Quick Report from Australia

I am currently down in Melbourne, Australia, back home and visiting family. Tonight, we've had the first mostly clear night since we got here. Even though the moon was up, we took Dad's 10" dobsonian out into his back yard and did some sightseeing. Omega Centauri was still quite nice despite the moonlight - very bright and well resolved when using his 19mm panoptic. We also checked out the Jewel Box and Alpha Centauri as well, and both were brilliant.

We also tried out some photography. I taught Dad how to take some wide angle star trail shots using 30 second exposures and the freeware Startrails program. His first attempt was decent! I took several exposures of the Southern Cross, and will process them when I get home.

So, a bit of astro fun while down here on holiday. I'll try and get out agin if weather permits. Otherwise, just chilling and enjoying some old Aussie food and friends.