MKAS in Norfolk 21st – 24th November 2008

The Observing Officer gives his observations on the recent Astro Weekend in Norfolk.

It had been planned for many months but was finally executed thanks especially to Tony Cronin for organising the event. 

I picked Graham Curtis our chairman up on the morning of the 21st at 10.45am. Packing his 16inch  Newtonian with it’s dobsonian mount in my Fiesta was challenging. Bill Galloway kindly took Graham’s other luggage as there was hardly room to squeeze a mouse in my car after my stuff (a small case and bag) were added. 

We travelled using Grahams Sat Nav and my good old fashion map via the A2, the Dartford Tunnel, the M25 and the M11 where we stopped at B Stortford services for a bite to eat. The A11 and A14 were shut due to an accident so we took the A134 via Thetford, Downham Market, both pretty Norfolk towns and Kings Lynn where we picked up the A148. We did not deviate after that until Holt, another small town where we met up with Tony, Anthony Monks and Bill. From there Tony led the way. Our destination the Kelling Heath holiday camp (Norfolk) was about 20 minutes drive from Holt. Up near the northern coast we hoped for dark skies.  We arrived around 4.15pm as it was getting dusk. Naz Rajan and Mike Potter were already there and greeted us at their caravan, a static 4 berth measuring 35feet by 12 feet. Anthony, Tony and Bill shared a similar caravan as did Graham and myself. Fortunately they were heated which was as well as you’ll see. 

From the observation site

It is easy to have preconceived ideas. We’d envisaged our caravans in a wide open space where we could erect telescopes just outside. We didn’t bargain on being in the middle of a forest with tall pine trees blocking out every vestige of sky.  I say the entire sky, at the zenith, there were a few full moon sized gaps discernable with an effort. This was unsatisfactory to put it mildly but at that moment there were more pressing matters.  Stomachs were rumbling so after unpacking we did the 5 minute walk to the pub restaurant. It was now after 6pm. The food was good and we made plans. By the time we left over an hour later it was very dark. The shop and other facilities away from the trees were lit up but in the woods you needed torches as it was pitch black. Needless to say it was completely overcast so we all repaired to Naz’s caravan to watch a DVD. No Way Out starring Kevin Costner and Rachel Brook. Naz provided drinks and popcorn, and was the perfect host. When we retired for the night it was still cloudy, indeed the weather forecast for all our three nights was wall to wall cloud.  Nevertheless we remained optimistic. Graham and I heard strange noises on our roof and while the odd pinecone made it’s presence known, this was different. I opened the door and in the light of the window I saw an animal,  in size between a dog and a cat darting away  At around 11.30pm Graham and I had one last look outside through the trees…. It was clear!! Quickly donning our observing gear (it was cold and windy outside) we grabbed our binoculars and stumbled by torchlight down a muddy uneven path in inky blackness until we reached a wider pathway. From here much more of the sky could be seen but the darkness and clarity beat anything I’ve seen in the UK. In the broad strip of sky visible overhead between the trees, the Milky Way meandered across like a long luminescent cloud. M31 the spiral galaxy in Andromeda was an easy naked eye object looking like an upright cigar shaped glow. It’s a bit more than a binocular field to the right of the mag +2.1 star Beta Andromeda (Mirach). In Graham’s stabs (18x 50’s) it’s length occupied the whole field. The Double Cluster in Perseus was also easily seen with unaided vision and in my Meade 10x50 binoculars, M33 (the pinwheel galaxy in triangulum) was very obvious the same distance from Mirach as M31 but to the left, resembling an upright postcard shaped glow with it’s corners rounded. Finding somewhere we could at least see some sky, we set back to call the others but now the clouds rolled in. It was also after midnight. We returned to our caravan happy we’d seen something.  

There'll be a gap in the clouds, anytime now....

The next morning (Saturday the 22nd) it was colder and windier but we wanted to establish where we could enjoy an all round view of the sky. I purchased some basic provisions from the camp shop while Graham cooked breakfast. After that we met up with the others to explore our immediate locality. By now it was blowing a gale and then it rained.  I should say hailed. At the end of the path Graham and I discovered last night, it was much more open. It was also far more exposed. The rice size bits of hail in that fierce wind blasted our faces like bullets. What we astronomers endure, it was positively arctic.  My suggestion we travelled to Northern Finland next December met a lukewarm response. Although wild and windswept we had discovered a suitable observation point.  That afternoon we watched another DVD,  Bill’s Sci Fi thriller ‘The Sun’ which was cooling down and around 7pm we all made for the pub restaurant.  During our meal we were roped into a quiz bingo competition. MKAS verses two other teams and we won!! Will MKAS be remembered there for evermore?? The sky was clearing with patchy cloud so Tony drove to our observation point to set up his 8 inch scope.  Unlike Tony’s telescope, Graham’s 16 inch was much more complex and time consuming to assemble and was far more difficult to unpack in pitch darkness from my car. Cloud threatened at every moment so we contented ourselves with binoculars, a wise decision as it turned out.  Everything I’ve described about the sky applied here but more so. The wind had eased off, providence was kind to us. The Milky Way stretched right across the sky and I can honestly say I’ve seen nothing as good as this in the UK. Again M31 was an easy naked eye object as was the Double Cluster. M33 was easy in my 10x 50’s and I could also see M81 and M82 in Ursa Major. In Graham’s stabs the two galaxies were easy. M81 resembled a small misty spot while M82 in the same field is a tiny thin bar.  Despite it’s low altitude I saw M51, (the whirlpool galaxy) unmistakably in Graham’s stabs as a small fuzzy patch. But the goal for both of us was Cygnus. To the left of the mag +2.5 epsilon Cygni lies the veil nebula, a supernova remnant. From Canterbury we’ve seen this with the 16 inch dobsonian using an Oxygen three filter but now we could see it with no filter in Graham’s stabs resembling a dim upside down horseshoe about half a binocular field across.  The clouds which till now had held back rolled in with a vengeance. We just managed to marvel at M42 the Orion Nebula in Tony’s telescope before our observing session was terminated. 

ASTRONOMER TRIES TO DEFLECT INCOMING UFO'S

The next morning (Sunday 23rd November) was cold and overcast. Graham wanted to have a swim in the indoor pool. He’s much better than me but even I managed a few lengths. We got there about 9.30am and though the window we saw it snowing heavily as well as blowing a gale. We sampled the steam room and the Sauna as well as the Jacuzzi so by the time we left after nearly two hours I at least wanted something more than cornflakes for breakfast. We trudged ankle deep in snow back to our caravan and found that Medway had had nothing like that. This afternoon was fine so everyone headed to our observing place for Bill to take a picture. The Sun was shining and the sea was visible in the distance. Our camp appeared to be over a hundred feet above sea level. With all that snow, more than I’ve seen in the UK for many years, the child resurfaced in all of us. There was some snowball fighting.  Graham made a boulder sized snowball outside our caravan covered with pine needles. We finished the day with a meal in our restaurant but tonight the sky didn’t clear. We were all a bit sad but we knew it could have been worse. Bill drove back home that evening and by 10am the next morning (Monday 23rd) the rest of us had packed and loaded up. After clearing a mass of pine needles off my car we set off home. Fortunately the snow had melted (Graham’s boulder snowball was still intact.) The A11 and A14 were all right now.  Graham and I stopped for lunch at the M11 services again and apart from queuing on the M25 in traffic heading for Lakeside, we had a trouble free drive. I got back to Grahams about 3pm. Everyone else got home ok and we all agreed the trip was a success.

Anyone for a dip before lunch?