safe haven for tiny formats

[Corran]

EdgeHD 11

Wow! I can't imagine. You know I'm slumming it a bit with my 36-year-old C8 (I can see its failings when doing very DSO imaging), but I paid all of $400 for it along with accessories. I'm currently gunning for a bargain-priced reflector to pair with it though for a good midrange imager (I love the look of images with diffraction spikes to boot). I've been contemplating whether it'd be better to try to find a used but newer SCT, a really nice APO refractor, or a better camera to pair with whatever I'm using, an actual astro camera, perhaps an APS-C sensor one from ZWO. My gut says that glass is a better investment. Actually, currently my bank account says none of them...

[Pali K]

Nice stuff Bryan and Pauli.

Earlier this year I spent the weekend in Christmas Valley, Oregon. I got up in the middle of the night and saw the clearest sky in my life, I think. It was better than at the Alvord Dessert when I was there. I saw the Miikey Way from horizon-to-horizon and it was like a band of fog because it was so dense with stars.

Thank you, Tuco! What you described is the magic I remember from my childhood looking up at the sky. If all works out, I plan to travel to locations that have the least light pollution to witness what you mentioned.

[Pali K]

Wow! I can't imagine. You know I'm slumming it a bit with my 36-year-old C8 (I can see its failings when doing very DSO imaging), but I paid all of $400 for it along with accessories. I'm currently gunning for a bargain-priced reflector to pair with it though for a good midrange imager (I love the look of images with diffraction spikes to boot). I've been contemplating whether it'd be better to try to find a used but newer SCT, a really nice APO refractor, or a better camera to pair with whatever I'm using, an actual astro camera, perhaps an APS-C sensor one from ZWO. My gut says that glass is a better investment. Actually, currently my bank account says none of them...

Bryan, I really do think astrophotography is one hobby where "better equipment = better output" is a true statement. SCTs can be annoying to work with because of so many variables that have to align and be "just right" but when things do align, the results are breathtaking. My EdgeHD 8 captures 800x more light than the eye and with an eyepiece, the night sky is a magical sight. The EdgeHD 11 will be 1600x and I can't want to have my jaw on the floor when I do finally get to witness the sky through it. You're welcome to check it out if you're around DC/MD.

[Corran]

Yeah I agree with you Pali. One good thing though is it seems some folks really deep into the hobby will always buy the latest and greatest thing and sell off their old stuff cheaply, so I'm hoping maybe I'll find something like that. In the meantime, I will keep giving it a go with what I have, especially using my telephoto lenses for widefield which I really enjoy. Are you registered on the CloudyNights forum? Their classifieds are interesting.

Last night it was a fair bit clearer from smoke so I tried catching Triangulum. But my mount was doing a weird jitter - I think my balance was a bit off, and I didn't feel like doing a full autoguide setup. Results were unusable. Also the dew was terrible. My shield was working for about 30 minutes then it fogged up anyway. I have a heated shield but the power adapter was out of stock last year but I finally bought one, which should be here soon.

Would certainly love to see your setup in person if I'm back up that way. Been almost 5 years since going to DC last.

[Roger Thoms]

iPhone 6, from my job site a few months ago.

Roger

[Roger Thoms]

iPhone 6
From a trip to Hawaii a couple years ago.

Roger

[Tin Can]

Full Moon September 2021 by TIN CAN COLLEGE, on Flickr

[Tin Can]

A Giant City copy by TIN CAN COLLEGE, on Flickr

[Roger Thoms]

Roden Crater. Artist James Turell has quite the project going on there. https://rodencrater.com/about/
Nikon N8008s, 35-135mm f3.5-4.5 AF, Provia. Shot this in 2015 and just had the roll scanned.

Roger

[Peter De Smidt]

Back area of a one-room school from 1866: