Reading AS official world tour.

NZ pictures

2010-09-05T16:28:00.001+01:00

David sent four pics from local sources....

One last thing after the NZ earthquake.

2010-09-05T12:10:00.007+01:00

Gerry Bond wrote:

Are you two OK? Any damage to the house? Our ChCh motel is taking bookings so I presume they are OK.
Gerry

Hi Gerry
No damage here although the house was shaking quite considerably for around 1 minute. That was the largest earthquake I've felt since being here. There was a big one off the south west coast a couple of years ago (M8?) but it felt nothing like this one. They say it was only 5km deep. It did knock a couple of things over in the garage and the lights and doors were swinging like mad. Being 250km away we certainly felt it but luckily that's all we got. Christchurch itself is in a total mess with over 500 buildings destroyed, mainly older heritage buildings and brick buildings. Lots of video on http://tvnz.co.nz/news-video

More than 60 aftershocks so far.
David

Back home - debrief.

2010-08-20T17:06:00.004+01:00

Back home and a few pounds heavier and a few £s lighter.
Here's a list of all who made it a good time.

The check-in staff at Qantas who moved us and others to Singapore Airlines after a volcanic cancellation.
The coffee shop below the Peninsula Hotel in Singapore which was good for breakfast and a cool-off. They waived the bill on our last day! Very friendly people.
Laraine and Mike in Perth. All the best - Laraine don't stop laughing!
Keith at BTOW (Binocular Telescope & Optical World) in Perth who refused to sell new binos in favour of forcing the left ocular of my old ones back into the socket.
Herbert Hoover (deceased) whose old home put the willies up us at bedtime.
Fraser Ranges sheep station, nr Norseman. I will spend longer there next time. Moonless nights are fabulous.
Laurie and Cheryl and family in Ceduna: laid-back people in a laid-back town in a laid-back landscape.
The ex-Greek guy who runs the cafe on the front at Whyalla. This is a steel-making town but it resembles Scunthorpe in no way whatsoever!
Peter and Vicki in Port Augusta and the waiter in The Standpipe restaurant who looks like Roger Federer.
David and Barb in South Island who are enjoying their lovely location on few resources. Good luck to you both.
All at Explorers' Tours http://www.explorerseclipse.co.uk/ who pulled off the near impossible task of re-arranging when a hotel closed down near to the last minute. Very well done all.
Bob Gray of the Sproud Ranch for the 4x4 drive in the Texas countryside and getting my bag back to me after the rain washed over the road too deep for our Hyundai.
The U.S. Customs and Border Protection doing their job.
All the staff in all the businesses of N America who ask, "How are you guys today". Honestly 'you folks', it sounds tedious and repetitive and gives one the urge to walk right out of the place.
David and Doreen who have truly unlimited dedication to their family. And deserve the best cottage in Muskoka.
Finally Will and Angela who kept the house intact while we were away!

All the best to you all.

Gerry and Sue

The negative list....

The large blond cabin attendant on Jetstar no-frills airline who did a good impression of the Julie Hagerty part in Airplane! the movie. Her style of ripping off a credit card slip would waken the dead.
New Zealand Railways who seriously overcharge foreigners for no good reason.
The restaurant manager at the Plaza Resort Tahiti who complained about too many customers being a problem!
The 'very important' guy in the lounge at Toronto airport who plugged his mobile phone into the wall behind my left knee without saying a word, then called me an asshole for telling him to take it away when it rang. I suppose office furniture doesn't usually speak.

I got a Perseid!!

2010-08-16T21:53:00.005+01:00

13 Aug 2010 about 2359 local time.
From Muskoka Lakes area of Ontario. 30sec at f5.6/Canon400D on 1600ISO (unadjusted or photoshopped).
Our view was restricted by trees but extrapolating for the wole sky we easily acheived 150/hour.
At least half left trails for a fraction of a second after. Nearly all the trails had a greenish tint. The one in the image gives a good impression and one can see the colour change fron green to orange during the descent. This one had a considerable radial velocity towards the camera, being close to the radiant.
The trail ends just below Algol. M34 is visible above and the Pleiades at edge bottom right.

