You have one night under bortle 1 skies...What do you shoot/observe?

[feverdreamer1]

Just trying to figure out some targets for my next dark sky trip, feel free to enter targets from either hemisphere. 

Clear skies!

Edited September 18, 2020 by feverdreamer1

[Peter Drew]

I would just sit back in a recliner and take in the view naked eye.  To use anything optical would ruin its use when back to normality.    🙂

[Roy Challen]

What Peter said, although I would take binoculars too.

[mark skelton]

I'll be happy just to sit back on my chair and listen to the local owls making their presence known.

[Alien 13]

Another sit back naked eye session with perhaps a DSLR with a 14mm Sammy snapping away in the background.

Alan

[JamesF]

What do you shoot?  Anyone who comes to take you away, that's what

James

[TerryMcK]

Hope it doesn’t rain!

[PeterW]

Wide angle low power binoculars and look down the milkyway..... should keen one busy for a while. Where are you going?

 

Peter

[Stu]

I would be taking my Genesis and a 31mm Nagler (which I would have to buy!) to trawl up the MilkyWay and all its lovely objects, finishing at the Veil and NAN.

[Paul M]

1 pair of Mk1 eyeballs and my 10 x 50's. Though there is a chance I wouldn't get time to use the bins!  

Fancy gear to set-up would be a distraction. For me a truly dark sky is an experience far beyond seeing some stars. 

I remember my second total solar eclipse, Turkey in 2006. We combined it with a holiday, staying in a hotel selected for its location on the center line. Spent the inbound partial phase laid on a sun lounger by the pool looking up wearing eclipse glasses. As totality approached we walked down to the beach wearing just my speedos. Also down on the beach was the Sky and Telescope official eclipse expedition. Parkas and imaging rigs abound!!

I think I saw and felt a different eclipse to those guys. 

[Peter Drew]

I was there too at the same location for my first total eclipse, what an experience!.  The S&T guys left an AP Traveller set up on the beach unattended long before the eclipse.      🙂 

[Paul M]

43 minutes ago, Peter Drew said:

I was there too at the same location for my first total eclipse, what an experience!.  The S&T guys left an AP Traveller set up on the beach unattended long before the eclipse.      🙂 

I can't remember the hotel name but if you saw that guy wearing a thong by the pool... we were at the same hotel 🤣

[Peter Drew]

I didn't see the bloke but I only went to see the eclipse.      🙂

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

On 18/09/2020 at 11:25, feverdreamer1 said:

Just trying to figure out some targets for my next dark sky trip, feel free to enter targets from either hemisphere. 

Clear skies!

My 10x50s under Bortle 3 skies yielded magnificent views of several targets of all classes. I suppose it depends what you can carry and how you're getting there. If you're in a van take the biggest aperture you can manage and do some galaxy hunting?

[Guest]

Sleep? 🤔🤣

[Stu]

23 hours ago, Paul M said:

As totality approached we walked down to the beach wearing just my speedos.

You do realise you just admitted that on a public forum, don’t you Paul? 🤣🤣🤣

More seriously, if I ever get the chance to observe one I would go for a simple approach I think, the last thing you want is to be stressed about kit working/not working and miss the essence of what it is all about. Plenty of images around to show what it was like, only one opportunity to actually experience it.

[Ships and Stars]

I've always wanted to see the Magellanic Clouds in the Southern Hemisphere and in the Northern skies, I'd try for anything and everything wide field - if dragging a scope around isn't an option.

I'd take my 15x70 Apollos with UHC/Nebustar filters, no question about it!

I'd still want to take a scope if skies are that good. Kasai makes a folding 8" dob that looks interesting and will go as a carry-on for flights, but I know nothing of performance, etc. nor is it cheap!

Edited September 22, 2020 by Ships and Stars

[feverdreamer1]

On 21/09/2020 at 19:48, PeterW said:

Wide angle low power binoculars and look down the milkyway..... should keen one busy for a while. Where are you going?

 

Peter

Somewhere in the middle of Spain... not bortle 1 but I guess that with the altitude of the place its better than a standard bortle 2

[feverdreamer1]

2 hours ago, ScouseSpaceCadet said:

My 10x50s under Bortle 3 skies yielded magnificent views of several targets of all classes. I suppose it depends what you can carry and how you're getting there. If you're in a van take the biggest aperture you can manage and do some

I just sold my 6 incher to get the sky watcher star adventurer, so I guess that isn't an option  anymore. Was looking more into the astrophotography side, but maybe I can borrow a frac from some friends, never know.

CS

[Whistlin Bob]

I actually would take a Star Adventurer, DSLR and a couple of lenses and try to get some 135mm'ish images of the core of our galaxy, the bits that are just too low for me to get at home.

Then I'd just scan the skies and drink in the view whilst it clicked away.

I'd probably get tempted by a closer up view at some point, so I'd need some binoculars. It'd either be Cygnus that did this to me, or that run down from Altair through the Wild Ducks to M17.

Then I'd lose it altogether and need a big Dob. Probably that same area- it's really hard to get from home, and some quality time with a bit of light grasp and height in the sky around that bit would be really something.

Did you say we could take a truck?

[maw lod qan]

I can hardly image what it would look like.

I've been watching a lot of shows on wilderness lately and shamefully admit when they show the night sky, I cant see anything but millions of stars!

I have picked out Orion!

[Mr Flibble]

Depending on what is viewable I would have to spend the night looking at the showpiece galaxies such as Triangulum, Pinwheel, Andromeda, Sombrero, Whirlpool and Spindle. I'd love to see just how much more detail can be seen.