items for a night under the stars?

[chemtom24]

just been browsing ebay and brought a cheap 2 man pop up tent for 15 quid brand new, and a red /white led headlamp, for when i spend whole nights out under the stars with scope.

so has anyone got any must have items they reccomend? how many thermos flasks of hot water!!

also will need a bag or 3 lol, how do you lot carry your scopes about?

have a 150p newt and an eq5 mount. will be walking about 5 miles with it all lol. sounds bad but actually isnt too far.

[MikeWilson]

The tent you're unlikely to need unless you're setting up early and need somewhere to pass time - although a popup shelter might be a good way to keep the wind off you.

5 miles with a 150P sounds gruelling! Maybe a swap for a 127Mak or refractor might e better as you could get a carry case for it that way?

Clear skies,

Mike

[Ad Astra]

A pair of 7x50 bins and a nice star atlas.... if I'm looking at Luna, I bring the Hadfield atlas instead.

Oh, yeah - I also bring Mrs. Astra! Always nice to have a pal to share the eyepiece with!

Dan

[rowan46]

that's a stiff walk with a lot of stuff. with that much I would get a trailer. This is what I use when I am going a distance

Child 3 In 1 Folded Bike Trailer Stroller Jogger Seat Buggy Lightweight Red Black 1-2 Child 5 Point Harness With Canopy Visible Flag: Amazon.co.uk: Sports & Leisure

It has a 50kg limit which doubles my carrying potential and can also be pulled by cycle

[chemtom24]

bins and a star map sound good. thanks for all the comments. the pop up shelter is mainly so i have somewhere to dump all the gear to keep it safe and in one place, and possibly to kip in if the night gets too long.

i think i may have been slightly optimistic about carrying the scope and mount 5 miles. the more i think about it, the less i want to do it.

[Psychobilly]

Before I built the Obs I used to use a couple of beach bivvies think I got then for £3 each ... handy for a quick Snooze whilst imaging one for me one for the Laptop and other kit......

[GeorgeB]

8 cans of Scrumpy Jack

[GeorgeB]

...and a torch (red light) is also essential

[chemtom24]

ahh i stopped drinking and smoking a while back - will have to be tea instead! and have brought a red led headlamp thingy off ebay

[ollypenrice]

A dog.

We adopted ours when, as a pup, she would roam the night with her mum and make regular visits around the obseratories befriending everyone. When we heard she was to be given away we had to say, 'Yes, to us!'

Olly

[pete_l]

One of my "standard equipments" when in the field is a light-coloured groundsheet to put under the scope. Murphy dictates that the smaller the screws, the more frequently they get dropped and crawling around in a field, in the dark looking for that one-and-only special sized screw is no fun. At least when they drop onto the sheet you know that if you can't find them during the night, it'll be in the sheet somewhere when you pack up.