Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
Five Assegai Hike
This weekend I am going to join 25 other friends and do some of the 5 Assagais hiking trail. Last year the guys did the 2 day backpack hike and really enjoyed it. The weather was cold and miserable but it did not stop them from having fun . This year we have chosen the base camp option but it looks as if the weather will be the same.
The trail is a moderately difficult trail so with a minimum amount of fitness most of us will be able to enjoy the trail and not suffer the consequences. There are some non hiking people in our group and they have already said that they refuse to hike so they will stay at the base camp and do whatever lazy people do.
There is no need to bring hiking boots for the trail is very easy. It is recommended to bring a costume because there are a couple of streams with plunge pools that are deep enough to swim in. Since we are hiking from a base camp we need to take picnic food for the hike and since there is a refrigerator in the camp we cam bring perishables. In the evenings we are going to eat together. We have to bring our own meat if we want meat and then we have been divided into groups of 5-6 people where we bring a vegetable or starch.
The general plan is to get there on Friday night and hopefully the people that managed to get there early managed to get a fire going so we can start to cook. On Saturday we would like to do an hour or so walk until we get to a pool where we can swim and play around. I have bought a bottle of wine to drink whilst at the pool. Those people that feel energetic can continue to hike. I am going to do a geocache called Old Mac. In the evening we are going to have a friends Christmas party where we will give out gifts. We were told to buy a unisex gift for R30 ($3.50). I managed to find something fun and something practical and I went for the practical gift. On Sunday we will get up, have breakfast and leave for home in the late morning or early afternoon.
I will have a lot of pictures of the area to put on the blog when I get back.
The GPS Coordinates for the Lodge are S25 48.985 E30 22.291
Maps of some of the trails in the area.
The trail is a moderately difficult trail so with a minimum amount of fitness most of us will be able to enjoy the trail and not suffer the consequences. There are some non hiking people in our group and they have already said that they refuse to hike so they will stay at the base camp and do whatever lazy people do.
There is no need to bring hiking boots for the trail is very easy. It is recommended to bring a costume because there are a couple of streams with plunge pools that are deep enough to swim in. Since we are hiking from a base camp we need to take picnic food for the hike and since there is a refrigerator in the camp we cam bring perishables. In the evenings we are going to eat together. We have to bring our own meat if we want meat and then we have been divided into groups of 5-6 people where we bring a vegetable or starch.
The general plan is to get there on Friday night and hopefully the people that managed to get there early managed to get a fire going so we can start to cook. On Saturday we would like to do an hour or so walk until we get to a pool where we can swim and play around. I have bought a bottle of wine to drink whilst at the pool. Those people that feel energetic can continue to hike. I am going to do a geocache called Old Mac. In the evening we are going to have a friends Christmas party where we will give out gifts. We were told to buy a unisex gift for R30 ($3.50). I managed to find something fun and something practical and I went for the practical gift. On Sunday we will get up, have breakfast and leave for home in the late morning or early afternoon.
I will have a lot of pictures of the area to put on the blog when I get back.
The GPS Coordinates for the Lodge are S25 48.985 E30 22.291
Maps of some of the trails in the area.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Photos of Jupiter
My first attempts of astrophotography really didn’t work out as planned. In the past I have taken photos of the moon but never with a telescope and I have never tried to take a photo of any of the other planets.
I wanted to see how much photography I could do with a simple digital camera, a carton toilet roll to hold it in place and a very simple video camera. It was quite fun setting everything up, finding Jupiter, aligning my telescope and then trying to film Jupiter and take pictures of the giant.
My telescope is a simple Celestron SLX 130, which is a dream starter telescope that is very easy to use. I still believe that it was one of the best purchases that I have ever made. I have a Fujifilm Finepix S5600 camera that has taken fantastic photographs over the last 7-8 years that I have owned it but has never taken a picture of a planet so is just as inexperienced as me. The final devise is my Canon MV750i digital video camera. I also tried to use my helmet came because it fitted better into my make shift camera holder but all it took was Jupiter and I could not see the moons.
My original plan was to take pictures of Jupiter for the week leading up to the 19th and for a week after the 19th so that I could see how Jupiter moves into its stationary position and then out retrograde motion. I know the theory behind retrograde motion but I have never tried to photograph it. The plan did not work due to the cloud cover all week until Sunday the 21st. On the 21st I was so excited to test out my equipment that I took the photos even thought the even that I wanted to follow had passed.
The first thing that I did once I had setup my telescope was look for Jupiter which was very easy since it is so bright and very hard to miss. Then I aligned the telescope and spent a good 30min to hour just staring at the amazing planet. I could see the 4 Galilean satellites clearly with Io on the one side of Jupiter and Ganymede, Europa and Callisto on the other. I didn’t waste too much time with my helmet cam because I don’t have an LCD attached to it so I could not see if I was filming anything. Once I had finished with my helmet cam I took my Canon Video camera out and tried to film Jupiter. It was not easy, I tried with my 25mm lens and then the 5mm lens and I really struggled to track Jupiter but I did take some clips which are attached. I had better success with my Fujifilm Digital Camera where most of the pictures came out well enough to see Jupiter and the four Galilean moons. The pictures were slightly blurred and you could see that my telescope was vibrating when I pressed the shutter button.
