Southern Star Party at Bonnievale

Where does the time go? Three weeks since the star party and I still haven't put pen to paper. To give those who have never attended such an event an idea of what it's about, here is the lowdown:

1. You must be able to stay up all night.
2. You must be able to get up early to see the planets rise above the horizon before 5am (helps if you achieve 1).
3. You must not turn on a light or light up a phone screen or even a candle (!) or a torch after sunset, unless it has a red cover. This red cover must be so thick that if you turn on the torch in daylight it will not show a red mark on your hand. About 8 layers of cellophane should do it.
4. Once you have the red light in place, do not expect to be able to read anything with it.
5. Memorise all the star charts pertaining to the areas of the sky you will be looking at, because of 4.
6. Do not wear high heels. You will be moving between telescopes on a lawn in the dark.
7. Don't push to the front of the queue to look through the eyepiece. The object will still be visible (although in  different parts of the sky) for at least 6 hours.
8. You can go to the back of the queue for another look.
9. A flask of coffee or your favourite tipple (can result in seeing double the number of stars) and a big chocolate will go a long way to adding comfort to your viewing.
10. You will be in the company of some seriously intelligent people. A closed mouth gathers no foot.
11. Be prepared to be amazed and awed by the vastness of what is out there.
12. Don't worry if you can't remember the names of any of the stars or constellations. Just enjoy the view.
13. Do try to identify the planets. There are only a few to remember and you are already standing on one of them.

The event was tremendously enjoyable, the company scintillating and stimulating, the weather at night absolute perfection. Ready to do it again!

Still setting up telescopes - about 10

Entrance to s/c accomm Oppikoppie

Just beautiful