:: Marine Parade Astronomical Society ::

Monday, July 13, 2009

AstrOrdinary Camp at Pulau Ubin

20th - 21st June 2009

Report by Siu Yung

We met for lunch at the Changi Village Food Centre and took the bumboat ride over to Pulau Ubin. Clouds were rolling in and it seemed like bad weather was heading our way. We loaded our equipment onto a hired van and the 3 of us whom didn’t know how to cycle boarded the van to head to our campsite while the rest rented bikes for transported. All was well till we were near the campsite. It so happens that a dead tree had fallen across the only path heading to our destination.

There was no way that the fallen trunk could be cleared in time therefore we decided to unload everything and carry them to the actual campsite. We were lucky it was a 15 min walk to our ob site or the weight of all the bottled water would have broke my back.

We set up the tent and laid our groundsheet once we had all our stuff over to the campsite.

The clouds came in passing while our cyclists went exploring round the island.

At one point the thunder and lightning near the western horizon seemed to be heading our way but it headed towards Singapore mainland instead. (We found that it rained over at the mainland after the trip. Lucky us I guess.) Tried to do some solar observing but the Sun was blemish free on that day like most of the past year. We managed to catch some crepuscular rays though thanks to the thunder clouds.

As evening approached the clouds seemed to be gone for the most part with some passing clouds. We started off our overnight stargazing with Saturn. The clouds kept interfering with our view of the ringed planet but it was still nice to sneak a few peeks. I decided to take a look at gamma Leo, a nice looking pair of yellow stars. Jewel box was not particularly fantastic due to the skyglow over Singapore mainland over our southern horizon and some passing clouds. The view at omega centauri was also affected similarly. The view over the north was much better. Mizar and Alcor was a pleasant sight as always. We took a quick view at Rigil Kentaurus as well. As the night passed, we looked at M13, M4, M6, M7 and NGC6231. The open clusters were lovely sights with good contrasts under the darker sky. M13 was prominent and appear resolved to the centre. The Ring Nebula was nice and good through the OIII filter but the lagoon nebula was spectacular particularly through the OIII which resembled some of the short exposure photos. Albeiro did not fail to impress with its nice contrasting blue and gold. We could make out most of the constellations in the sky that are usually not visible or incomplete on mainland. Libra, Sagitta, Delphinus, Corona Borealis and part of Draco are some of the hardly visible ones on mainland that we had seen on Ubin. The Coathanger was great as you could easily see how it got its name and no explanation is needed. Jupiter rose at around midnight with its Galilean moons but only 3 was visible as Europa was in transit. The north and south equatorial belts made a pleasing sight through the telescope. Close to 3am, Europa showed itself as it ended its transit across Jupiter. IC4665 in Ophiuchus looked sort of plain in the telescope. We could see the entire constellation of Pegasus and Andromeda as well as Cepheus and Cassiopeia as the night passed. Even Capricornus and Aquarius was visible. The Andromeda galaxy showed its familiar oblong disk shape in the telescope instead of just the core that we normally see under mainland skies. I fell asleep for about half an hour and when I awoke I was greeted to the sight of a manmade satellite making its way across the southeastern sky. Through the night I managed to catch sight of 2 meteors that were not particularly bright. As the morning twilight approached, the dazzling Venus rose in the eastern sky along with Mars to its left. The slightly more than quarter gibbous phase of Venus was clearly visible in the telescope while Mars was unremarkable as a small orange-red disk. As it got closer to sunrise, I was pleasantly greeted by the Moon with its razor thin crescent while the rest of the moon was lit up by earthshine clearly visible to the naked eye. It made a wonderful view through the telescope. As the Sun rose we had breakfast and packed our equipment to head home. It was a good trip as we seldom get clear local skies while getting to see so many different objects. Hope to more people joining us on our future trips to share the great celestial sights.

Clear Skies Always!

posted at 1:23 AM

Saturday, November 8, 2008

AstrOrdinary Camp @ Pulau Ubin

31st October to 2nd November 2008

by Ka Foo

PART 2

The rain did not stopped until 9am on the second day just when one of us decided to pull out. Due to the fact that we do not possess any form of transportation, we are forced to move on foot out to town to rent bikes for further use. After escorting Maziyah to the jetty, we had our lunch at one Ubin restaurant. During the trip back, we received the news that Mooey has been mobilized and has to leave the camp, thus, after we reach the campsite, we have to move out again.

The rest of the day has been uneventful save for the occasional fight between a cock and a wild boar and a few visitors to our campsite trying to ask if there is any path further. The state land sign has been useful in these regards as most of the visitors turn around and go back despite the supposed path drawn on the map.

