Airstronomy

[Al and Missy]

I have a Celestron Nexstar 8" SC that I have been wanting to take out and have never done it. So far all our camping has been in state parks or RV parks. I'd like to do some OTG camping where we can have darker skies.

We have reservations in KY for an eclipse rally and I will be taking it, hoping there are some good sites for nightime viewing. I have a camera to go with it, so hopefully I can get a proper filter and get some good video. I haven't looked into the camera FOV issue yet.

[BryanVides]

Nice pictures.

[Lumatic]

I am a newbie to astromomy and would be interested in getting together with other camper/peepers in the 4 corners/ southwest. I have a garage sale Telestar 4" reflector.

I also have 40 acres outside of Estancia NM with pretty dark skies and would welcome visitors.

[Gsmblue]

From time to time I will travel with my Nextstar 5. It is a fun telescope. You can see it next to the SUV in one of the pics. The other is a short exposure of the Andromeda galaxy. the camera was a little heavy for the small 'scope! Both taken in Bend last summer just before I bought a house down here.

At home I have a 4"APO and a 10" LX200. Going to hopefully build an observatory this summer now I live under dark skies

The best telescope is like the best camera. One you will actually use. If it is too complex or heavy then you may not use it.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Starstream

I am interested in a telescope for astrophotography.

That's a rabbit hole. There are web cams being used with eyepiece adaptors all the way to full-blown liquid cooled cameras. My friend has 5 acres in a small astronomy community, so there's no lights on good viewing days.
My eyes got so dark adapted that we thought we had left a light on in the house, and it turned out to be the light given off by the pilot light of the stove! He's gone full blown 18" F2.8 computer controlled with a SBIG camera and filter wheel. Stacking images, and software subtracts noise. There's no eyepiece, strictly imaging. Too difficult, IMO. (still way ahead of film)

The roof is on a track and one person can roll it off.
The scope he uses most is a 20" Dobsonian.
If I was to do it (I sold my 8" Meade) I'd get a 12" Dob. No stepladder needed, fun and simple.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Starstream

I'm also in the market for a heavy duty tri-pod with multiple axis tiltible mount.

Heavy duty is good. It's amazing how much shake can be induced in a average tripod. (Look into Losmandy) But I'm not sure about multiple axis tilt. Astronomy tripods are designed to be aligned equatorially. (Aimed at the north star). That way, stars and planets move in one plane only. Motorized tripods will track objects. (called right assension, the other axis is declination, and it's adjustable, but not much.)We actually aligned one guy's scope using GPS. I was amazed that walking 10' made a 1 second change in the readout. It's a long process and when you've got it, you don't move it.
It's amazing how often an airplane flies through your attempt at an image. or satellite or shooting star. The airplane you can just hold a black card over the front.

Now, I enjoy sitting in a lawn chair with a good set of binoculars. (mine are 10 x 70's).

[Mollysdad]

The neighbors.

[Gsmblue]

Wow! I wish I had a dome like that. Mine will be a shed with a roll off roof

If I am a good boy I will get to use the wife's DSLR at night!

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by Gsmblue

Wow! I wish I had a dome like that. Mine will be a shed with a roll off roof

The dome was built because the owner made a 36" dobsonian he called the "Yard Scope". He built scopes for a while, Tectron, and still made collimating tools in that workshop. However, a 36" scope needs PERFECT viewing skies or it looks soft, and you had to climb a 16' stepladder to look in the eyepiece. All in all, not worth it.
My friend built the roll off roof shed too. It's very functional. It rolls on 8 steel wheels. He uses "load binders" to clamp the roof shut in bad weather. Otherwise the county zoning frowns on removable roofs. "Son, here we try to keep the roof on."

[candyk]

We are heading from Florida to Missouri to be in the path of the totality. Very excited, hoping for clear skies!!

[Lumatic]

Donnelly Idaho

[Dingo Girl]

Beautiful pictures.

[Mollysdad]

Originally Posted by streaminwild

My dad pointed out what looked like moving stars, with no flashing lights for airplanes. He told us that these were satellites, with the sun reflecting on them. Is this true?

Yes, you can see them often. Spy satellites travel in a N/S plane so as the Earth rotates they can cover all the planet. They're also lower orbits. There's web sites that will tell you when the Space Station will pass overhead. It's cool to watch, we wave.