So Astrofest is done and dusted for another year. For the first time since the early 2000s (when we did model rocket displays) we were volunteers. This time we were running one of the telescope pods - the Smart Telescope pod, which, unlike the other pods, was not limited to a single target. We were all over the sky, making the most of the ease of control and versatility of these fun devices.

@leece and I had three DwarfIIs, there was a pair of Seestar S50s, a Unistellar EVScopeII, and even a Vaonis Vespera II (which is a work of art, as well as being a stunning telescope).

We even had someone doing it oldschool with a guide mount and a DSLR with a very beefy lens!

We started the afternoon with sun and moon viewing - made challenging with the sunlight on our screens. After, one of the S50s continued with the moon for the rest of the night, while the rest of us went on to other targets, including 47 Tucanae, the Cat's Paw Nebula, C65 (The Sculptor Galaxy), The Lagoon Nebula, the SMC, the LMC, and even a random star that someone had the coordinates for tattooed on their arm!

We were on our feet pretty much from 2:30 when we set up to 10:30 when we finally departed, and talked to the public almost non-stop from about 4pm. We answered questions about what these weird looking devices were, and why people were not looking through them, what they could do, how much they cost, and which were the best. This last one was a tough one, as we own one brand, and there was another brand in the same price bracket right next to us :) We were fair, though, and highlighted the pluses and minuses of each. And explaining, many times, that we were not selling them.

Early in the evening Leece did duck off to watch the Astrophotography competition awards, as she had been shortlisted. And, to her surprise, she had just sat down when they announced the winner for the Night Sky Friendly Lighting category - with her image of the rising galactic core over a resort near Bindoon taking the prize!

It was a fantastic, if exhausting experience, and one we look forward to repeating in Feb 2026.

#astronomy #astrophotography #ScienceEducation #Astrofest #PerthWA #Astrofest #Astrofest2024 #Bindoon #DarkSkyAlliance #DwarfII #SeeStarS50 #Unistellar #Vespera2