This is my version of a perfect 24 hours on a Spanish Island. This post was written as an entry for 24 hours on The Balearics contest sponsored by OnTheBeach.co.uk. The prize is £500 in Amazon Vouchers and the contest runs until August 31, 2012. Please visit BeersandBeans.com to learn more about the contest and how you can also enter.
I’ve never been there though I noticed that one of the islands has a place called ‘Space.’
So if you’d go to Ibiza, would you visit one of its lovely beaches, or would you rather head off to Space, Amnesia, or Privilege for a big night out? However, if you think there’s more to Ibiza than its beaches and clubs, you could write about your potential visit to the stunning Can Marça Caves or search for the enigmatic Lost World of Atlantis.
I realized that it might be nice and dark for astronomy on an island too so, I decided that my perfect 24 hours would involve creating a conference and bring my friends.
During the day, we’d learn all about the current night time sky and the wonderful things we can see overhead when the sun goes down.
It sounds like the weather is nice there a lot so odds are good we’d enjoy nice views.
I’d organize a tour of Ibiza because it’s so beautiful, from the pictures. We’d enjoy a reception at ‘Space‘ then head out for a fabulous star party.
I’d probably coordinate this with The Messier Marathon* or some other nice astronomical event like an eclipse. We’d be completely exhausted after 24 hours on Ibiza and it would be worth it!
If I organize this dream trip, would you like to go? I think we’d need more than 24 hours there don’t you? I read that there are some great museums, ruins and caves to explore on Ibiza. There are many other things to do there as well.
*A Messier marathon is an attempt, usually organized by amateur astronomers, to find as many Messier objects as possible during one night.
Pingback: On the Beach’s Balearics Blitz competition - An Awesome Contest!! #OnTheBeach24
Finally had 2 warm evenings under the stars. The All Arizona Messier Marathon was a kick. Lots of drivnig, but worth it. Daytime temps were in the high 90’s and nighttime was high 60’s. A very dusty site located next to a cotton farm, but surprisingly my equipment came home clean. Someone counted a total attendance of 177 people at the pre-marathon meeting. I counted around ~80 scopes. There were several people from around the country including a woman all the way from India!The site situated between Phoenix and Tucson was brightened by light domes to the north and southeast (Bortle ~4.5), but seeing was exceptional at zenith. I managed to glimpse 108 of the 110, missing M74 due to Venus glare and M30 due to sunrise and Tucson dome. I looked long and hard for both and with my goto scope I knew they were in the field of view and thought I saw them bearly, but nothing resolved well enough to discount my wishful imagination, so I decided that I could not honestly count them. I heard that some folks claimed that they saw all 110, and a few others 109.All in all I had a good enough time that I plan to do it again next year and stay an extra day or 2.