Last night (15th) we were treated to thunderstorms in the area.....

The orange light on the lake is public lighting for the boat dock.

Canadian History

2010-08-11T16:50:00.002+01:00

I have just been delving into Wikipedia's history of Canada (and Louis Riel for the sake of balance) in view of finding this banner hanging in a cafe....

If you zoom in and look carefully you can read the mottos* above and below the famous image of King Billy.
Suffice to say the passion has died since 1945. I'll say no more, but feel free to Google the subject.

*If you do not like this plural, replace with 'motti'.

Torrance Barrens

2010-08-10T15:28:00.000+01:00

Three new blogs today after a break. This one needs no text, you will need to zoom in.....

Humming birds of Ontario

2010-08-10T15:20:00.000+01:00

I have better pictures of these birds but this is the best one taken in flight. Taken through glass the feeder is hanging outside our friends weekend cottage. A more difficult shot would of them be feeding the young, which I saw them do in flight. Why an animal succeeds in such a difficult evolutionary niche is beyond my explanation...

They migtrate for the winter. Everyting here will be frozen solid for weeks.

It's official - laser pointers are A-OK

2010-08-10T15:09:00.000+01:00

I pack all my astronomy gear in a separate hard case. Cameras, tripod and clock drive and binoculars together with a mains block for UK plugs clearly marked 'astronomer' (after working in the lodge in Africa). This time it was all protected by - I will not spare you the details - dirty washing packed into the free spaces. On opening in Toronto I found this note lying on top of the stuff. Beside it was my 5mw green laser pointer which had been carefully extracted from where it was situated and left out on top.

1. It was the pointer that had triggered them to look in the bag and perhaps mixed with astronomy gear it did not give rise to concern, hence the title of this blog. Nothing else was disturbed.

2. The case was locked with a combination. When I found it the numbers were 000, I use a different set.

3. The case was not damaged and 000 still keeps the case locked. My combo still works.

It's a funny old world!

Says it all really

2010-08-01T23:40:00.001+01:00

Here's some things that strike this foreigner as odd about drinking and eating in the US; and they are not what you might expect. All the staff show great enthusiasm and loyalty but the result reminds me of a 1950's BR caff.

1. Inebriated customer handles ice-cream cones in waiters' storage jar, takes one, and attempts to get a squirt out of the ice-cream machine long after it was switched off.

2. Barman starts washing the floor with mop while customers are still drinking. There was the mandatory slippery floor sign to go with it.

3. In a 'posh-ish' restaurant a waiter gets on hands and knees with dustpan and brush to remove crumbs and debris from under a table. This was made hilarious by the sight of his bum and the bow of his apron being the only bit to be seen.

4. Portions are usually too big, but never mind, doggy-boxes are readily available. In fact they look at you a bit funny if you do not want to take the uneaten bits home. This is not in a fast-food joint; this is a decent looking restaurant.

5. If you ask for wine they assume you only want a glass.

6. In the world's most famous beef raising area the local recipes decree that it is sliced and bashed and battered to oblivion before serving. Real steaks cost the same as London.

7. When you order more than one course you have to make it clear that you do not want it all at once!

[I apologize to all the places where we have eaten that do not do all the above]

Here are four views of a beer glass (DWI means driving while intoxicated)....

Bon appetit!

A little link back to the Pacific

2010-07-27T00:10:00.001+01:00

In contrast to the humorous vein of this blog I regard this item as serious. For the millions which people in the UK spend on restoring stately homes and such like, recent much more important artefacts are allowed to disappear. However in the USA there are wealthy dedicated people who keep things like this in working order....

Now known as the Commemorative Air Force based in Midland, Texas I got the privilege of sitting in the commander's seat of this B29 for a small donation.

