EarthLOG
is a collection of my
personal adventures under the stars. They aren't always
about astronomy and they aren't always about the
equipment.
03 September 2001 : Fish &
Star-Chips (Tioman, Malaysia)
pictures
So I
was on an island with the sun, sand, sea, fish and stars; Crystal
waters sparkling under the moonlight..
21 July 2001 : Morning Coffee &
the Planets (Johor, Malaysia)
Five
planets in one night.. I'm missing four more to complete the Solar
System collection. With the KK Wide Scan II 30mm eyepiece, the stars
never looked better.
July
2001 : ..and the exhibition's public tour continues to the
schools. Mars' perigee has come and gone. A dust storm is
brewing on the red planet's surface.
A partial lunar eclipse this month (July 05, umbral eclipse
starts 9.35pm- Maximum eclipse at
10.55pm - umbral eclipse ends 12.15am Singapore time) and
a fading comet Linear in Cetus-Pisces region.
July
2001 : ..and the exhibition's public tour continues to the
schools. Mars' perigee has come and gone. A dust storm is
brewing on the red planet's surface.
A partial lunar eclipse this month (July 05, umbral eclipse
starts 9.35pm- Maximum eclipse at
10.55pm - umbral eclipse ends 12.15am Singapore time) and
a fading comet Linear in Cetus-Pisces region.
19 June 2001
: Camp Vega - Stars of Ophir Part II
(Gunung Ledang, Malaysia)
The
second off-island camp in the spirit of Astronomy 2001.
This time we had the stars in our hands. The binocular views of the
universe were spectacular.
25 May 2001 : AstroBash!VII - Stars
of Ophir Part I
(Gunung Ledang, Malaysia)
"Dear
Jacksen,, A most exciting and dramatic
AstroBash experience ever.. Too bad you couldn't make this trip.
You'd have enjoyed it."
May
2001 : At this point in time, I have absolutely devoted all of
my available time to Astronomy
2001 Singapore. I have precious little time to observe
the transition of the planets and constellations, solar and
lunar, much less to photograph them for now. The solar spots
have been a storm; Mars has been growing too. Soon, soon..
I'm glad to even get a few days off to go stargazing.
May
2001 : At this point in time, I have absolutely devoted all of
my available time to Astronomy
2001 Singapore. I have precious little time to observe
the transition of the planets and constellations, solar and
lunar, much less to photograph them for now. The solar spots
have been a storm; Mars has been growing too. Soon, soon..
I'm glad to even get a few days off to go stargazing.
14 March 2001
: Camp Polaris (Tebing
Tinggi, Malaysia)
pictures
The
first off-island astronomy camp this year for
Singapore youths. I had a wonderful time searching
the stars with this group who had not yet seen the
full glory of dark skies.
08 February
2001 : Islands of Stars
(Penang, Malaysia / Phuket, Thailand)
& 09 March to 11 March (Penang, Malaysia) pictures
Combining
my experiences at both the exhibitions held at Komtar (February) and at
Island Plaza (March). Also featuring the Blue Canyon
Country Club.
On
Location Report : the Penang Astrophotography
Exhibition & Astrofest 2001 pictures
(Includes
a private interview with S.W.Teoh of
Sky & Teoh
Observatory.)
On
Location Report : the Penang Astrophotography
Exhibition & Astrofest 2001 pictures
(Includes
a private interview with S.W.Teoh of
Sky & Teoh
Observatory.)
Coasting
over the area between Penang (Malaysia) and Phuket
(Thailand), lay many an island scattered at the
gateway to the Straits of Malacca. There appears to
be several distinctive islands that appear unfazed by
world zipping by. I can just imagine the potential of
these islands as future sites for astronomical
expeditions.
2001 : Thai
Buddhism and the Stars (Bangkok / Chiang Mai,
Thailand)
This
trip to Thailand really sparked off a lot of new
thoughts in me. This field of cultural astronomy is
fun to explore. It helped a little to discover that
the first realm of the Buddhist heaven lay just
beyond the Moon. (There are 31 planes of existence in
Buddhist philosophy, covering all known gods
(including the
God) and non-gods, creatures and non-creatures,
heavens and hells.)
