By Tony Surma-Hawes

The excitement rises each year as the Scorpion rides along the Milky Way across the meridian after sunset. Winter is here… And with winter come the long, cold, clear nights and the promise of Queensland Astrofest.

If you come from Southern Queensland, then you will have most likely have attended the Queensland Astrofest at some stage over the last 11 years. The week long camp is run by astronomical societies in Southeast Queensland, The Brisbane Astronomical Society (BAS), the Southern Astronomical Society (SAS), the South East Queensland Astronomical Society (SEQAS), the Astronomical Association of Queensland (AAQ), and the Amateur Telescope Makers of Queensland (ATMQ). This is one week when the tribe I belong to, affectionately thought of as "Lunatics" (although many of them don't howl at the Moon as I do), sit in the dark, muttering strange incantations and gesturing with strange devices, all the while surrounded by a ghostly red glow until the dawn.

Some of these lunatics are marvelling at manifestation of the nearby universe, others are trying to capture some of the essence by way of imagery, still others try to chart a course across the heavens, and almost all will have one thing in common. They will have either an electric blanket or a hot water bottle to look forward to when they finally turn to bed… or wished they did.

I'm sure many people will tell you they have experienced far colder observing sessions than the negative two degree temperatures we experienced all week, but as two Finnish amateurs Mikko Olkkonen and Antti Kuosmanen remarked this year, that although they've observed in below twenty degrees, "We do not sleep in it!" Enough cannot be said about central heating, I suppose. Five of the six nights were dew free for the most part, and when moisture did appear, it was in the form of thin patina of ice on cars, shrouds, tubes and assorted hutches. One night the observing was not auspicious with the limiting magnitude was around 4 to 4.5, but this was the morning of the Great Persid Meteor Shower… but more of that later. Once, on Sunday morning, I saw a cloud so I guess we can't say that week was totally cloud free (if we don't count the misty night on Wednesday and Thursday morning).

The Queensland Astrofest has been traditionally held in the July/August period, when the weather is usually dry and crisp, the centre of Home Galaxy stretches above us, while the Clouds of Magellan rise above the South. Toward the North the bright-eyed Swan leaps into the sky heralding Pegasus, who rises bearing Andromeda and her chains, M31 and M33. Yes, it is a nice time of year to get outside and look out into our part of the universe.

On Tuesday evening a piece of the Universe came to get a closer look at us. While I didn't see the beginning, I did see the last of a very bright meteor and it ionised trail. So bright, in fact, I almost yelled abuse at someone whom I thought was using a flashgun or camera, before I swung around and saw what it was. My wife Anne-Louise and Astrofest regular Gary Gawronski were sitting looking for meteors in the opposite direction and witnessed the trees in front of them light up and cast shadows. It was nearly a full minute later that we turned the various binoculars at hand towards the site of the apparition and were rewarded with views of the trail, whipped about in the upper atmosphere for at least another five minutes. Geoff Coffey saw another one seconds after the first, "But it was only about negative 1 or 2!"

We took this as an omen that the Persids would put on a good showing on Thursday morning. It was a sign from the North! This is despite the fact that the meteor was coming out of the south and travelling through Cetus… but let us not allow the facts get in the way of a good omen now. If you really want to go over the top, you could also say that the peak is supposed to occur on Thor's day, the Norse god of thunder (a personal favourite). I have witnessed a few Persids at Astrofest over the years and the prospect of a heightened display might allow some to be captured in an image. As I had borrowed a 17 mm Pentax lens from fellow BAS member Nick Williams in the early part of the week, I thought I would try to grab an image using good, old-fashioned alchemy… emulsion. Of course when the mist materialised, the camera didn't.

Colin Drescher, intrepid comet hunter and Leonid meteor storm counter (1800 wasn't it Colin?), did not say that it was going to be spectacular, but might be enhanced "It will be starting at 2:30am" was all he would say, not hinting at the number we might expect. Around 02:00 local Colin finally gave Gary and I the number we sought, and it wasn't 42. "Two," but you have to take in account that the radiant is so low to the north, etc, etc, etc. "TWO!! We might see two?" If that mag 1 Persid hadn't come over at 2:32 when it did, then it was possible that Colin may have found himself recycled as a telescope counterweight. As most Persids are not much brighter than our limiting magnitude, I think we should feel happy we saw one so bright so soon. Gary and I stayed outside for another half hour after that, and Colin remained to see another one an hour later.

For the first time cooked food was available at the Camp this year. Our hosts and managers of the Camp, Ian and Sue cooked up a storm in the kitchen, serving burgers, salads and chips to hungry attendees. The meals were one of the best innovations adopted on Camp since 2000 with the introduction of the catered Astro-Feast on Saturday night. This advance got a hearty thumbs' up from regulars, lifting the burden from our shoulders of hunting and preparing prey for lunch and dinner, freeing us for the important stuff about astronomy… like putting on layers of clothing, cursing flat batteries, and preparing equipment.