The Alamo

2010-07-26T23:52:00.000+01:00

The Alamo redoute is now surrounded by buildings catering for tourists and a lot of it is extremely tacky. The Daughters of the Republic of Texas do a good job keeping the standards within the site.

I can't help but notice that although Santa Anna was eventually repulsed and the war won, Mexican is the dominant culture here....

Antonio López de Santa Anna himself would be proud of the security man ushering the Gringos.

In the Heat of the Night - actually daytime.

2010-07-26T23:22:00.001+01:00

We drive from Fort Davis to San Antonio. On the interstate the food is all chain restaurants and the road is plastered with billboards so we take Route 90 which happens to pass close to the Mexican border at Del Rio. This is through really beautiful country which passes through green mountains and parts which are as flat and deserted as the Nullarbor. There are very small towns with homely cafes which sell genuine food, untainted by the franchise system which destroys all taste and goodness. Along the road we come to a checkpoint where the border patrol are looking for illegals. Sue is driving so we breeze up to the young guy at the stop line. She winds down the window and blighthly announces "We're English!".

"Can I see you passports?"
"They're in the boot".
"They're in the WHAT?".
"Sorry I think you call it the trunk".
"Pull over there marm".
I get out the passports and hand them to one of the now 5 or 6 guys who have surrounded us. They are passed from hand to hand and each page gets a thorough study from each one.
"You travel a lot".
"We're Europeans, it's what we do".
Looking at me "Your passport's not stamped, When did you arrive?".
"18 July in Dallas". I forgot we cleared immo in LA; that was a cause of confusion. But they are right the immo officer stamped Sue's passport but not mine. Not my problem, I point out.
"Just put the numbers into your computer and you will see where we arrived and when".
One of them disappears into the office with our passports.
No point in being other than light-hearted. Conversation continues with the rest of them.
"Where did you come from into the USA?"
"Tahiti".
"Haiti?".
"No TA-HI-TI! The country is French Polynesia."
By now I realise they have seen our Libyan visas - hand written in Arabic - in the passports. This might be a long stop.
"Where are you going now?"
"The GPS is set for Holiday Inn, San Antonio but we don't have a reservation".

You remember 'In the Heat of the Night' when Steiger wants to find out where Poitier gets his money.

"What do you do?"
"Nothing I am retired".
"What did you do before that? You was a professor or something?" [priceless!]
"I was an air traffic controller".
[Silence]
"Work for the government for 44 years and you can have a pension like mine".

Not the brightest thing I ever said, but they see the point.
Guy comes back with passports and announces we can go. We are leggit!
We say goodbye, "Maybe your detention centre would be more comfortable than the Holiday Inn Express?" "No sir, we have Mexican Mafia in there". Well I am in the hotel now and I am not so sure that's a big difference....

All the while we were watching the line of traffic building up and one guy at the checkpoint waving through all types of vehicles. Documents were only getting a cursory check. He was accompanied by what we thought was a highly-trained sniffer dog. Highly-trained that is, until the dog smells another dog in one of the cars and goes berserk!

We set off down the road impressed by how young they all were.

Crossing the Pecos....

Texan scenery....

A 4-wheel-drive safari in Texas

2010-07-25T04:14:00.001+01:00

With many thanks to Bob who drove the Jeep we had a fascinating 3 hours driving in and out of the canyons of the Sproul Ranch. Now dedicated to tourism and very effective way of placing this region into context. As Europeans it is facile to derive amusement from the fact that US history starts when most of ours ends (OK. '1066 and all that' was a joke book) but the early pioneers did suffer extreme hardship and to be a member of such a family must be a burden to live up to. As a child I read about the Donner Party - a emigrant wagon train group which had to winter in the Rockies and ended up eating each other - but this country has founding stories of biblical texture and some folks here are trying to live up to it.

Anyway here's some photos of the ranch. The green hills are not typical, we are getting more rain than anyone in Texas can reasonably expect.

Zoom well in to see the road-runner.

Bob, Thanks for a good tour.

BTW we ate tonight at the only place in Jeff Davis County allowed to sell alcohol! Talking to visitors from Houston we asked where we should visit next and there reply was San Antonio so tomorrow we are off to the Alomo and the Davy Crockett story.

Hobby-Eberly Telescope

2010-07-24T01:59:00.000+01:00

Today we got back to astronomy by booking into a hotel in Fort Davis, Texas. A very small town in the Davis Mountains of W Texas. Nearby at 7,000 ft elevation is the Mcdonald Observatory. The drive up is interesting but a wave of thunderstorms is going through the area at the moment. While inside the dome of the 108in telescope it was struck by lightning. No-one flinched; I think we expected it.

It is the home of the Hobby-Eberly Telescope which is unique in the field of telescope design for its size and utility as a spectroscope. I managed to get a picture of the 91-segment 9.2-metre mirror. The light was not good but the mirror is evident because you can see the roof trusses reflected and distorted in the lower part of the image...

The view from the mountain is good too, when the weather co-operates...

Typical day circumnavigating the world

2010-07-21T01:41:00.000+01:00

Yesterday went to Asda (or Walmart as they are known here). Bought a 30 dollar kettle to manage the teabags we nicked from the hotel as we are now in territory that drinks carfffeee.

By the way it's getting tedious but here we get detained by everybody. "Love your accent, could talk to you all day!". I try to explain that I am not related to Bob Hoskins.

Today we did Dallas and ticked the box marked 'Kennedy'. The sixth floor of the book depository is an exhibition that just stops short of being macabre. Salutary to drive down the same road and stand near the corner by the window where Oswald did the deed.

Later on had to replace broken sandals, then got three Chinese polo shirts for $19.95. Would you believe a two minute drive from one end of the car-park to the other? I'm not walking in 40degs! Lookup 'Irving Mall' on google maps and you get the idea.

Ah well! laundry done off to Houston tomorrow.

Tahiti to Dallas

2010-07-21T01:19:00.000+01:00

Air Tahiti paint the aeroplanes in two tones of blue that parfectly match the sea within the reefs of the islands....

Here's the original colours....

Baby on board

2010-07-19T00:07:00.001+01:00

A small guest took up residence in our car on Tahiti. I wonder if it is still there...

Gordon the Gecko.

While driving around Moorea (a really lush beautiful place) we stopped and watched this crab scouring the beach for sraps....

Eclipse pictures

2010-07-14T22:10:00.000+01:00

This is my best mid-eclipse image....

A patch of thin cloud passed over the sun/moon about half way through and I must say it made an artistic improvement....

The blobs and streaks are just camera artefacts caused by pointing the camera at the sun.

Destination Hao

2010-07-14T21:37:00.000+01:00

We fly to Hao in the Tuamotu archipelago. Flying at low level the flight takes two hours and on the way you pass over a couple of other atolls. Of course the flight is full of amateur astronomers with cameras....

I notice the right aileron droop as the pilot struggled to keep the wings level as the cargo shifted.

Actually as we passed over some atolls on the return journey we got better pictures.

Eclipse preparations

2010-07-10T10:32:00.000+01:00

Just taking advantage of this temporary hotel having a good ethernet in the room but we are sorry for the 5-day hiatus in blogging. We have had a hectic time keeping up with the changes of hotel and logistical business. The travel company had booked our entire stay in the Hilton Hotel in Papeete but it closed for commercial reasons at the end of March. So we have not been able to have continuous occupancy of the replacement. Most luggage has been left in lock-up in Tahiti and we take a limited amount for our camping two days on Hao, Tuamotu. ATR turbo-prop flight, will take a while. Weather looks good; fingers crossed. Will get some pictures on the flight to and from Hao (1,000 kms of sea mainly).

Great to be able to practice the French but the Polynesian language looks to be a real challenge. It puts the achievements of Cook et al in the 18th century in perspective. Negotiating and conferring with the local people without the benefit of a common culture or even an agent who could translate seems to my mind an impossibility but they did it - not without a few misunderstandings though.