Christmas
2000 : Season's Cheer to All (Earth)
The
waning Moon and Venus set steadily over western
horizon. Jupiter and Saturn overhead. If the
Christmas Star were anything like Venus, I'll follow
it over the horizon too. My experiences this year are
all too fascinating even to me. Happy Christmas and a
Merry New Year!
27 November
2000 : AstroBASH!VI Of Rain & Stars
(Mersing, Malaysia) pictures
How
does one make a pact with the skies to be both full
of stars and NOT rain at the same time? Then again
it's the monsoon season and no one bargains with the
weather. Pegasus and Andromeda overhead, Orion to the
east, Gemini and Cancer rising from the seas, water
splashing into our upcast eyes; Not too bad really.
17 November
2000 : Of Planets, Moon and Leonids (Singapore)
Target
Saturn found. I was unprepared for the view around
Saturn. Two small star-like points near this gas
giant. I can only guess that one of them is the
satellite Titan. The other one, I think is Rhea.
These are the only two satellites that could be
brighter than 10th magnitude. There was a third star-like point, but I think that one really could be
a star.
11 November
2000 : GAS GIANTS GAZING : Starring the WYO Fluoro Star
100 (Singapore)
Jupiter
at 320x. Now this was getting exciting... William
Yang wasn't kidding when he said this would rival
AstroPhysics and Takahashi. I see why now and I wish
him well in breaking the astronomical market the
world over.
26 October
2000 : the K.L. experience (Kuala
Lumpur, Malaysia) pictures
My
first trip up to K.L. to view the Malaysia
Astrophotography Exhibition. My first priority there
was to report on the exhibition. I honestly did not
expect any other programmes other than hanging out at
the exhibition since I knew only one person there. By
some quirk of fate, I traced two old friends who are
now working in K.L.
On
Location Report : the Malaysia Astrophotography
Exhibition 2000 pictures
(Includes
a private interview with William Yang of William Yang
Optics; and Lin Qisheng, a renowned Taiwanese
astrophotographer.)
On
Location Report : the Malaysia Astrophotography
Exhibition 2000 pictures
(Includes
a private interview with William Yang of William Yang
Optics; and Lin Qisheng, a renowned Taiwanese
astrophotographer.)
30 June 2000
: the SkySensor's the Limit (Mersing,
Malaysia)
This
would be the second time I'm trying the SS2k's
three-point alignment. I'd since been practicing and
running motor and GOTO trials at home. I figured I
was ready to take on the stars.
06 May 2000 : First Light (Mersing, Malaysia)
Ever
seen the Milky Way in all its glory, a storm of
golden lightning on the horizon and a host of meteors
all at once? Whoa. Still I managed to get a couple of
decent shots on my 4-camera assembly.
04 March 2000
: Starlit Night (Mersing,
Malaysia)
Waait
a minute.. *Ohmigosh!!*
Is that the Coalsack??!! Seriously!
We're actually looking at the Coalsack patch in Crux!
We can actually SEE that?!
16 November
1999 : LEONIDS of Mersing
I
WANT a fireball.. a big, fat, long, colourful and
noisy fireball. As if in
response, a blinding white flash zipped
instantaneously from cloud to earth followed by a
resounding crack.
10 September
1999 : the Batu Layar account
(Desaru, Malaysia)
Against
the contrasting light-coloured sand, I vaguely
discerned two dark figures approaching our camp.
Military men. *Uh oh.*
14 June 1999
: AstroBASH!III the NUSAS Star Party (Sedili,
Malaysia)
As
the stars saturated the night, they overwhelmed the
novices who had a challenging time figuring out the
various constellations and asterisms. Someone in his
stellar confusion, thought he had seen Orion,
oblivious to the fact that Orion was on his personal
June vacation from the night.
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