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The bringing of cakes by various camp attendees has
very quickly become a bit of a tradition and this year
my daughter had made and decorated a fabulous
shuttle cake. I was a very proud mum when her cake
was announced the winner, and even featured on
the Sky at Night programme! My girl was actually
my saviour after my attempt at decorating it with the
Awesome Astronomy Animated characters (also the
camp organisers) melted! No one wants to see a cake
looking like the result of a drunken brawl...do they?
The campsite is set up in a way which leaves a central
area for observing. This is “the common” and is a place
where many set up their scopes with a view to sharing
celestial delights at the eyepiece. There are also dedicated astro-imaging areas for those who need less interruption to really take advantage of the inky black skies. Some set up scopes next to their tents or vans, it really is a
great mix and at Astrocamp there are no hard and fast rules except for the usual star camp etiquette.
I had decided to set up my 127 Skywatcher Mak (on an EQ GoTo mount) by my van on the first night, a major
upgrade from my telescope at the first Astrocamp! I had a great Polar Alignment tutorial from another astro
earlier on in the evening, so I was convinced it was all going to go well! How wrong I was! By the time it was
dark enough to Polar Align my telescope decided to stop slewing. I put it down to a battery failure and decided
to concentrate on my DSLR. Again, another astro patiently taught me how to focus, using the zoom facility
on live view and I spent most of the evening capturing some wide field shots of the Milky Way! Another first!
ICY SCIENCE | WINTER 2013- 2014