MY OBSERVING SITES
These are my current observing sites:
The backyard: This is my usual site and is located in the outskirts of a village near Sandown, Isle of Wight, Southern England at 50.63 North, 1.17 West. The naked eye limiting magnitude is, on a good night, more than 6.3. There are great views to the south and west. East and north are somewhat obstructed, but that does not present much of a problem. There are few lights around, hardly any light pollution (except on hazy nights when the light dome from a nearby town makes itself known) and the only hazards are biological ones if the dogs have left late-night 'calling cards' plus there's often the odd inquisitive rat.
The back garden, looking west. There is a nice large gap between shed (partially visible on left) and the mimosa tree through which I have nice views of the skies to the south.
All set up and waiting for dark
The VAS Observatory at Watery Lane: I do some observing from here, too, especially as it is less than five minutes away from home by car. This is an excellent facility belonging to Vectis AS and is in use every Thursday night (for club nights and I admit this is the highlight of the week for me) and members often visit it on their own to use the dark site and the telescopes. Like the back garden at home it is a dark site (in fact it's only half a mile away from home). The only drawback is that the site belongs to the local parish community and sports association and when there is football training or a match in progress, the floodlights are on. Also, other people use the site for meetings in the next door pavilion and their car headlights throw white light all over the field.
The Vectis AS' observatory near Newchurch, where I do a bit of observing with other VAS members. There are often members present on clear nights.
