in their equipment, to just next to the dining area. Shielded by the building would make the wind much more tolerable. Not wanting to redo drift alignment, and hoping that my shorter focal length would survive the wind, i did not move. Later that proved to be a bad decision.
Shortly after the sun set, i realise winds on my side is way too strong. No choice, had to move over. Quickly shifted the mount over. Couldn't find a completely flat spot. Legs weren't adjustable. Oh no. Managed to find a piece of tile. Just nice for the job(more luck?). Got the drift alignment settled shortly. Seems like after having some experience doing it, it got faster this time round.
With the lessons learnt from the previous night, i quickly put the camera in. Got back to the 5.9cm marking and shot away at orion. Seems like this time round, with the iso 1600, i managed to get even more nebulosity. Happiness. Took a few more frame. Remus noted that the clouds coming in from the north isn't looking gd. He quickly packed up his toa and moved it into the dining area. Me on the other hand tot he was just overly reacting to it and went on to take a few more shots. Greediness kills. It RAINED!! OMGWTFBBQ, i quickly grab my thrash bag and covered the scope. Grab the controller and my camera and ran indoor. Seems like remus was right abt the clouds.
Went back to bed, was 11pm at that point. Slept till 3am. Woke up and found the skies to be gd. Remus told me to quickly set up and continue shooting since skies is gd. I got things up and ready fast.
Moved to somewhere near the carina patch. Took a shot. EH? WTF IS THIS? Seems like i got the wrong patch. Got a star cluster instead. Meh, didn't like it. Gave the mount a proper 2 star alignment this time round. Hit m51 in the controller, hoho ended up with a nice patch in the fov of the eyepiece. Put the camera back once again and went on to shoot. 30 sec revealed 2 faint patches. Moving up to 1min, i could make out the spiral arms in the zoom in views on the lcd. HOHO, more happiness. Took a few more shots.
Hit m13 in the controller and the mount made it's usual slewing. Took a short 30 sec exposure. Hoho, m13 right in middle of FOV(lucky? or accurate?). However, it didn't turn out that nice. I hit ngc 5139 and managed to get it right in the middle of the fov again. Took a few shots here, no idea how it turn out, have not really check the shots yet. Tried ngc 5128, the mount decided to turn one big round to the object. Took a few shots, didn't see anything in the fov. Turned out later it was buried in the corner.
Tried ngc 6231, but somehow i got a pretty shot, the shadows of the trees was seen in the lcd. Skies ain't that gd. Me and zong ye gave up. Packed for the night. Was around 4am.
Some of the photos of the trip, provided by aziz. http://www.pbase.com/aziz/mersing_080308
~MooEy~
Mersing Report 08-10th Mar
Mersing Report 08-10th Mar
Last edited by MooEy on Tue Mar 11, 2008 7:34 am, edited 15 times in total.
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You fall asleep after typing ".."?? -
swat_pup6433
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acc
- Administrator
- Posts: 2577
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- Favourite scope: Mag1 Instruments 12.5" Portaball
Wah MooEy so the portaball was left languishing in Singapore huh? 
Couldn't make it this time round as I was in Taiwan but I am looking forward to next month's trip... if someone can give me a ride that will be gratefully accepted 
Couldn't make it this time round as I was in Taiwan but I am looking forward to next month's trip... if someone can give me a ride that will be gratefully accepted We do it in the dark...
Portaball 12.5"
Takahashi Mewlon 210
William Optics 110ED
...and all night long!
Portaball 12.5"
Takahashi Mewlon 210
William Optics 110ED
...and all night long!
Yes, I'm also in Taiwan now... too bad I missed it!
Oh, take my advice, trust Remus when he comments about the clouds. I actually packed up when I saw him dismantling his equipment even though I didn't see the clouds coming. It rained cats and dogs shortly after!
Oh, take my advice, trust Remus when he comments about the clouds. I actually packed up when I saw him dismantling his equipment even though I didn't see the clouds coming. It rained cats and dogs shortly after!
