AstronomyNZ

Land (Sea)and Sky Getaway 24–26 April 2009

KateRobinson

The Landand Sky Getaway was held over the Anzac Day weekend at Akitio, about70 km east of Dannevirke. Heading out from Wellington at middayFriday, the forecast was anything but promising—cloudincreasing with rain forecast for Saturday. While the rain would havebeen welcomed by the local farmers, it wouldn’t make for asuccessful astronomy weekend. However, Friday began fine enough as weheaded first to Aotearoa Stonehenge to collect various items, then toMasterton for food, and then by way of Alfredton to Pongaroa, andfinally along the well-made gravel coast road to Akitio. Travel wassometimes slow as the newly sealed road south of Pongaroa threwstones against the car, sounding like a huge hail storm.

The sightof the sea was welcome as we drove down the hill to the beach andfinal destination of the Akitio Community Hall. Some had alreadyarrived, and there was a steady stream of arrivals until we were atotal of 29 adults, two teenagers, two kids, two dogs, and twobudgies. There was plenty of room in the four dorms, the kitchen waswell equipped, the showers were hot, and the view from the deck justperfect.

Cloudcover had increased markedly during the afternoon, but as a group ofus went for a pre-dinner stroll along the beach to the north, firstthe Pointers, then intermittent glimpses of Orion, and finally Saturnheralded a gradually clearing sky. By the time we had eaten, the skywas clear enough to get down to the real business of the weekend.

There werea couple of problems with finding flat land in a dark area for thetelescopes and a couple of people found themselves nose diving intothe culvert as they made their way in the darkness. In the end, onlyAntony Gomez’s 8” Dobsonian telescope was put to use,along with a couple of pairs of binoculars.

For thebeginners among us (and the not-so-beginners), first there was Saturnto be amazed by, the rings almost horizontal, looking just like apicture-book drawing. Other treats included the usual suspects—theJewel Box, Antares in orange glory, Omega Centauri, 47 Tucanae, theTarantula nebula. The clouds came and went, and eventually so did theviewers as everyone retired to bed or inside for some conversationand a hot drink.

A fewstayers returned to the sky as it once again cleared, to see Jupiterfinally clear the heavy cloud on the horizon at 1.30 am, with adistant star lining up as an apparent fifth satellite. Antonyintroduced us to fuzzies like the Sombrero and the Hamburger galaxiesand a carbon star in the vicinity of the Southern Cross. A hardy fewwho had retired earlier got up to welcome Venus and Mars at about4.30 am and go for early morning walks along the beach.

Saturdaywas very cloudy but warm, with the wind starting to rise and quite alot of sea mist forming. People passed the time walking on the beach,checking out the reef at low tide, trying their luck at surf casting,and sleeping. Nikki Vallance and a team of helpers set about themammoth task of preparing dinner. With a menu of pumpkin soupfollowed by roast potato (plain or herbed), roast pumpkin and garlic,green peas and spinach, barbequed steak and sausages (plain orspicy), and dessert of fruit salad, cream, and ice cream, it wasvoted the pinnacle of Phoenix Society dinners so far.

As the skyresolutely remained overcast, we watched Richard Hall’saudiovisual of the Southern autumn night sky, first looking north andlater looking south. In between, Chris Picking gave an informativetalk on Saturn, followed by a 3–4 minute AV of some of hisinspiring photos set to music.

A deal wasdone with the gods to have the sky clear for a 3 am start, and alarmswere set accordingly. The gods obliged and Cameron even managed toget some photos. Nine enthusiasts enjoyed the mild night, whichremained intermittently clear until Venus rose above the trees atabout 4.30 am, showing as a distinct crescent in the telescope.Unfortunately, the clouds rolled back in before Mars could join her.It was more of a challenge to identify the early morningconstellations (for those of us still new to this astronomy thing)and the knowledge shared by the experienced observers was reallyappreciated.

Sundaymorning was a bit drizzly before clearing to a fairly fine day. Therewere leftovers for breakfast (and take home meals) and time for afinal walk on the beach before packing up and cleaning the premisesand heading off about midday. We ate a late lunch at Mt Bruce beforereturning to Wellington via Stonehenge to return the borrowed items.The rain set in in earnest as we climbed the Rimutaka Hill road andhasn’t stopped…

Akitio wasa wonderful location for a weekend getaway. While other places may bebetter for serious observing, without sea mist and the small numberof street lights, Akitio made for an all-round enjoyable weekend,with a little something for everyone.