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What do you do while exposing subs?

PhotoGav

By PhotoGav
in Imaging - Discussion

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PhotoGav

PhotoGav

Posted
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It's one of those thoughts that comes when too much time is available... What's the best way to while away the long imaging sessions?

My favourite site for imaging is about 5 miles away from home, an old disused WWII aerodrome on the top of one side of the valley. It's dark, has a 360 unobstructed view, not too much light pollution and is quiet. (Except for the local bobby doing his rural rounds last weekend... we had a nice chat and his full beam headlights didn't ruin that 6 minute sub, amazingly!). So, I don't have an observatory, am not in my garden, have my car and that's it. My most recent 4 hour session had me playing Pink Floyd's Pulse album on my iPhone at 'full blast', dancing around like an old man....!

What do you do while your rig is imaging to while away those long subs?!

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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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I belt over to the next rig and get that going and when that's done I stagger over to the third!!! In the very unlikely event that the first one hasn't stopped working by then I get a bit of kip in the warm room or help out on the Dob. Growling Gothic curses against the iniquities of Microsoft takes up at least two hours a night, of course.

:grin: lly

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IanL

IanL

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dodgy late night films are always a winner :grin:

Yep made that mistake a few weeks ago, then had to go out in the dark with only a head-torch to pack everything away.

"They mostly come at night. Mostly."

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Brent

Brent

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I have to stay outside to manually start/stop and time the subs so I usually have Astronomy FM radio on the phone and do a little browsing on here.

Sometimes have a scan through the binos as well.

The back garden's not secure so I generally only pop in to make a quick cuppa or swap charging batteries.

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JB80

JB80

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Well, I imagine there is more going on with a full on imaging rig to worry about but with the dslr and polarie it's very easy to just set it and forget it which is a good thing as I can spend a bit more time with the wife.


Generally it's a case of relaxing a bit, falling asleep, waking up, changing batteries, shoot darks, waking up again to bring everything inside.


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ollypenrice

ollypenrice

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None of you, bar maybe Olly, do any visual observing? This is exactly the time to have 2 set-ups, get your AP set-up collecting photons and then let your eyes have a go on another scope :D.

This is true, though the problem for me is that if I have all three rigs on the go I don't get dark adapted unless things are going particularly smoothly with no glitches or Meridian Flips.

I do like to flop in the hammock outside and tour with the bins and a star chart, though, particularly in summer when the warmth and the Milky Way make for a double bill of attractions.

Olly

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swag72

swag72

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I'm afraid I'm rather partial to my sleep, so once I get up and running, watch some TV and spend some time with hubby and the dog (otherwise they feel left out!!), I switch on my rain sensor and go to bed!!!

Wake up in the morning to either a clear sky (hurrah!!) or cloud (boo!)

When I'm setting up and / or just hanging about I just browse the net and contemplate life!! Of course having an obs in the garden is very different to having to lug everything to a dark site. I think in that case I'd get my bino's out and listen to my favourite music! And try to stay warm!!!

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Gina

Gina

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I'm much the same as Sara :)  Set thing up and get them going then wait for the first couple of subs to finish to check all's well before going to bed.  While I'm waiting for the first subs I'm usually reading or posting here or maybe processing earlier stuff.   I'm lucky in having an obsy in the garden and a reasonably dark site so can make use of the rare occasions when we get clear night skies.

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James

James

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Once the imaging rig is working I usually do some observing. If I haven't taken a scope with me for visual I either play games on my computer or what a couple of Al Murray shows stored on my laptop - out in the sticks no one will hear my maniacal laughter :) Every quarter of an hour or so I'll get up and go for a walk to keep warm/awake....

Oh, and I eat. Constantly...

James

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r3i

r3i

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Usually have a mooch on here whilst waiting for the first few subs to come through, then try to gain a couple of brownie points by joining SWMBO back inside, though I still monitor operations via a VNC session on the smartphone.

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Brent

Brent

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Drink beer and watch Breaking Bad.

That would be my ideal choice but I'm under strict instructions from the wife not to watch them on my own.

Only got 4 episodes to go  :sad:   I don't want it to finish! :cry:

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PhotoGav

PhotoGav

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Fascinating. The one thing that strikes me most is that loads of you have an obsy-shed in the garden... What luxury! Particularly enjoyed Mike's Northern Sky Observations website and drooled over the obsy build pages!

I'll have to stick to the iphone loud speaker (Astronomy FM will be an interesting addition to the playlist - thanks Brent!) and binos for now, but am already plotting some serious redesigning of my (and a few neighbours') garden to enable a nifty build project!

Keep wrapped up warm and I look forward to seeing the results of everyone's late night sessions.

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r3i

r3i

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Fascinating. The one thing that strikes me most is that loads of you have an obsy-shed in the garden... What luxury! Particularly enjoyed Mike's Northern Sky Observations website and drooled over the obsy build pages!

I'll have to stick to the iphone loud speaker (Astronomy FM will be an interesting addition to the playlist - thanks Brent!) and binos for now, but am already plotting some serious redesigning of my (and a few neighbours') garden to enable a nifty build project!

Keep wrapped up warm and I look forward to seeing the results of everyone's late night sessions.

Having an observatory makes a massive difference to the hobby - glad you enjoyed the website. :icon_salut:

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melsky

melsky

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Usually I'm out with my astrobuddies so once we've all got our own imaging rigs running smoothly we check on what each other is doing and then basically stand around chatting and having a laugh or grabbing a look through some bino's. This is much more fun than imaging alone which usually means sitting in the car reading or listening to the radio for a few hours while the subs are exposing before having to pack all the kit back in the car and driving 20 mins home only to then unpack everything, set batteries recharging, uncap all the lenses to demist, pop the camera out in the garage to start shooting darks before creeping upstairs to bed without waking the other half.

An observatory sounds like bliss but one price would be missing out on seeing my mates and sharing the experience, wonder and fun we have together. 

Mel

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Scott

Scott

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being fairly new to guiding, i tend to spend too much time staring at the graphs :(. after that I'll do a bit of visual with the heritage then doze on the sofa (not brave enough to go to bed yet).

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