Over the years the equipment used has evolved from mainly Dobsonians, the occasional equatorial, and only one or two "goto" telescopes on the field with only a few amateurs doing CCD imaging in 1993, until tody where the computerised telescope has supplanted the humble Dobsonian as the telescope of choice. Even the nature of the Dobsonian telescopes has changed with almost all of them have some form of digital setting circles attached. Many of the CCD imagers are attracted to the Rotunda at the centre of the Camp with the all-important power point that is sacred to those who follow the "Dark Current". Eddie Trimarchi has also been imaging with the CCD since those early days, refining his technique and upgrading his equipment each year. His tri-colour images are magnificent, but this year he had another pet project. Producing a mosaic of the Milky Way in Hydrogen alpha light, the results are simply stunning.

Speaking of the Dark Side, if Duckadang had a resident supernova hunter, then it would be Brendan Downs, co-discoverer of SN1997DE at the Queensland Astrofest on August 27 1997. Brendan has been searching for supernovae as long as I have known him and was the first in our club to use a CCD to image galaxies for elusive dying stars. Legend has it that he discovered his supernova with one of the last images he took before his telescope went on strike and he took no more images that week. There is more than a grain of truth in that legend. This year was the first time the space near the flagpole where Brendan usually parks was empty. It was an eerie feeling passing by and not have the shape of his 12" LX200 looming in the dark. To be frank it was not natural.

Work commitments prevented him from attending for the whole week, but Brendan came up for Tuesday night on the eve of the Brisbane Exhibition Public Holiday. The plan was to return Wednesday afternoon and return Friday evening to remain until Sunday morning. What is that what people say about battle plans and contact with the enemy? He joked with his co-workers that if he didn't show up for work on Thursday, he had hit a kangaroo and was broken down at the Astrofest. Fateful words as it turned out. Wednesday afternoon saw the arrival of the RACQ vehicle as, you guessed it, his van had broken down. Repairs required the vehicle to be towed to the workshop and returned a few days later, so Brendan had to stay extra nights… Unfortunately he didn't have supplies (blessed be the burgers), but more importantly he only had his C5 and no imaging equipment. He was there, but a mere shell of his former glory.

Life at the Queensland Astrofest has it's own pace, especially if the weather is kind to us. Those who attend all week grab as many hours at the eyepiece/monitor/binoculars as they can, many going to bed in dawns early light. By Friday the pace starts to pick up as many more amateurs arrive and stake out their patch of the observing areas. The vendors also arrive and set-up their wares in the Main Hall prior to the lectures. Eric Rumbo gave a lecture "CCD Physics for Dummies" on Friday afternoon: Clear analogies explaining how a CCD works. Erwin Van Der Velden followed up with a talk about imaging Mercury for science and also about using a digital camera for astrophotography.

The numbers of attendees peak on Saturday, and the pace becomes frantic. Those who have entered equipment for one of the ATM awards were judged while the vendors continue with their sales, concluding when the traditional Counter Weight Toss is decided. Spirited competition in this popular event ensures that those who watch and participate are thoroughly entertained. This years Men's Champion was Phil Pidgeon from SAS, and my lovely wife, Anne-Louise, took the Ladies trophy. If you saw how far she threw that weight, you say nice things about her too!

After the Official Group Photo the participants are generally left to their own devices, but soon the smell of roast chicken permeates the air and we are all drawn back to the kitchen at sunset. From there we take our meal to the Main Hall for the Astro-Feast, the Award Presentations and the Raffle draw. Bob Grimes of the ATMQ was awarded Best Observing Aid for his laser collimator, and Geoff Johnston from SEQAS won Best Telescope Accessory for his collapsible Dobsonian mount. There were so many fine raffle prizes this year, along with two Door Prizes donated by our good sponsors. Brenda Long won the 4" refractor from York Optical, while Shereece Millard of BAS took the other Door Prize from BinTel, a 13 mm Nagler… you should have seen the drooling. The raffle was a one sided affair when members of the SAS scooped the lions share of the prizes.

Finally the official part of the evening comes to an end, the tables are cleared away and the last night of observing began in earnest. Through the passage of the night, the Queensland Astrofest passes for another year, but another year will soon pass and the Scorpion will once again climb the Milky Way high above our heads in the evening. The Queensland Astrofest 2005 will be held at the beginning of August, so bring on those cold, clear nights.

The Astrofest now has a domain name, so if you want more information you can find it at www.qldastrofest.org.au, or if you been to one and you would like to share a story or two, you can send it to the web-slave of this site. Perhaps we might even meet at the next Queensland Astrofest, where it is Starry One Night, Supernova the Next.

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