Another thing to note is that a cat has been wandering around the campsite, which proves to be the best mate I had in this period of total isolation. The guard duty is actually fun with all the experiments that I can do with fire. The chunky meal I had later in the day was great and the night is actually comforting to sleep in.

Later that night, although I could not remember much, Harry arrived and bought us some meal. The rest is just a blur, but only remembering vaguely that Harry and myself slept in the same tent the next morning, with Jinpeng’s scope full of dew.

The third day is just packing up while going to the Changi jetty to meet Mooey again, in which we went all the way back to Admiralty Gardens Community Center and did all sort of off the record activity. Well, I think that’s all for the report, happy to write another one next time.

posted at 11:20 PM

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

AstrOrdinary Camp @ Pulau Ubin
31st October to 2nd November 2008
by Ka Foo

PART 1

In Singapore, we struggle to count stars; In Ubin, we counted meteor like nobodies’ else’s business. Such were the conditions in our beloved observation site in Pulau Ubin. In order to have undisturbed observation sessions, experienced astronomers would normally opt for a night stay in a discreet location in Pulau Ubin, far from any activity that is considered human.

In order to save valuable time, we waited until late in order to go into action as soon as we hit the beautiful little island located in the North-East of Singapore. The boat ride towards the Island has been uneventful, with a Earth-shined crescent moon hanging lazily over the horizon. With little clouds, we expected a night without worry despite the weather forecast, which hinted that we are in for a night.

Cramming our chartered van full of necessary and vital equipment, we began our long and dark journey towards our campsite. The two girls, Maziyah and Elaine were eager to reach their campsite as the scenery has proved to be unsettling. It was eerily dark out there, with ebony silhouette outlining the featureless vegetation. Their first time in Ubin is to experience the shadow of the night, which many will turn in the face of it. We felt a sudden chill as we pass by the cemetery on the slope towards our campsite, maybe perhaps it is due to the turbo-charged air-conditioned unit or maybe it is just us, alone in no man’s land.

Our campsite is surprisingly peaceful compared to the rough dirt path we are force to go through. Everything was the same when we last leave Ubin. The canal, the tree we hang our trash bag, and most importantly, the sign which the meaning that we choose not to comprehend and even to the point of oblivion when other stop at such atrocity. With the tent up in no time, we quickly settle our equipment where a Ka Foo started the campfire. Thanks to the dry wood and the relative abundance of kindling, the fire was up with a gentle glow of embers when it relaxed.

Andromeda galaxy is clear without obstruction that day and the sheer beauty of such wonder that exist marvelled us outside our milky ways. Pleiades and Hades appeared like a pair of giant clusters appearing to be clouds at first glance. The double cluster between Cassiopeia and Perseus is also a delight to see. We waited for the Great Orion to wake up to reveal his full might and glory, with his shield and his club. The Shepherd of Anu, The Great Destroyer, such names do not matter when we are in awe by such a sight. One could not loosen Orion’s belt but one can have a better view using a relatively small scope.

Meteors are frequent that night, with a record number of nine spotted by one of the girls. We lay on the ground mat that we brought with and enjoyed the night sky, counting meteors. We lost track of time and space but I think I retired early with one of the girls that night. I was in a complete oblivion until the storm comes.

The storm has been harsh and fast. The roar of the thunder is loud as it is deafening. We cower in our little tent with nearly everything waterproofed. I slept through, not knowing what is it to feel.

To be continued...

See Camp photos @ 2008 Gallery under Photo section.

posted at 12:25 AM

Friday, September 5, 2008

GET-TOGETHER STAR PARTY – SENTOSA 29-30 AUGUST 2008
Report From Anne!

