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Choice of site and local climate


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For the past couple of years I've been using my 7x42 birding bins to look at the sky, taking them with me fishing and dog walking. I've just bought some 15x70 to use at home on a tripod, and will probably think of a scope in the future. I am blessed with living  on a farm in west Wales, given the right conditions I can just see the Milky Way. I think I am at a good altitude (170m) because the valley below me is often in mist, and the hills above me get more cloud. However, the remote beach I fish on faces SW, has cliffs behind, and excellent views of the Milky Way. I'm guessing any coastal sites would be out for serious astronomy in anything but the calmest weather, because of the super fine mist waves seem to generate?  My other fishing location is up in the Cambrian Mountains, altitude 450m, and the skies up there are so impressive, even in summer, I'm minded to take a look this winter. If it's freezing I know the mountain tracks will be too dangerous, even in my 4x4, but I can go down to the dark sky site at Strata Florida abbey in that case. I just love the panorama you get on a hill top, it makes the experience for me, and I enjoy it most alone.

When, or if, I get a scope I can't see me taking it out that often, given the faff and the fact I enjoy pretty good skies at home, but is there much advantage in a bit of altitude ?(the Cambrians are not the Andes mind😁) I can see that the hills get more cloud, but if clear is it worth the 30 mile drive, or is that something I will have to find out for myself ? When it comes to my binocular viewing I'm fairly casual with my ,ahem, observations, but I do like to be in a nice spot. Nothing finer than sitting on a hill summit, in the dark, with nothing but the wind, though I'm guessing that's detrimental to good views too? Not just moving the scope, but distorting the atmosphere? Sorry about my rambling post.

I

Edited by gadusmorhua
verbosity
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Sounds to me that you’ve got it all, any of your locations are much better than most people have access to. Hills are good for the clear horizons. The great conjunction later this month for example will be much better on a hill with a clear horizon because the event will be so low. I suspect the air will be a bit clearer improving the seeing. I would go for the hill every time if you can get up there with your equipment, might be a different story though when you get a scope and associated paraphernalia 

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According to this, you are already blessed with very decent skies (Bortle scale 4 or even 3), and your altitude seems to be above the ground mist level:

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=9.00&lat=52.5366&lon=-3.6498&layers=B0TFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

The little difference in altitude (170 vs 450 m asl) will, IMO, only make a small difference in transparency - but this will not outweigh the hassles of transport, setting up etc.

I'd try to make the best of your home observing site. A paved area, overlooking a lawn, with free views to  E,S, and W, as a place for your 15x70 with tripod. Add a good 8" to 10" dob later(if you want occasional mobility, a Skywatcher 130P or 150P Flextube come to my mind); a decent observing chair; a table for charts, eyepieces etc. The advantages of having all things at hand and a rapid setup; warming up in cold nights inside the house; toilet, fridge and water kettle in reach cannot be overestimated. And, after observing, no long way back (sometimes dangerous - microsleep), but immediately to bed.

I'm doing 95% of my observing from home (Bortle 4/SQM-L 21+ skies - similar to yours), and will not change anything.

Btw., I'd avoid observing at or close to the beach. The salty mist or spray might harm the mirror's reflecting or lenses coating in some cases - or you have to clean the scope quite often.

Enjoy the journey!

Stephan

P.S.: there was a 22-page article by Roland Beard in the CloudyNights forum 08/09/07: "Refining your home observation site-why do it, where do it-how it's done". Can one of the Cloudy Nights members on here do some research and provide a link? Thanks.

Edited by Nyctimene
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18 hours ago, Marvin Jenkins said:

Ohhh, just give me the fishing and I would die a happy man without looking through a scope again. Hundreds of miles from the coast and I hate it, not bad skies for the newt though so 50/50. Fishing... Scope. Fishing.... Scope, could go on for ever.

Marv

I hate to tell you this but I had a 12lb bass on a surface lure on the night of 20th October, right in the middle of a busy meteor shower! I'll never forget that night, the skies were dark , and the fish were in.. I have to climb down the cliff (not as dodgy as it sounds), so only take my 7x42 as every gram counts on the climb back up! I have to confess the fishing takes priority, if I'm catching it's naked eye only.

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17 hours ago, Nyctimene said:

According to this, you are already blessed with very decent skies (Bortle scale 4 or even 3), and your altitude seems to be above the ground mist level:

https://www.lightpollutionmap.info/#zoom=9.00&lat=52.5366&lon=-3.6498&layers=B0TFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF

The little difference in altitude (170 vs 450 m asl) will, IMO, only make a small difference in transparency - but this will not outweigh the hassles of transport, setting up etc.

I'd try to make the best of your home observing site. A paved area, overlooking a lawn, with free views to  E,S, and W, as a place for your 15x70 with tripod. Add a good 8" to 10" dob later(if you want occasional mobility, a Skywatcher 130P or 150P Flextube come to my mind); a decent observing chair; a table for charts, eyepieces etc. The advantages of having all things at hand and a rapid setup; warming up in cold nights inside the house; toilet, fridge and water kettle in reach cannot be overestimated. And, after observing, no long way back (sometimes dangerous - microsleep), but immediately to bed.

I'm doing 95% of my observing from home (Bortle 4/SQM-L 21+ skies - similar to yours), and will not change anything.

Btw., I'd avoid observing at or close to the beach. The salty mist or spray might harm the mirror's reflecting or lenses coating in some cases - or you have to clean the scope quite often.

Enjoy the journey!

Stephan

P.S.: there was a 22-page article by Roland Beard in the CloudyNights forum 08/09/07: "Refining your home observation site-why do it, where do it-how it's done". Can one of the Cloudy Nights members on here do some research and provide a link? Thanks.

Yes, I am blessed here. I think I'll just use my bins up in the hills and create a spot for my scope here. My house is in a bit of a hollow, and sited near my barn, so I'm going to go to the high spot on my land, I can drive it if it's not too wet, ie about half the winter! Thanks for the LP map, fascinating.I am SW of LLandysul, so avoid what LP exists there, but if looking south Carmarthen is 15 miles away, though I suppose that's only a smallish town, but you can still make out the glow. Having said that I can see Dublin's lights a hundred odd miles over the horizon when I'm fishing- with the naked eye.I couldn't figure out what I was seeing until I took  a bearing.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 26/11/2020 at 08:17, gadusmorhua said:

Yes, I am blessed here. I think I'll just use my bins up in the hills and create a spot for my scope here. My house is in a bit of a hollow, and sited near my barn, so I'm going to go to the high spot on my land, I can drive it if it's not too wet, ie about half the winter! Thanks for the LP map, fascinating.I am SW of LLandysul, so avoid what LP exists there, but if looking south Carmarthen is 15 miles away, though I suppose that's only a smallish town, but you can still make out the glow. Having said that I can see Dublin's lights a hundred odd miles over the horizon when I'm fishing- with the naked eye.I couldn't figure out what I was seeing until I took  a bearing.

 

Well, I am jealous. You have some very good opportunities and a very nice locale. You could move to a mountaintop in the Andes, but, frankly, if I had to choose, I would rather live in Wales than Peru.  

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