On 21 Jun 2005 06:56:09 -0400, "Nick Roux"
wrote:
>
>
>I was up in Mpumalanga this long weekend at a small lodge called Malapo
>(www.malapo.co.za)
>
>They have a 14 inch telescope set up in an open boma. Guest are allowed
>to view directly thru the 'scope.
>
>Saturn had enough detail so one could see the cassini gap in the rings.
>
>I did not manage to see the spot on Jupiter (I think out timing was
>wrong and the spot was on the far side of Jupiter during our viewings),
>but the bands as well as four of it's moons were clearly visible.
>
>We tried our luck and trained the scope on Neptune. I was quite amazed
>that we were able to resolve the disk and it was clearly blue in color.
>
>As war as deep space object go, M57 (The Ring Nebula) was brilliant.
>
>It was damn cold outside at night, but they did supply blankets and
>beanies to all the guests and there was an urn and coffee/tea available.
>My sailing jacket kept most of my body warm, but next time I go there I
>will make sure and take some warmer pants. Demins arn't all that good
>at keeping the chill out.
>
>Well worth the trip, I'll be going back there.
Wow, sounds cool. The best stargazing I've ever done was on Rarotonga,
Cook Islands. It is so far from any interfering light sources that I
could see literally millions of stars (no scope either).
So, whereabouts is Mpumalanga?
TIA.
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