[80% Steve, 20% Alfred] ------- Probability of Clear Skies = (Age of newest equipment in days) / [(Number of observers) * (Total Aperture of all telescopes present in mm)]
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stormchaser
- Posts: 23
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Ah I'm still reeling from the hectic life back in sg. Gonna keep this short to give other people the opportunity to write something.
Weather report, the skies there were very unpredictable. Both nights were cloudy and clear at the same time - cloudy at the place you want to look, clear everywhere else. The clouds had some sort of telepathy I guess, knowing where and when to block us when we want to view the xxx object. The first night was like playing hide and seek with the clouds. By 4am it drizzled and we all went back to zzzz. The second night, the clouds were somewhat worse, yet somewhat better, that it sent slight drizzles during the early part of the night, swiftly sending us packing like some civil defense exercise, then left us brief periods of nice clear skies.
On the people, well since it was the first time going to mersing, and with singastro-ians, it was fun. I'm from the NTU Astro bunch. Had fun interacting with the people, like remus going, "oh its you!" when he saw me, lol. Had fun looking at the guys gawk at our(the girls') rooms "you have a ceiling fan?! your toilet has tiles?!" Also had fun interacting with the "large number" of girls there(7 girls, including carole, is considered large number), and the even larger number of guys. Met a lot of interesting people, like my junior who never contact senior, someone from the SP team which managed to spoil the buzzer in astrochallenge 03 finals round, etc etc etc.
On the events, one of funniest highlights was putting the trashbags over the lamppost. It took the guys a lot of sweat and innovation to get the trashbags over the lamp post, tho its hilarious, appreciate your efforts guys. Still, I couldn't help wondering, what did you all do during previous mersing trips to cover lamp post??? The food was okay, not too spicy, ate a million curry puffs and tons of keropok. The phototaking session showed us gals that guys are horrible at fun/informal pictures. Other comments which people told me/asked me were, "why did you set up your tent in the dark and in the wind?" I have no idea. People work in mysterious ways.
On the obbing, we brought our OrionXTi 10" tube dob, which offered great views of the heavens. For both days, we were essentially on a DSO/galaxy hunt, cos we can't see those objects in sg's light polluted skies. Sadly it was also a hide and seek with the clouds too, which is unfortunate when you're looking at an object and suddenly it turns black (cloud), so either you leave the scope pointed and hope the clouds fly away fast, or point to another object and hope the clouds don't get to it before you. Summary of objects we saw during the 2 days, other than the normal few orion neb, saturn, mars, jupiter m37, m51, ring neb blah blah, we saw flame neb, horsehead neb?! (averted vision), trifid, lagoon neb, whale neb, ghost of jupiter, leo triplet, owl neb, ngc 2169, some galaxies from virgo and coma bernices' cluster of galaxies (8 galaxies within a FOV, but saw 4 of them before the clouds came to cover the other 4) Markarian chain, and some other esoteric ones from jiahao's hershel 400 book, like 2 galaxies in a line, a lenticular galaxy and a round galaxy within the same FOV, antenna galaxy, etc etc. don't ask me their hershel numbers. was greatly fun. I think i'm getting hooked at looking at those fuzzy patches of galaxies. I was also the only shortsighted person without spects there, cos I lost my spects 2 weeks ago, so I had to make-do with binos, but on the second night I think my eyes were better adapted, could see basically quite a lot of what the rest of the people could see too, just that stars look like circles instead of points, and can't see some of the fainter objects. I also loved the milky way!! woohoo!! summer milky way rox!!! so big!![[smilie=cheer.gif]](./images/smilies/cheer.gif "cheer")
Mooey's p8 was rendered rather useless cos of the strong winds, which can blow the scope to the ground if you don't hold it, and so it just lay on the chair for the rest of the night for the first night (I think), and i'm not sure if it was used during the 2nd night.
Other things that happened during ob was the large amount of traffic at night where a lot of people came (klutz included) for a while and left, which I didn't expect, during the time they were around I showed them some of the objects in the sky thru the dob. And it seems that everyone else other than us who had scopes were either sleeping or taking astrophotos, so as one of the few visual obbers around, those without scopes hung around us periodically, so I just tried showing them whatever the skies permitted.
