Beulah

A dark sky area with no light pollution is oft beset with clouds

Those of us who have an audience (myself and other associates of IDA dark sky areas) are doing all we can to educate others about the scourge of light pollution though public talks, local campaigns and planetarium shows at school. We have to educate people about the precious resource of dark skies to keep a healthy ecosystem and a healthy humanity but show them how much has been lost. It's gone beyond stargazers wanting to see a pretty star-spangled sky....(one comment I had was "why should I turn my lights off for a niche interest?) Not to mention the precious energy resources we are burning up for the sake of unnecessary 24 hour lighting. As a friend said to me the other day that one of humanity's primal fears is the dark....a lot of re-education is needed.

The problem is that wild camping is massively popular these days, thanks to social media and influencers. The popularity of this pastime is such that it is having an impact on the relatively small UK wild landscape though littering and fouling. Such a shame for those who have been discretely wild camping for years, enjoying the wilderness and truly leave no trace to see it trending. In my line of work it is astonishing to see how much human detritus is left in the landscape - anything from used toilet roll to a complete camp setup abandoned ala music festival style... I guess it has become so popular that landowners have taken notice...and for those stargazing it might be a case of having to prove you are not kipping on the land...😔

Yes., You don't see such detail of that region of sky in the uk. Where about in Wales was it taken?

You win the thread 🤣 funnily enough I was having a heated debate about this with a work colleague a couple of days ago; I was on the side of an ocular, a binocular, etc. Like you, I couldn't get across the concept that a pair of binoculars were four oculars 😁

Option 2 s it's cloudy a lot where I live. I have to revisit the old favourites as I like spotting new aspects/features/comparing with previous sessions which may be several months ago. Plus reinforcing the mental sky map... Option 1 kicks in when there is a run of clear skies and energy levels align...

Affinity Photo might be worth a punt...£32 Black Friday one-off price (no subscription). I've used the Affinity suite in professional applications and have been impressed. https://affinity.serif.com/en-gb/photo/#top

I have both solid tube and flex tube versions of the Skywatcher 300p and the flex tube does win a little, as the tube can be partially extended for binoviewers (which I am planning to buy one day) and compactness during storage. The solid tube is much better at holding collimation... Weight-wise, the flex tube is a little heavier...

Another dark sky person here in a professional capacity...over the last two years, we have left 10x50s, a book about binocular targets, planisphere, red light torch and a bit of info about light pollution on our holiday cottages (work's not mine!)...we did float the idea of leaving a small 'frac or 6 inch dobsonian but were concerned about small children/dogs damaging the equipment. Left a feedback book and it's great to read what folk have discovered!

I guess it's more of a trick of the eye; switching between averted and direct vision seems to make the filaments appear to be gossamer-like; specifically in NGC6960. The Veil Nebula Complex is a fascinating object to study!

I'm a bit carless at the moment (crazy prices, yadayada) so if I need to get away from the second moon that is my neighbour's light I can wheel my 200p a mile up the road on a hand sack truck, bungee cords, etc. Wouldn't attempt it with my 300p, though!!

In a dark sky the filaments of this nebula appears to shimmer....it can also be seen without an OIII filter if you know where to look (Meaning find it with the filter, then remove it).

Good heads up. I know Dani through my work (part of which is in dark skies) and she is doing a marvellous job.

Fantastic!

Got to be honest, it's great to see a 12" dob return in solid tube form. ☺️

Would love to read a report of your astro adventures abroad. Hope you have a great time ☺️.

Bortle 2 dilemma...🤣 It's amazing how much you can see with even small-apertured equipment in such dark skies. If it were me, I would take something that's grab-and-go, so you can either sit and scan the skies or have a little wander away from outdoor lighting. The key is, you are on holiday to relax, so the setup has to be as light and easy to use as possible. 10x50 binoculars are ideal; large enough to see a lot of stuff plus the image is steady enough not to be frustrating hand held. Enjoy the night sky with the unaided eyes as the Milky Way will be a sight to behold!

Gotta be NGC6960...might take me that long to find it! 🤣

Those very brief moments of extreme atmospheric clarity...gets you hooked. 🙂

Visual observer here who thinks people prefer a pretty picture than paragraphs of text. Hence, I tend to write 'reports' and not publish them. However, published observing reports really are incredibly useful to compare what can be seen through different optical equipment/skies. The amount of times I have researched online for comparative visual accounts....

I take SQM readings at 14 sites across a 186 sq km area and have only noticed around a 1% - ish reduction in light pollution over the year. Reduction in light pollution is most likely more apparent in more densely populated areas due to reduced night driving during lockdown...

Let's just say I'm a kid that moved to the sweet shop...😁

I have a full army softie set, that goes over multiple layers. It's a duvet in a suit. Plus it doesn't shed fibres which is ideal for keeping handy eyepieces in the pockets...I found walking boots ideal too, as the raised heel/sole insulates against the cold in the ground seeping up...

@tooth_dr - That dome is a thing of beauty!

Another Pentax fan here.