I have placed the various photos on this blog and I have also added photos where I inverted the Black and white colours. The inverted photos show a lot more detail of what I took. Unfortunately my photos do not show the great red spot and the atmospheric bands that I could see when I looked through the telescope. I have to learn how to create longer exposures with my camera to see if I can get any more detail and I have to get a couple of filters to see how they change my photos. Next time I get a clear sky I will take photos of the moon and see how those photos come out.
I wanted to see how much photography I could do with a simple digital camera, a carton toilet roll to hold it in place and a very simple video camera. It was quite fun setting everything up, finding Jupiter, aligning my telescope and then trying to film Jupiter and take pictures of the giant.
My telescope is a simple Celestron SLX 130, which is a dream starter telescope that is very easy to use. I still believe that it was one of the best purchases that I have ever made. I have a Fujifilm Finepix S5600 camera that has taken fantastic photographs over the last 7-8 years that I have owned it but has never taken a picture of a planet so is just as inexperienced as me. The final devise is my Canon MV750i digital video camera. I also tried to use my helmet came because it fitted better into my make shift camera holder but all it took was Jupiter and I could not see the moons.
My original plan was to take pictures of Jupiter for the week leading up to the 19th and for a week after the 19th so that I could see how Jupiter moves into its stationary position and then out retrograde motion. I know the theory behind retrograde motion but I have never tried to photograph it. The plan did not work due to the cloud cover all week until Sunday the 21st. On the 21st I was so excited to test out my equipment that I took the photos even thought the even that I wanted to follow had passed.
The first thing that I did once I had setup my telescope was look for Jupiter which was very easy since it is so bright and very hard to miss. Then I aligned the telescope and spent a good 30min to hour just staring at the amazing planet. I could see the 4 Galilean satellites clearly with Io on the one side of Jupiter and Ganymede, Europa and Callisto on the other. I didn’t waste too much time with my helmet cam because I don’t have an LCD attached to it so I could not see if I was filming anything. Once I had finished with my helmet cam I took my Canon Video camera out and tried to film Jupiter. It was not easy, I tried with my 25mm lens and then the 5mm lens and I really struggled to track Jupiter but I did take some clips which are attached. I had better success with my Fujifilm Digital Camera where most of the pictures came out well enough to see Jupiter and the four Galilean moons. The pictures were slightly blurred and you could see that my telescope was vibrating when I pressed the shutter button.
I have placed the various photos on this blog and I have also added photos where I inverted the Black and white colours. The inverted photos show a lot more detail of what I took. Unfortunately my photos do not show the great red spot and the atmospheric bands that I could see when I looked through the telescope. I have to learn how to create longer exposures with my camera to see if I can get any more detail and I have to get a couple of filters to see how they change my photos. Next time I get a clear sky I will take photos of the moon and see how those photos come out.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Torrid Taurids
The weekends Taurid meteor shower display did not work out exactly the way I had planned. As mentioned in my previous blog the weather predictions were not that great. The weather predictions were spot on for the weekend and the bad sky viewing has continued through out the week. On Sunday I got excited because the weather was good during the day but starting clouding over in the late afternoon.
I got my hopes up on Friday when I got home and the sky was clear. I got my telescope (Celestron 130SLT) and my binoculars ready for action. I also took out my video camera and my digital camera just in case I wanted to take pictures. I have not used my digital camera to take pictures of astronomical events for a long time and the only pictures I have take in the past are of the moon and its phases and a couple of constellations.
I did not get to see any meteors on the short period that I had clear skies on the Friday, I don’t know if it was bad luck of the light pollution in my area but I was a little disappointed to miss out on the meteor shower. Even thought I was there to look for meteors I used my time constructively by looking at the Pleiades, the various stars in the Taurus and Orion constellations and I had a good look at the Orion nebula.
My photography didn’t turn out that well in the sense that I don’t have pictures to post on the blog but it was good for I managed to test out various things like my home made adapter for my telescope. I still need to make a couple of changes to the adapter and I cannot use my digital camera to take the photos because it is too heavy for my little telescope but I can use my webcam and my helmet cam. My other video camera didn’t help at all for what I wanted to do.
There are a lot more interesting astronomical events that I would like to see before the end of the month but the weather looks like it will be overcast for the rest of the month. It is hard to believe that a month ago I was telling people that we need rain and now I wish that I could get a clear sky so I can see certain astronomical events.
I got my hopes up on Friday when I got home and the sky was clear. I got my telescope (Celestron 130SLT) and my binoculars ready for action. I also took out my video camera and my digital camera just in case I wanted to take pictures. I have not used my digital camera to take pictures of astronomical events for a long time and the only pictures I have take in the past are of the moon and its phases and a couple of constellations.