Ok that's about all for my so-called short report. Gotta continue with studying :O
Weather report, the skies there were very unpredictable. Both nights were cloudy and clear at the same time - cloudy at the place you want to look, clear everywhere else. The clouds had some sort of telepathy I guess, knowing where and when to block us when we want to view the xxx object. The first night was like playing hide and seek with the clouds. By 4am it drizzled and we all went back to zzzz. The second night, the clouds were somewhat worse, yet somewhat better, that it sent slight drizzles during the early part of the night, swiftly sending us packing like some civil defense exercise, then left us brief periods of nice clear skies.
On the people, well since it was the first time going to mersing, and with singastro-ians, it was fun. I'm from the NTU Astro bunch. Had fun interacting with the people, like remus going, "oh its you!" when he saw me, lol. Had fun looking at the guys gawk at our(the girls') rooms "you have a ceiling fan?! your toilet has tiles?!" Also had fun interacting with the "large number" of girls there(7 girls, including carole, is considered large number), and the even larger number of guys. Met a lot of interesting people, like my junior who never contact senior, someone from the SP team which managed to spoil the buzzer in astrochallenge 03 finals round, etc etc etc.
On the events, one of funniest highlights was putting the trashbags over the lamppost. It took the guys a lot of sweat and innovation to get the trashbags over the lamp post, tho its hilarious, appreciate your efforts guys. Still, I couldn't help wondering, what did you all do during previous mersing trips to cover lamp post??? The food was okay, not too spicy, ate a million curry puffs and tons of keropok. The phototaking session showed us gals that guys are horrible at fun/informal pictures. Other comments which people told me/asked me were, "why did you set up your tent in the dark and in the wind?" I have no idea. People work in mysterious ways.
On the obbing, we brought our OrionXTi 10" tube dob, which offered great views of the heavens. For both days, we were essentially on a DSO/galaxy hunt, cos we can't see those objects in sg's light polluted skies. Sadly it was also a hide and seek with the clouds too, which is unfortunate when you're looking at an object and suddenly it turns black (cloud), so either you leave the scope pointed and hope the clouds fly away fast, or point to another object and hope the clouds don't get to it before you. Summary of objects we saw during the 2 days, other than the normal few orion neb, saturn, mars, jupiter m37, m51, ring neb blah blah, we saw flame neb, horsehead neb?! (averted vision), trifid, lagoon neb, whale neb, ghost of jupiter, leo triplet, owl neb, ngc 2169, some galaxies from virgo and coma bernices' cluster of galaxies (8 galaxies within a FOV, but saw 4 of them before the clouds came to cover the other 4) Markarian chain, and some other esoteric ones from jiahao's hershel 400 book, like 2 galaxies in a line, a lenticular galaxy and a round galaxy within the same FOV, antenna galaxy, etc etc. don't ask me their hershel numbers. was greatly fun. I think i'm getting hooked at looking at those fuzzy patches of galaxies. I was also the only shortsighted person without spects there, cos I lost my spects 2 weeks ago, so I had to make-do with binos, but on the second night I think my eyes were better adapted, could see basically quite a lot of what the rest of the people could see too, just that stars look like circles instead of points, and can't see some of the fainter objects. I also loved the milky way!! woohoo!! summer milky way rox!!! so big!
Mooey's p8 was rendered rather useless cos of the strong winds, which can blow the scope to the ground if you don't hold it, and so it just lay on the chair for the rest of the night for the first night (I think), and i'm not sure if it was used during the 2nd night.
Other things that happened during ob was the large amount of traffic at night where a lot of people came (klutz included) for a while and left, which I didn't expect, during the time they were around I showed them some of the objects in the sky thru the dob. And it seems that everyone else other than us who had scopes were either sleeping or taking astrophotos, so as one of the few visual obbers around, those without scopes hung around us periodically, so I just tried showing them whatever the skies permitted.
Ok that's about all for my so-called short report. Gotta continue with studying :O
