AstronomyNZ

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

Kate Robinson

The Land and Sky Getaway was held over the Anzac Day weekend at Akitio, about 70 km east of Dannevirke. Heading out from Wellington at midday Friday, the forecast was anything but promising—cloud increasing with rain forecast for Saturday. While the rain would have been welcomed by the local farmers, it wouldn’t make for a successful astronomy weekend. However, Friday began fine enough as we headed first to Aotearoa Stonehenge to collect various items, then to Masterton for food, and then by way of Alfredton to Pongaroa, and finally along the well-made gravel coast road to Akitio. Travel was sometimes slow as the newly sealed road south of Pongaroa threw stones against the car, sounding like a huge hail storm.

The sight of the sea was welcome as we drove down the hill to the beach and final destination of the Akitio Community Hall. Some had already arrived, and there was a steady stream of arrivals until we were a total of 29 adults, two teenagers, two kids, two dogs, and two budgies. There was plenty of room in the four dorms, the kitchen was well equipped, the showers were hot, and the view from the deck just perfect.

Cloud cover had increased markedly during the afternoon, but as a group of us went for a pre-dinner stroll along the beach to the north, first the Pointers, then intermittent glimpses of Orion, and finally Saturn heralded a gradually clearing sky. By the time we had eaten, the sky was clear enough to get down to the real business of the weekend.

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

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

A few stayers returned to the sky as it once again cleared, to see Jupiter finally clear the heavy cloud on the horizon at 1.30 am, with a distant star lining up as an apparent fifth satellite. Antony introduced us to fuzzies like the Sombrero and the Hamburger galaxies and a carbon star in the vicinity of the Southern Cross. A hardy few who had retired earlier got up to welcome Venus and Mars at about 4.30 am and go for early morning walks along the beach.

Saturday was very cloudy but warm, with the wind starting to rise and quite a lot 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 the mammoth task of preparing dinner. With a menu of pumpkin soup followed by roast potato (plain or herbed), roast pumpkin and garlic, green peas and spinach, barbequed steak and sausages (plain or spicy), and dessert of fruit salad, cream, and ice cream, it was voted the pinnacle of Phoenix Society dinners so far.

As the sky resolutely remained overcast, we watched Richard Hall’s audiovisual of the Southern autumn night sky, first looking north and later looking south. In between, Chris Picking gave an informative talk on Saturn, followed by a 3–4 minute AV of some of his inspiring photos set to music.

A deal was done with the gods to have the sky clear for a 3 am start, and alarms were set accordingly. The gods obliged and Cameron even managed to get some photos. Nine enthusiasts enjoyed the mild night, which remained intermittently clear until Venus rose above the trees at about 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 morning constellations (for those of us still new to this astronomy thing) and the knowledge shared by the experienced observers was really appreciated.

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

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