The Webb Deep-Sky Society 

 Jenni Kay - Southern Sky Director (Retired 2015)

Jenni Kay - Southern Sky Director  

 

Deep sky observing is my main interest, having taken this up in 1991 after relocating from Sydney, New South Wales, to the Adelaide Hills in South Australia. Here my semi-rural home site skies typically offer a limiting naked eye magnitude of 6.1, with the seeing rated at Antoniadi II-III. My first telescope was an 8" f/10 SCT, which I mainly used for taking wide-field piggy-back astro-photos. This gave me some great images, but I spent so much time looking at guide stars, and very little time looking at the deep sky objects I was imaging. And so, soon enough, I switched my main interest from astro-photography to deep sky observing. My next telescope was a 12.5" f/5 Newtonian.

The deep sky observing notes I enjoy taking have given me sufficient material to write numerous observing reports and articles for a variety of astronomy newsletters. I write a monthly observing article for the Canberra Astronomical Society, and periodically for the Astronomical Society of South Australia. My articles have also appeared in some overseas newsletters, and the Australian astronomy magazine Sky & Space.

I like working on large observing projects, such as working through large galaxy clusters e.g. Centaurus and Fornax; and sifting through the Large and Small Magellanic Clouds. I especially enjoyed the Clouds project, working through them firstly with an 8" telescope and then the 12.5". A friend of mine has a 30" f/5 Newtonian, and I am slowly working my way through them again. I could never tire of the amazing sights in the Magellanic Clouds. The Webb Society publishes a handbook I wrote being "A Visual Atlas of the Magellanic Clouds".

As the secretary for the Southern Skies of the Webb Society, I accept subscription dues in AUD currency, and distribute Webb Society handbooks. Southern members can send me their observing reports to be published in the Webb Society's journal, "The Deep-Sky Observer" under the Southern Section Report. I like to encourage folk to submit their observing reports to me, and I am too pleased to help them with it. Furthermore, if anyone has queries on observing techniques, deep sky object data, or they are after information they cannot locate, I am happy to assist them or refer them to those who are in the know. And finally, I do like to hear from you, so just drop me a line and say G'day.

Jenni Kay

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