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How far would you drive?

Size9Hex

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cjdawson

cjdawson

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I tend to observe from my from my garden.  Can see most stuff, but there is light pollution from Leeds and Bradford.  The astro society dark site is about 10 mins drive away on the other side of the hill, and going there will get me a magnitutde or two.  The downside is having to load my car up with all my equipment.  - Scope, tripod, and three boxes of equipment. (all of which will get used in an imaging session)

I'm happy to head out to a really dark site once in a while, that's more of a holiday thing than anything else.

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Davesellars

Davesellars

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I walk 15 mins to my site (an allotment) for visual astronomy, lugging with me an OTA and a backpack of stuff.   I normally keep a mount there in a shed.  On a Moonless night the Milky Way is easily observable and it's direct vision mag 5 and averted around 5.3 (ish) spending a little time.

I currently do all my imaging from a back unheated room as I've just started - while it has a limited view it has allowed me do do an average of 4 nights imaging over the past 3 or four weeks (we've had a particularly good run of weather recently!) and taken advantage of every clear night so far and learnt loads!

To be honest I wouldn't ever spend much time getting to a place for either (observation nor imaging) - too much time lost especially with a very young family and the commitments it comes with!) - perhaps, when I (if ever) have more time on my hands though.... :)

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CodnorPaul

CodnorPaul

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I would drive a couple of hours if it was a great forecast and to a great location - I drive a lot for work so it has never really bothered me.  The 2 observing sites I use other than my back garden (which I can get a hint of milky way in naked eye) one is about an hour away and the other about 20 minutes.  I would try to make sure though that I travelled before it got really dark so I am not wasting time

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Eri

Eri

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a mate and myself are probably going to be going to Kielder Water next year for a week or so, thats an 8 hour drive but for a normal nights watching/imaging i'd happily drive 30mins to an hour or so

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Herra Kuulapaa

Herra Kuulapaa

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I pride myself on not being afraid of the dark, but after several hours watching Perseids in a place where the only artificial lights were on aircraft a tawny owl let out an horrific screech somewhere in the same field as me. Very scary until I realised it wasn't a human noise! :eek:

It can be sometimes dangerous too. I got almost hit by a running deer some years ago while standing silently on a small opening between forest and a crop field.

Suddenly I heard fast galloping approaching behind me and when I turned there was a deer running towards me only few meters away. It was literally only 2m when he realized I was there. That course correction and a side jump was really impressive though ! :) Damn, I got scared...

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Size9Hex

Size9Hex

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I tend to observe from my from my garden.  Can see most stuff, but there is light pollution from Leeds and Bradford.  The astro society dark site is about 10 mins drive away on the other side of the hill, and going there will get me a magnitutde or two.

Thanks, that's interesting to hear. I wouldn't have expected a short journey to make that much difference.

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mcolbert

mcolbert

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You've jogged me back down memory lane now! From what I recall, even calling it a settlement was overstating it. I was delivering some furniture to a gold mine a long way out from Leinster, WA, which itself is a tiny village in the middle of nowhere. What's the collective noun for three portacabins surrounding a hole in the ground in the desert? That was a 20 hour drive from Perth, which I suppose brings it back round on topic again nicely! :smiley:

the collective noun is canberra.

michael :)

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dick_dangerous

dick_dangerous

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My journey is currently the fifteen minutes it takes me to load the telescope on to the trolley and wheel it down to the park. Dark site, it is not.

I'm about to rather extend the range of my Astro activity because I've just bought a car - this will bring places such as Ranmore Common and Newland's Corner within reach. From me, that's about a 45 minute drive. For properly dark I'd be thinking along the lines of a holiday. I've spent happy weeks interspersed with observing and disapproving tutting from Mrs L in Pembrokeshire, Cornwall and Northern Spain. That last one was quite a journey, but well worth it. My ST80 fits in a backpack with a camera tripod to mount it on. It might sound rubbish but it got me superb views of the North American, Veil and Helix nebulae - all firsts for me!

From my parent's on the edge of the New Forest, I'd mostly just go in their garden - wonderful views of M33 from that vantage point, although their complete lack of curtains can be a challenge. They're about 15 minutes drive from Turf Hill on the Forest proper which has some gloriously dark skies (If you ignore Southampton and Bournemouth's sky-glows).

Paul

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baggywrinkle

baggywrinkle

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I'm lucky being in Norfolk as LP is not the greatest of problems. It is the weather.

When I lived in Western Australia I had a couple of favourite places to go to, but that was only after visiting quite a number of sites. Not sure what it was but two just gave me the creeps, nothing I can put a finger on just animal instinct...felt like I was being watched.

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mcolbert

mcolbert

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Paul, if you were to buy some thick drapes for her you could tell her about the need to reduce peripheral distractions from her window so that she could truly enjoy watching .  Then you're home and away as it were. :)

For some reason I am remembering Peter Sellers "I like to watch..." :)

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mcolbert

mcolbert

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I'm lucky being in Norfolk as LP is not the greatest of problems. It is the weather.

When I lived in Western Australia I had a couple of favourite places to go to, but that was only after visiting quite a number of sites. Not sure what it was but two just gave me the creeps, nothing I can put a finger on just animal instinct...felt like I was being watched.

Australia does that to some people - others are oblivious to it.  :)

michael

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Starfisher

Starfisher

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most of the time i observe from my garden. when the weather is good i can see the milkyway quite well M31 appears as a small fuzz sometime adverted vision is required, the double cluster can be seen as a fuzz as well smae goes up for m44 . a small note is that this is possible if they rise at least 35° up above the street lights in front of the house. the garden is in the back and there are the nearest streetlights something like 500m (around 0.33 miles) . unless it is soccer than closest is 120m (0.07miles)

when i got luck and some old youth club friends go observing we drive to Bastonge area in the ardennes its a 130Km (81miles) ride singel trip. but than you have a pretty dark sky and observing is quiet fun when the conditions are ok

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