Pictures coming soon!

Christchurch to Picton

2010-07-05T12:51:00.000+01:00

There are two scenic train journeys on S Island. We did a day return Christchurch to Greymouth across the Southern Alps but the snow was on the upper levels of the hills not down in the valley with the train. But this picture of the stop at Kaikoura on the way north to catch the ferry is the best of all....

There is almost no part of the trip when you cannot see the snow-covered peaks.

The Pleiades and Maori lore

2010-07-05T12:33:00.000+01:00

We were too late for the planetarium show at the Wellington observatory but we had time to browse the books and I came across a children's book on Maori lore. In a nutshell the Maori have a lunar calendar and the new year starts on the first new moon after the heliacal rising of the Pleiades. This is from Wikipedia....

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars known as the Pleiades. When it rises in the north-eastern skies in late May or early June, it signals to Māori that the New Year will begin. In one tradition, Matariki is the mother surrounded by her six daughters, Tupu-a-nuku, Tupu-a-rangi, Waitī, Waitā, Waipuna-a-rangi and Ururangi.

Interesting parallel with ancient Egypt in that they used a southern star, Sirius, to do the same job. The Maori use a northern asterism to do the same job. This is not difficult to rationalise, each culture has picked a feature that is not circumpolar. To do otherwise would not give a heliacal rising date in such an obvious way. There is an astronomy talk in there some where.

The modern observatory is in the same mold as Greenwich or Dunsink. Observations were kept to maintain clocks for sailors using the harbour. Note the slit and upper hatchway in this picture which was for the use of the transit telescope. It was repeated on the north side of the building so a complete hour-angle could be seen at one go.

Sorry to all who are not familiar with the astronomy terms. Google can explain it all.

Cook Strait

2010-07-05T12:12:00.001+01:00

Cook Strait separates North and South Islands and is connected by ro-ro ferry. The first bit of the voyage is through narrow passages out to the open sea.

I thought the White Cliffs of Dover were pretty heart-warming to come home to, but this is a bit more picturesque. But the old country does reach out to you; look carefully at this....

The old name is still visible! The 'Pride of Cherbourg'!

I read a long time ago that re-naming a ship was unlucky. Actually it is a common marketing strategy. The history of the Kaitaki is fascinating.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MV_Kaitaki

We are officially homesick! There's a Belgian bar in Christchurch.

2010-07-02T08:23:00.002+01:00

Never thought about missing home until we saw this....

New Zealand green-lip mussels don't seem quite right and they are the biggest I ever ate, and they cut the head off the beer like Germans, but what the hell, nothing's perfect.

http://www.belgianbeercafe.net.nz/

We're in NEW ZEALAND

2010-06-30T08:24:00.002+01:00

Land of scraping the ice off the car in the morning and roaring log fires. Houses that would look normal in Surrey. And views like this....

This is what the phrase 'gin clear' means. CAVU; Ceiling and visibility unlimited as in this view....

Last stop in Oz - Bendigo

2010-06-24T14:35:00.001+01:00

We found a very nice wine merchants in this town, with a very nice restaurant attached.

http://www.winebankonview.com/

Most evocative of Australia

2010-06-21T09:18:00.000+01:00

This scene of eucalypts growing on the banks of the Murray at Mildura is my most evocative of Australia's natural landscape. You can photograph miles of empty road and desert but it is the proximity of water and trees which reminds you of the important elements for life.

Honey Eater

2010-06-18T10:09:00.000+01:00

Anyone know the proper name for this bird....

Moon and Venus

2010-06-17T09:19:00.004+01:00

Sunset a couple of nights ago gave a good view of the new moon and Venus.

Cloud in the west gave a hint of a sun-pillar....

Earthlight on the new moon -just the southern way round....

