Coonabarabran parting shot
So where was I? Ah yes, bedding down in Tenterfield.
Next day, I pressed on through the still lovely countryside, trying to get to Coonabarabran in time for the 8:00 showing at the Skywatch Observatory. With an hour to spare, I rolled into town and checked into the Imperial Hotel. It's the nicest pub/hotel place that I've stayed in. Charming, cozy immaculate and a steal at $25 a night. Who needs backpackers? The air is getting quite cold at night, so it was great to amble into the pub for a quick meal, sit down by the wood burning stove and enjoy a Coopers Pale after the road. Did I mention that I really liked the Imperial Hotel in Coonabarabran?
After scarfing my food, I drove up the road to the Skywatch Observatory. Upon arrival, I was a bit skeptical when I saw the putt-putt course skirting the base of the telescope dome. Hmmm. The gift shop was obviously prominent, but the "museum" of questionable science had me nervous that I was going to be looking through a viewmaster instead of a telescope. Not to worry though, because we were shortly escorted to the dome by the manager of the Siding Springs Observatory, Peter. Peter proved to be very knowlegable about all things astro and gave us a great tour of the galaxy. Through the main 12" reflector telescope, we looked at the Orion Nebula, Saturn (the rings are awesome!), Jupiter and moons, and the Omega Centauri globular cluster.
Then, we went outside and checked out the lovely Jewel Box in the 8" cassagrainian and Alpha Centauri in the 8" reflector. The Jewel Box was particularly pretty. My stomach still gets a tingle when I ponder for a moment the fact that a photon has traveled for thousands or more years across such a distance, narrowly missing space dust and the like-- just to plop down into my retina. Awesome.
We also talked about constellations, even the Aboriginal type. Did you know that the Aboriginals use the dark patches in the sky to form their constellations instead of the stars? There's a big emu up there that's really easy to spot. The night was really chilly and the sky was perfectly clear and I wound up back in the pub writing postcards and enjoying one more Coopers before sliding into bed with my electric blanket! Did I mention that the Imperial Hotel in Coonabarabran was very cozy and comfortable?
The next morning, I showed in their delightfully country/art deco showers. The steam from the hot water had that old timey whiff of old pipes and wood smoke. Primally luxurious. Did I mention....
Anyway, after wasting enough precious water, I got out and went up to the Siding Springs Observatory, home of Australia's largest telescope at nearly 4 meters. The tour there lasted for over two hours, guided by Peter, the fellow from the night before. Up on top of the observatory, the view of the surrounding Warrumbungles is fantastic. I'll have photos up soon that will give a better detail of my time spent up there.
After the observatory, I went back down the road to the Warrumbungle Glass House cafe, had a tasty late lunch and wound back into town. I was weirdly tired at this point and not ready to leave town, so I checked back into the Imperial, got some dinner and watched the finale of Australian Biggest Loser. Adro won. I knew he would weeks ago. Good on ya!
So now we're caught up. Russian visa is taking longer to get rolling than I thought. Not surprising though, and I've still got time. All the better to practice my Cyrillic.
ДO CBИДAHИЯ -- CKOTЛЙ
Next day, I pressed on through the still lovely countryside, trying to get to Coonabarabran in time for the 8:00 showing at the Skywatch Observatory. With an hour to spare, I rolled into town and checked into the Imperial Hotel. It's the nicest pub/hotel place that I've stayed in. Charming, cozy immaculate and a steal at $25 a night. Who needs backpackers? The air is getting quite cold at night, so it was great to amble into the pub for a quick meal, sit down by the wood burning stove and enjoy a Coopers Pale after the road. Did I mention that I really liked the Imperial Hotel in Coonabarabran?
After scarfing my food, I drove up the road to the Skywatch Observatory. Upon arrival, I was a bit skeptical when I saw the putt-putt course skirting the base of the telescope dome. Hmmm. The gift shop was obviously prominent, but the "museum" of questionable science had me nervous that I was going to be looking through a viewmaster instead of a telescope. Not to worry though, because we were shortly escorted to the dome by the manager of the Siding Springs Observatory, Peter. Peter proved to be very knowlegable about all things astro and gave us a great tour of the galaxy. Through the main 12" reflector telescope, we looked at the Orion Nebula, Saturn (the rings are awesome!), Jupiter and moons, and the Omega Centauri globular cluster.
Then, we went outside and checked out the lovely Jewel Box in the 8" cassagrainian and Alpha Centauri in the 8" reflector. The Jewel Box was particularly pretty. My stomach still gets a tingle when I ponder for a moment the fact that a photon has traveled for thousands or more years across such a distance, narrowly missing space dust and the like-- just to plop down into my retina. Awesome.
We also talked about constellations, even the Aboriginal type. Did you know that the Aboriginals use the dark patches in the sky to form their constellations instead of the stars? There's a big emu up there that's really easy to spot. The night was really chilly and the sky was perfectly clear and I wound up back in the pub writing postcards and enjoying one more Coopers before sliding into bed with my electric blanket! Did I mention that the Imperial Hotel in Coonabarabran was very cozy and comfortable?
The next morning, I showed in their delightfully country/art deco showers. The steam from the hot water had that old timey whiff of old pipes and wood smoke. Primally luxurious. Did I mention....
Anyway, after wasting enough precious water, I got out and went up to the Siding Springs Observatory, home of Australia's largest telescope at nearly 4 meters. The tour there lasted for over two hours, guided by Peter, the fellow from the night before. Up on top of the observatory, the view of the surrounding Warrumbungles is fantastic. I'll have photos up soon that will give a better detail of my time spent up there.
After the observatory, I went back down the road to the Warrumbungle Glass House cafe, had a tasty late lunch and wound back into town. I was weirdly tired at this point and not ready to leave town, so I checked back into the Imperial, got some dinner and watched the finale of Australian Biggest Loser. Adro won. I knew he would weeks ago. Good on ya!
So now we're caught up. Russian visa is taking longer to get rolling than I thought. Not surprising though, and I've still got time. All the better to practice my Cyrillic.
ДO CBИДAHИЯ -- CKOTЛЙ
posted by Scottley at 5:29 PM
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