I did not get to see any meteors on the short period that I had clear skies on the Friday, I don’t know if it was bad luck of the light pollution in my area but I was a little disappointed to miss out on the meteor shower. Even thought I was there to look for meteors I used my time constructively by looking at the Pleiades, the various stars in the Taurus and Orion constellations and I had a good look at the Orion nebula.
My photography didn’t turn out that well in the sense that I don’t have pictures to post on the blog but it was good for I managed to test out various things like my home made adapter for my telescope. I still need to make a couple of changes to the adapter and I cannot use my digital camera to take the photos because it is too heavy for my little telescope but I can use my webcam and my helmet cam. My other video camera didn’t help at all for what I wanted to do.
There are a lot more interesting astronomical events that I would like to see before the end of the month but the weather looks like it will be overcast for the rest of the month. It is hard to believe that a month ago I was telling people that we need rain and now I wish that I could get a clear sky so I can see certain astronomical events.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Friday's Northern Taurid Meteor Shower
I have not been to one of my local astronomy club meetings in quite a while so I thought that since there in one tonight I would catch up with what is happening in the world of astronomy. The first thing that I did was look at events that are going to occur in the near future and I was surprised to see that I was about to miss the Taurid meteor shower. I love meteor shower and I hate missing out on them.
Because of our location and the time of the year we are about to observe the Northern Taurids. The frequency of the shower should be anything from about 5 to 8 meteors coming from the constellation of Taurus - hence it's name. The showers will start on Friday and end on Sunday morning with some stray meteors that might be seen in the weeks before and after the main stream. The content of the shower is actually larger than just dust and sometimes we can see bolides with spectacular light shows and if you are in a place that is quiet enough you can even hear them.
The Taurids are said to be part of a large comet that came close to earth sometime in the last 30 000 years and that has slowly broken up into the debris that we see and the comet Encke. Currently most people say that the cause of the shower is the comet Encke and they are not wrong but there was a larger source as previously mentioned.
There is actually much more to the shower than I have mentioned. Due to the break up, over a long period of time, of the original comet it has caused a very large stream of matter which is considered the largest in the inner solar system. It is so large that the Earth takes a couple of weeks to pass through it causing an extended period of meteor activity.
Due to the trajectory of the original comet and gravitational effects of the planets the Taurids have spread over time creating what we call the Northern and Southern Taurids. We have also got the Beta Taurids that occur in June/July that fall part of the mentioned band of matter.
The Taurids have peaks every 300 years but there are smaller peaks that occur every once in a while that cannot be predicted. So every time you go out to see a shower you don’t really know how spectacular the shower is really going to be.
I have looked at the planned weather for the 3 days of the showers and it does not look good for me. The weather forecast is for rain from Friday evening until sometime next week. If I am lucky, this cold front will only hit in the early hours of Saturday morning so at least I will have Friday to watch the showers.
Because of our location and the time of the year we are about to observe the Northern Taurids. The frequency of the shower should be anything from about 5 to 8 meteors coming from the constellation of Taurus - hence it's name. The showers will start on Friday and end on Sunday morning with some stray meteors that might be seen in the weeks before and after the main stream. The content of the shower is actually larger than just dust and sometimes we can see bolides with spectacular light shows and if you are in a place that is quiet enough you can even hear them.
The Taurids are said to be part of a large comet that came close to earth sometime in the last 30 000 years and that has slowly broken up into the debris that we see and the comet Encke. Currently most people say that the cause of the shower is the comet Encke and they are not wrong but there was a larger source as previously mentioned.
There is actually much more to the shower than I have mentioned. Due to the break up, over a long period of time, of the original comet it has caused a very large stream of matter which is considered the largest in the inner solar system. It is so large that the Earth takes a couple of weeks to pass through it causing an extended period of meteor activity.
Due to the trajectory of the original comet and gravitational effects of the planets the Taurids have spread over time creating what we call the Northern and Southern Taurids. We have also got the Beta Taurids that occur in June/July that fall part of the mentioned band of matter.
The Taurids have peaks every 300 years but there are smaller peaks that occur every once in a while that cannot be predicted. So every time you go out to see a shower you don’t really know how spectacular the shower is really going to be.
I have looked at the planned weather for the 3 days of the showers and it does not look good for me. The weather forecast is for rain from Friday evening until sometime next week. If I am lucky, this cold front will only hit in the early hours of Saturday morning so at least I will have Friday to watch the showers.
Monday, November 1, 2010
Great White Sharks - Simonstown
A friend of mine recently dived in Simonstown in the Western Cape, South Africa. She took these pictures. The visibility was not all that good so the pictures are terrible. Her opinion of the dive what that she was amazed by the 4 great white sharks that she saw but she is not that big on the cage diving experience. She would prefer to dive with Bull Sharks (Zambizi Sharks) or Tiger Sharks just because they are not cage dives.
There are places that in South Africa that you can go to and dive with Great Whites without doing it in a cage but they cannot guarantee that you will see the sharks and they don’t bait the sharks.
There are places that in South Africa that you can go to and dive with Great Whites without doing it in a cage but they cannot guarantee that you will see the sharks and they don’t bait the sharks.
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