A day in the Flinders Ranges National Park

2010-06-17T07:50:00.004+01:00

Thanks to Peter and Vicki we could go with 4x4 driving through canyons of the national park. There is nothing like it anywhere for the quietness and ruggedness of the landscape accessible to a vehicle. But all the time one is conscious of the threat that the elements can be the master of the environment. Yesterday the canyons had quiet streams easily fordable, but the evidence of uprooted trees was all around. Some creeks were filled with saplings which will be washed away at the next flood which may be years away. Older trees at the edge of the streams had survived but at a cost of bearing a root system distorted into fantastic shapes as the tree had coped with successive uprootings over the years.

Pete's Mitsubishi Pajero....

And the inspiring scenery....

The locals only appear briefly before sunset....

Aussie railways in the Outback

2010-06-13T13:52:00.001+01:00

Aussie railways are an interesting study. The country is criss-crossed by systems based on the, often temporary, needs of the mining industry. We overtook a train of 129 mineral wagons running from Kalgoolie to Esperance last week. We stopped further up the line and filmed the train going by. Later we overtook them again, waved and got a siren-blast from the driver. Much laughter in the car and a bit of relief from boredom for the train crew I suppose. You have to understand that the roads here are rather empty and Toyota Camrys (Camries) are common but one-a-day is about average.

This train passes Laurie's house in Ceduna taking grain or gypsum to the loading jetty in Thevenard.

It is all done on 3ft 6in gauge so maybe Brunel was not so far sighted.

Sharks and humans

2010-06-12T14:53:00.001+01:00

Notice on the jetty at Port Lincoln....

....and this macabre paragraph from an old newspaper!

The shark net goes round part of the jetty at Pt Lincoln. People we spoke to said they can jump it.

I understand the local name for shark in the restaurants is 'flake'.

Ceduna

2010-06-09T03:26:00.000+01:00

We will soon be leaving Ceduna with thanks to Laurie and Cheryl and all their friends. They remember well the eclipse in 2002 and 'fraid to say I mentioned the eclipse in Nov 2012. I think there's going to be a convoy of caravans and campers driving up to Cairns for the event. I will have to go.

For aficionados of sunsets, this is a good one.

Australians like to take their cars to see the footie match. The cars show their appreciation by hooting at all the goals.

Fraser Ranges

2010-06-07T02:18:00.000+01:00

If you like sitting around a camp fire then staying at an outback sheep station is a good idea, but the best reason is the sky; make sure you can get away from its lights as Aussies never seem to regard the sky as a tourist resource.
Just look up at this....

From rough memory here's my list of objects in the picture....
Coal sack.
S Cross.
False cross.
Large and Small Magellanic Clouds
Tarantula Neb.
Omega Centauri.
Eta Carinae neb.
Southern Pleiades.

http://www.fraserrangestation.com.au/

A round Australia runner

2010-06-05T10:24:00.004+01:00

Just driving across the Nullarbor minding our own business and this pink vision appeared. The young lady is running round Australia for breast cancer. We had a chat and gave her a few dollars and you might like to as well.

http://www.runningpink.com.au/?articleID=502#

Australia is birders heaven

2010-05-31T14:38:00.001+01:00

I do not have a birding guide with me

so feel free to do the identifying for me :-)

Species No 1

No 2 is a diver....

If you zoom in you can see a fish escaping and

another wriggling at the end of the beak.

All these pictures taken from the jetty at Esperance WA. This jetty has a tameish sea-lion which hangs about the beach waiting for anglers to throw it fish.

A bit about W Australia mines

2010-05-31T14:16:00.002+01:00

When Herbert Hoover was a young man he was a brilliant mining engineer. He lived in this house....

overlooking this hole in the ground....

About a kilometre across and 300 metres deep.
BTW: The house was a very nice B&B

This is the Sons of Gwalia mine near Leonora WA but the most interesting thing is that it is no longer an open cut mine. At a certain level below the surface they have drilled into the rock face and are now spiralling down and along for kilometres underground.

Here's an entrance of another mine....

....in a similar situation. The truck is bigger than my house. At the big-pit in Kalgoorlie each load is 225 tonnes and carries $10,000 in refined gold after processing and from the viewing gallery one can see at least six of them climbing out of the hole all day long.