Whenever one thinks of southern sky in Singapore, the first thing that comes to mind would be the oh-so-familiar East Coast Park. Yes, it is accessible, and countless star parties have been done there, but this time, we opted for Palawan beach, Sentosa for a refreshing south western sky.
Despite the pain of lugging all the equipments to the ob site (surely, it wasn’t ECP after all), we arrived there safe and sound at 7pm, in time to set up all the equipments and tents and pick up whoever that came their on their own and couldn’t find the way. Unique an ob site indeed, because there were these two tall towers by the beach, and a wooden platform in between. Saved us the hassle of setting up tents on the sand, and were it to rain we would have been considerably drier. Not that any of us wished for that to happen. That the sky wasn’t clear at all when we finished setting up stuff wasn’t quite pleasant, and people started going off to random places, cluttering in groups playing cards and boardgames and random chattings.
The totally covered from horizon to zenith sky miraculously cleared up at around 10pm, revealing the most sought after patch of sky – the celestial beacons in Scorpius and Sagittarius. Scope after scope made quick visits to the familiar yet no less stunning Lagoon nebula, Butterfly cluster M6, Ptolemy’s cluster M7, Baby Scorpius NGC 6231, M16 or M17, and so on. Globular fanatics were equally ecstatic with Ophiuchus’ M10 and M12, or Scorpius’ M4, Sagittarius’ M22, M28 and M54, or elusive ones like NGC 6541 and 6441.
After the hype with Sagittarius, southern sky didn’t have much to offer though, as all the constellations harbor mostly galaxies. Interestingly, we managed to catch the second brightest globular cluster on the sky, 47 Tucanae (aka NGC 104) and another VERY tiny one nearby, NGC 362, both in the Small Magellanic Cloud. It’s worth noting their close distance to the horizon, and them being globulars certainly made the observation more worthwhile.
Getting to the overhead bridge connecting the two towers’ 3rd stories, we turned our lenses and mirrors towards Andromeda galaxies M31, the brightest galaxy in the Northern hemisphere. Double cluster and M76 in Perseus also came to mind, but it deemed impossible with the passing clouds and light pollution towards the North. Same ol’ Pleiades was also revisited, posing as lovely as usual!
A quick spin at the end of the night before the sun rose revealed some not so frequently visited objects in the Milky Way region around Argo Navis. Just wander around the Milky Way band and the sky always had something stunning to offer! We chanced upon lovely open clusters: Carina’s NGC 2516, Puppis’ NGC 2451, and Vela’s IC 2391, among many others.
The night was rewarding indeed, with countless celestial objects and more lessons learnt. As monsoon season is coming, we hope that our next overnight ob will be as pleasant as this (:

posted at 4:02 AM

Get Together Star Party on 29 Aug @ Palawan Beach, Sentosa!
Report from Jin Peng - an informal post, typing with a sleepy mood...
Finally after so long, we get together again to star gaze! This time, I choose a totally different place to star gaze - Sentosa! Is good to see many new faces and get to see my friends again to stay up whole night and see the stars, interact and catch up with one another...

So the journey start from Admiral garden cc, i order the bus and suppose to meet at 6pm... But ended up the bus leave at 6:30pm lar... cos of some people missing, especially the bus driver! And to be even more kiasu in case all got no drinks for the night, i carry 2 carton of mineral waters on board!
Then we stop by at harbour front bus stop to fetch my juniors from republic poly astro club plus some bukit panjang govt. high astro people. And the first complain i want to make... is at the entrance of Sentosa there is ALOT of mosquitoes! The moment i step out of the bus and help purchase tickets for everyone, i kena attack already~ More delays - the bus uncle actually dont know how to drive to palawan beach, so i got to guide him... and finally reach the destination - off by 1 hour!We reach at 8pm.

Then we head straight to the twin tower in palawan beach, and we got to cross the bridge! The girls like making the woo-ha la... woo! our first adventure! Many people actually find it cool lar... lucky no one drop eyepieces of telescope into the sea :x

So we conquer one of the tower! The sky is very cloudy, so we decided to pitch our tents and have some indoor games...

so we start off with the Twister! (and this round i win the game...woohoo~

**(some pictures are censor due to the nature of the game)**

...this is the only decent photo >.<

Then some of the guys want to play RISK. and other group went to play beach ball, own group poker cards games and stuff... while the sky still cloudy!

At about 1am, finally the sky started clearing and more stars appear... so our search for deep skies object begins here... At the bottom of the tower, you have this balcony where u can lie down and gaze the stars... and the telescope can be set up behind on the concrete platform.

And I manage to see catch sagittarius before it set... and many other nice autumn constellations and star clusters, M31 galaxy in andromeda, hx clusters in cassiopeia and more... then at around 4am, Orion is high enough, and we get to see other winter constellations like canis major... Then at around 5am, the clouds came in again without mercy, soon all stars are hidden beneath the clouds...

So we went back to the tower, most of us are asleep, cannot tahan already, but a few of us and my juniors still awake! So we play poker cards to keep us awake till sun rise!

So at 730am, we started to wake everyone up for morning group photo-taking. It is very draggy to wake some piggy people, need to kick them then wake up lah! Got one even drool... I wonder what he is dreaming la - .-

So Here I am, trying to gather people... many of them are sleeping walking beings...

And need to get them position~

And finally... all smile on camera! The 2008 new generation of astronomers!

next, we head to the nearby food court... and we reach too early, 8am - the foodcourt open at 830am. So we stone outside... and doing alot of crazy stuff...

1. First crazy act spotted - taking photos of people sleeping... professionally~

2. Crazy act by Chris - May I know what is HE doing in the photo?? - weird post...

3. Crazy Anne - folding paper crane and put on the pond - like the feeling of the crane being drown into the water.... - sadist -. -

4. The photographer spotted man in green snapping... LOOK, i'm not the only one... the girl behind also snapping photos lor...

