Trip to Sutherland

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Despina, Moon of Neptune

Date: 03/09/2009 Views: 576

Trip to Sutherland

On the invitation of Prof Phil Charles (Director SAAO, and Honorary Professor UCT), the VC Dr Max Price, the DVC of Research Prof Danie Visser and his wife Anita Visser, Prof Renee Kraan-Korteweg (HOD Astronomy, UCT) and her husband Peter Kraan, Prof Patricia Whitelock (SAAO/UCT) and her husband Dr John Menzies (SAAO) visited the SAAO observatory site in Sutherland on the weekend of 22/23 August.

The group enjoyed unexpected gentle weather conditions for this mid-winter weekend, with a magnificent display of blooming and colourful flowers along the road to the Observatory, in particular between Matjiesfontein and Sutherland, and lots of sunshine over these two days,

Following a tour of the observatory itself, a detailed inspection of SALT and an elegant dinner at SAAO's hostel, we perused the skies with the small telescopes after the regular public viewing event was finished. The sky was spectacular, completely clear with excellent seeing and - amazingly enough - no wind at all. We viewed planets, double stars, star-forming regions, reflection nebulae, star clusters, the Magellanic clouds as well as other galaxies under the expert and enthusiastic guidance of Glenda Stoffels, one of SAAO's star guides.

See below a selection of pictures from this trip:

Date: 02/09/2009

Size: 15 items

Hike from the hostel, recreation- and visitors-centre to the telescopes Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 550	Explanations along the way Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 476	Approach towards SALT Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 463	But first a visit to the 1.9m telescope Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 478	But first a visit to the 1.9m telescope Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 495
SALT at sunset just before the observers arrive Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 694	SALT's control room: explanation of the different monitors Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 520	Finally the telescope itself in the dome: Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 458	Finally the telescope itself in the dome: Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 478	Up on the catwalk Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 437
And all the way down into the spectrograph room Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 463	Close inspection by the VC Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 449	Listening to an update Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 471	And finally a close look at the SAC Date: 22/08/2009 Views: 565	A brief lunchbreak in the beautiful Botanical Gardens of Worcester Date: 23/08/2009 Views: 517