Road Train

2010-05-30T11:50:00.000+01:00

If the Road Hauliers Assoc' have their way we will get these on the IDR

A spot of Australian culture

2010-05-30T04:20:00.002+01:00

Here is a spot of Australian culture. If you want to know what a 'skimpy' is send me an email. skimpy@ryhill.net :-)

Mt Magnet - Leonora.

2010-05-29T15:35:00.002+01:00

May 28

Good roads these days and lots of stopping to photograph the wildlife. Mostly dead on the roadside but the crows are entertaining and the wedge-tailed eagles are magnificent. The lady in the library at Sandstone recommended a night staying in Herbert Hoover's house overlooking the Sons of Gwalia mine near Leonora. Herbert seems to have been a brilliant mining engineer who happened to become President of the USA. He had a nice bedroom but a little nippy in the morning. Gwalia has been a ghost town on and off over the years More about that next blog.

For the astronomers: it's full-moon but with the moon in the heart of Scorpius I could see all the main stars right sown to the pair at the sting, despite horrendous lighting at the adjacent gold-mine.

Here's a wedge-tail for the nature-lovers.

This one took off with an underslung load just after the camera clicked.

Perth-Mt Magnet.

2010-05-29T15:24:00.000+01:00

27 May

We got free of the rain and this morning (28th) is sunny. Drove last part in the dark as Payne's Find was not good accommodation and we decided to move on. Easy road though. Good meal in the bar last night. Four lamb chops per helpng - very unheathy. Met Jenny and daughter from Geraldton, just got rid of husband. Australians just love talking to strangers - don't come if you like your privacy.

The common cormorant or shag puts its head inside a paper bag. This one's looking after the boats at a W Australian marina.

2010-05-26T14:09:00.001+01:00

Binocular, Telescope and Optical World
I found this guy near Perth. I was prepared to fork out for new binos, but with a bit of heaving we unscrewed one of the oculars and rethreaded it and they are fine now, so Alun can put the screwdriver away. They will not resolve any stars in Omega Cen though. So thanks to Keith and regards to all at Astronomy Group West Australia.

And now if you want a picture here's a friendly wild parrot who wanted to show-off for the camera outside a typical Aussie teashop....

And for all those who don't believe what we tell them about the Earth's tilt these tree are losing their leaves in May....

Day 7 clear sky!

2010-05-25T02:14:00.001+01:00

Last night had the first clear sky since leaving Europe. I picked up the binos to see if A Cen could be resolved into a double and to found that they have a fault. I was seeing double. This pair I have not used for some time and only packed them for their size. So today I have to visit an optics store. I might send the faulty ones back to Alun H for screwdriver attention.

However they worked up to a point and I could show my friend Mike Omega Cen (The average Australian is not much bothered by the sky) and through the moonlight the 3 brightest stars of Crux were visible. Later on the seeing improved and all 5 were naked-eye.

For those who want a picture, here are some didjeridoos!
http://www.truebluegallery.com/

Lunar observation - equatorial mount!

2010-05-23T11:15:00.000+01:00

Clark Quay, Singapore; cheap food- expensive beer.

Sea level about to rise?

2010-05-23T04:03:00.000+01:00

Is this a ship on top of these buildings? Built in the last year if you know about this building leave a comment. Merlion Park, Singapore

Singapore a well ordered society

2010-05-19T10:43:00.000+01:00

Singapore a well ordered society? The clue is on the signs. A £500 fine for riding your bike in a subway. Come to think of it; not actually seen many bikes and mopeds.

2010-04-20T00:53:00.001+01:00

Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre
Will the volcano stop by May 17th and will we care on the 18th?
Recent map

2010-04-17T01:24:00.000+01:00

The atoll of Hao, French Polynesia will be

in the Moon's shadow on 11 July 2010

2010-04-16T23:53:00.000+01:00

Munich: A very nice brewery with an airport attached. The best bit of the holiday in China..