Finally, the food court open and we are the first few customers! All flood in and enjoy the air con,feel like sleeping lah... So after walking around enjoy the air con, then we buy the breakfast set! Yump!

This guy eat TOO FAST, eat the whole bread at one bite - .-

Our dear kafoo... put too much dark sauce on the egg... it look so black and sweet?

This is my breakfast set, as you can see I eat up all the eggs and bread, BUT never drink the coffee... how come ar? Because the Coffee too black le... I give the wrong order...- "Kopi O dont so black" - in the end Aunty give super concentrated, is undrinkable lah! waste my drink... Can die from caffeine if I drink few more slips..

So after the breakfast, we all went back to the tower, pack up and board the bus... not to mention, we have too many left over mineral water, next time I shall not be too kiasu sia... end up i need to bring everything back - cant bare to waste them. So thats all! Look forward for the next gathering!

We will be back to Sentosa next year!

posted at 12:21 AM

Thursday, May 1, 2008

Marine Parade CC Astronomy Exhibition - SM Goh Visit on 26th April 2008

The exhibition, with the purpose of giving the audience a brief look on the different enriching astronomy – related topics, was the largest exhibition we’ve held so far with over 20 posters that we worked days and nights on. Apart from the exhibition, a solar observation station was also set up on the rooftop with 2 refractors all ready for the public to view through. It is unfortunately the beginning of a new solar cycle, thus not much feature can be seen on the sun’s surface. However, looking at the sun through the scope and catching a glimpse of the prominences once in a while were more than mere fascination!

The highlight of the day was when SM Goh Chok Tong paid a visit to our booth. He was given a tour around the astronomy posters, and even went to the rooftop for solar observation.

We were sure that SM Goh, just as anyone else would, enjoyed the experience thoroughly. With this, we’ve taken another step forward, getting nearer to our goal of popularising astronomy to the whole Singapore community!

posted at 1:47 PM

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Lyrids Star Party 2008 (12-13th April 2008)

The Lyrids (also known as Alpha Lyrids or April Lyrids), is a prominent meteor shower lasting from April 15 to April 28 every year. Lyrids star party, an annual event organised by MPAstro in celebration of the meteor shower, is open to all students interested in finding out about the wonders of cosmos.

The first part of Lyrids star party was held in Republic Polytechnic. Our lecturer, Mr Y.K.Chia from Singastro, had taken his time off to give us a talk on his expertise, Near Earth Events – Satellites and Meteors. The talk was highly informational, and many wowed at his superb pictures on planes, satellites, meteors, and even sprites rarely seen in Singapore.

The students then had a change of air when they were led to the field nearby for our exciting game! They all had a good time finding their way out of the maze while being blindfolded, and we station masters enjoyed ourselves taking pictures as well! Our winning team, surprisingly, was a group of very young participants from Temasek secondary school.

After the game, everyone cooled down and had their refreshments while the movie “Contact” was screened. The movie was based on a novel written by Carl Sargan, the late president of the Planetary Society, and an activist in popularising astronomy to the public. With its interesting storyline, we were sure many would be greatly inspired after watching the movie.
At around 7pm, everyone was transported to East Coast Park, where we would be having our grand treasure hunt and overnight stargazing session. While the participants settled down and had their dinner at McDonalds, the organisers were ensuring all stations for the treasure hunt were in order.

At 11pm, our highly anticipated hunt began! Everyone was split into groups, and each groups were supposed to find the various stations scattered everywhere in East Coast Park based on the clues given, while having to solve the riddles on the way as well. It was tiring yet so much fun, and as everyone reached the last station, which was the campsite itself, we had a good time marking and commenting on the creative answers for the tricky riddles!

The night went on when everyone broke off into smaller groups to enjoy the beauty of the cosmos through various telescopes from MPAstro, the participating schools’, and the astronomers from Singastro. We sighted a lot of celestial objects, including Jupiter, Saturn, Orion nebula, Ring nebula, Lagoon nebula, Butterfly cluster, Ptolemy’s cluster, Beehive and Little Beehive cluster, Southern Pleiades, Christmas Tree cluster, Stargate cluster, globular clusters M4 M10 M12 M22 and Omega Centauri, among others. All in all, despite the momentarily cloudy skies, everyone from the amateurs to the veterans enjoyed East Coast’s southern sky to the fullest.

As the sun rose the next morning, we went back home, feeling fulfilled with all the astronomical objects we had seen, gave ourselves a good sleep, and prepared for our next overnight astro quest!

posted at 9:43 PM