智利觀星?

[David]

Although Australia is supposed to be more sunny in their winter months, last month I only had one perfect night during our 3-day stay in Coonabarabran where the amount of sunshine should be one of the best in the country or they won't build big scopes there.

I have just been reading the October 2011 issue of Sky and Telescope about an astronomy tour at San Pedro de Atacama, Chile:
http://www.spaceobs.com/en/stay.php

This place not only has very dry weather (except in their summer months) but has great scenery for those who like photography and nature. So even in the worst case of poor weather, it should still be a great holiday.

[社長]

Dob 16到後我會想想如何改裝，最好可以手提上機，那去哪裡都可以了。

問題是現在Skywatcher又說會研製Dob 20，蜂巢式鏡材會比Dob 14還要輕一半，好像停不下來。

[社長]

看這裡，不是很直接能夠前往：

http://ftp.sbig.com/ah/ParanalVisit.htm

我有個想法，我們Astrocafers可以西藏為第一基地，因為我有天文台、住宿等配套，大鏡及赤道儀都齊備，大家帶目鏡及相機便可成行。而在南半球則選一塊觀測點，但仍以澳洲為首選。我相信智利的海拔及晴天率比澳洲好得多，但論行程需時、語言、治安、生活配套及開支等，去一次智利等同幾次澳洲了。坦白說，反正目視的望遠鏡不是那麼貴，赤道儀也是數千元，我又有夥伴在那邊，貨運等都不是問題。不如就置一台Dob 16及三兩台HEQ5 Pro在那面，日後出發則帶目鏡及相機便可以。

若你要到極地觀星，我找時間帶你去一次阿里，體驗一下5100海拔的星空吧。

[David]

I've been reading some travel books today. Although Chile is remote and much more expensive compared with Australia, there are plenty of scenic places to go to as well during daytime (e.g. Salt lake, a crater, geysers, lunar valley and death valley). There are also a few observatories nearby. All these daytime activities can easily kill one week if we do them leisurely (like one per day).

I also suggest we have a second stop at Easter Island for a couple of days to see those famous rocks as well as a big crater. If we are really dedicated, we can have a third stop to see glacier at southern Chile. This part is completely non-astronomical but, hey, it is a once in a lifetime thing whereas Australian trips can be done more regularly as you said.If you are thinking about having a big dobs somewhere in Southern Hemisphere, of course Chile is not the place.

So I am thinking of Chile mostly because of all the scenic places, plus a bit of visit to observatories, and finally almost certain sunny weather. But of course we need 3-4 people going to make this happen. The moon age is suitable in July 2012 after the HKDSE exam release. May be some of the astrocafers would be interested?

Speaking of weather, even in Coonabarabran, we only had 1 perfect night out of 3, and frankly there isn't much to do during daytime. If I have poor weather there next time, I'd be extremely bored. For Australia, I'll consider Perth or Alice Spring next time as I always consider other tourist attractions (which mainly mean scenic areas for me) to be as important as stargazing.

Willis and Xiaoer probably appreciate the importance of other tourist attraction and sunny weather after their Tibet trip in July.

[David]

There are some reviews of the Atacama Lodge here (as recommended by Sky & Telescope), which seem rather positive in general. We can just stay here for a week.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserRevi ... acama.html

Reviews of the company who arranges the tours. The observation site is just 15 min from the town centre.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_R ... acama.html

[社長]

若只是去一次的話，我是很有興趣的，我明年夏天要到三藩市出席國際天文館會議，所以順道南下也無妨。

我本身不愛跑來跑去，到廣州一次已覺得很累，但若要去的話就一次過吧，正如我08年歐亞美三地跑了一個月，都是天文會議、考察等，都花了一台175APO的錢了。談及那邊，我也很有興趣去去古巴，褔克蘭群島，阿根庭南陲，我也有好幾位朋友到過南極洲了。

智利是我很有興趣到的地方，數年前買了一本叫 Book Sudamerica - Hoteles de Argentina, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, 介紹了很多南美洲的特色酒店。

你看這張照片，是否應該把Dob 16的主鏡拿出來改一下，成為一台可手提上機的望遠鏡? 我相信在那些極地觀星，有一台400口徑的反射鏡應足夠震撼了。

download/file.php?id=4835

[David]

看這裡，不是很直接能夠前往：
http://ftp.sbig.com/ah/ParanalVisit.htm

Yes, this is the observatory that we'll probably go to if we really do it. And this quote represents what I saw in Australia also:

"How dark was the sky? To my Southern California eye, the Sagittarius region of the Milky Way was so bright I kept thinking it was an isolated fog cloud floating in from the ocean over the strip mall a mile from my house – unnaturally bright."

[社長]

雖然在西藏阿里期間，我一直發現"大氣減光"幾乎不存在，因為月亮在地平線上出現，已是螢亮銀白光，直望有點剌眼的，老人星過中天時也不超過地面5度，但仍展現其僅次於天狼星第二亮的恆星，白天可以看到數百公里外的雪山....

但我仍懷疑，北緯30度看銀河核心，是否仍不夠南半球最理想的地點壯觀?

[David]

但我仍懷疑，北緯30度看銀河核心，是否仍不夠南半球最理想的地點壯觀?

Well, the point is not the milky way, but to watch treasures like the Magellanic Clouds, the Carina Nebulas, etc.

[kong]

i look forward to be able to visit 社长's observatory in Tibet...

[社長]

i look forward to be able to visit 社长's observatory in Tibet...

若一切順利，我10月下旬會到西藏組裝天文台，並可以開光啟用出品第一張照片。

現在已有不同團體及友人表示興趣，希望明年可以逐一成行。

馬來西亞方面應該會請Dr Chong統籌的。

[社長]

但我仍懷疑，北緯30度看銀河核心，是否仍不夠南半球最理想的地點壯觀?

Well, the point is not the milky way, but to watch treasures like the Magellanic Clouds, the Carina Nebulas, etc.

那你看我們應該搞一台可攜的Dob 16?

[David]

那你看我們應該搞一台可攜的Dob 16?

Actually, the Chilean lodge has dobs for rent. So there is no need to bring big dobs. You just need to bring the small scopes for photography and mounts. From their website:

"We can rent some dobsonian telescopes, either a 45cm or 33cm which we can place near to your lodge. These telescopes are equipped with Nagler and Ethos eyepieces."

[社長]

你看應該是否先組織一次西藏觀星，然後才向南美進發? 至少我的觀測站設備都齊全了。

今天Willis已跟我約定復活節假期想去一次。

[David]

你看應該是否先組織一次西藏觀星，然後才向南美進發? 至少我的觀測站設備都齊全了。

今天Willis已跟我約定復活節假期想去一次。

Sure, if the moon age matches.

[Nebulas]

David 真的很能跑，长途跋涉的话，安全还是第一考虑了，不知道智利的情况如何.

现在国内频繁也是出现交通事故，我身边的朋友最近也是发生过类似事故。

[willis]

Sure, if the moon age matches.

Just checked! The moon phases doesn't match!

[社長]

沒問題的，在接近真空狀態，繁星與明月可以共存

[David]

Only the coming Christmas holiday and next summer will you get very good matching.

[社長]

I will be busy imaging with my Tibet observatory this Christmas holiday - from my desktop computer at Hong Kong, at the same time milking Miss Liang