Written and Compiled by Robert D. Stephens          Page 2
 

  
 
 
  We arrived back at the house about 9:30 PM and headed up to the observatory to do some observing.  Although we were very tired, we saw lots of great objects.  The sky conditions were just mediocre, with haze diminishing the views.  Early in the evening, it was very windy, so we chose to only visually observe.  
     
 
  We started off by observing 47 Tucanae (NGC 104) through the 18-inch, a truly marvelous sight!  Then we moved onto the Tarantula Nebula (NGC 2070) in the Large Magellanic Cloud.  This object appeared spectacular in the 18-inch.  At different times it appeared like a skull with a third eye or like a distorted ghostly face. 

Many other objects were seen including NGC 1300, NGC 1365 and the Fornax Cluster.  NGC 1300 was a bit disappointing.  We were hoping to clearly see the barred spiral structure.  However, we could just barely make out one of the spiral arms and could only get a hint of the other.  In contrast, NGC 1365, the famous barred spiral
 
  was spectacular.  We could easily trace the two arms the full length of the object.  It was quite an impressive sight.   
     
 

The Fornax Cluster was an impressive sight through the 18-inch.  With this group of galaxies high overhead, the field of view was literally sprinkled with small, yet bright galaxies.  Shifting the telescope around showed the cluster of galaxies to extend out at least two fields of view. 

We ran out of gas after midnight and went to bed about 1:00 AM. 

After overdoing it the previous day, we decided to make it the next day a light one. Our only destination would be the Royal Australian Mint.  That night we cooked lamb, steak and kangaroo.  It was cloudy all day and never cleared.  We watched the worst movie of all time – ‘Johnny Mnemonic.’   

The next day was Laundry Day.  What a treat!  We had to drop Steve off for the 1:42 PM train to Sydney, so we decided to spend the day in Goulburn.  After doing laundry and having lunch, we went up to the War Memorial, a tower on a nearby hill that has a good view of the city. 

At the Visitors Center we got a weather report that looked promising for that night, so we headed back to rest up for an intense observing session. 

Unfortunately, just as we got the equipment ready and the CCD camera cooled down, a heavy marine layer moved in wiping out the night.  We hung around for several hours talking with Zane and drinking the local wine and beer.

  
     
 

  November 29:  We got up early to meet the rest of the tour group in Sydney.  After our three hour drive, we arrived at the Westin Hotel about 10:00 AM.  Here, per Avis’ instructions, we dropped off the rental cars only to have it come back to haunt us later.  Despite Alex calling and confirming that the hotel had called for a pickup, they later reported his car as not being returned and filed a police report.  After disturbing his relatives in the United States, they fixed that mistake.  For Alson’s van, they later claimed $2,000 of damaged was caused to the bumper.  We protested despite not having an Avis employee inspect the car upon turning it in to the hotel.  Later, a TravelQuest representative fixed the issue.
Tails of Australia
 
 

In midmorning we took a harbor tour and mostly caught up on old times.  There was a great lunch.  Our boat passed under the Sydney Harbor Bridge and took us all around the harbor.  After lunch, we had an orientation talk and went back to the hotel.  The late afternoon was mostly free.  Several people went to an opal exhibit (sales pitch) while others just had dinner. 

After dinner, Alex, Glenn and I walked down to the harbor to photograph the Sydney Opera House and the bridge at night.  We were treated to a fireworks show behind a cruise ship.

  
 

 

  
 
 
 
     
 
 
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  Copyright  2002 TravelQuest International and Robert D. Stephens.  All rights reserved.
Revised: October 25, 2005.
Information in this document is subject to change without notice.
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