astrophotography

Below are a few weather links that may be of some use to other astronomers. I've listed them in the way that I use them ahead of a decision on whether to travel north from Melbourne for a night of astrophotography. I have no formal qualifications in this area (although I am the son of a meteorologist). This may be most relevant for other's in the south-east but the links should be useful in most areas of Australia.

BoM = Australian Bureau of Meteorology
GFS = US Numerical Model
All times quoted are AEST (UT +10)

2-4 Days Ahead

Thanks to the generosity of Leon Mow, the Astronomical Society of Victoria (Australia) has a dark sky site near Heathcote, Victoria. This is a great site for observing and astrophotography, not the least for the good company which helps to keep you motivated through a long night and the beds in the shed which aid recovery from the 'Heathcote Hangover'.

The Aberdeen Astronomical Society (AAS) in Scotland has a dark sky site on Forestry Commission land around 20 miles west of Aberdeen. Just hope the weather co-operates!

If you've ever wondered whether it's possible to use a Meade CCD or SBIG ST4 autoguider with a Celestron mount...it is: here is a document that describes my experience at working out how, seeing as no one at Meade or Celestron or on the newsgroups could tell me at the time, although that was in 1998.

Click on the image for a larger version (80kB)

6in f10 Intes Maksutov
Focal Length 1500mm
Minolta SRT-101
Fuji Superia 400
Exposures 1 second to 30 seconds

Scotland Aberdeen Astronomical Society

Australia Astronomical Society of Victoria

International Dark Sky Association: Everybody should join!

WeatherZone: Is it Cloudy in Victoria now?