Will my front/back garden be ‘too bright’ to get any decent images?

[CMR]

Ok, here goes. First ever question asked online... basically I’ve read up on telescopes and looked at a lot of potential first purchases and to cut a long story short, I’ve decided on the Skywatcher Skyliner 150p or the 200p. Primarily I want to use it in my front and back garden but also travel to dark sites on occasion... I imagine 90% of the time, I’d use it at home.

The first thing that concerns me is that while I live in fairly rural area, looking at light pollution maps, I’m still in a fairly ‘bright’ area. I can tell you that on clear nights it’s easy to see plenty of stars and constellations and I can definitely see some planets shining even with the naked eye... So, I’d like to know if any other ‘garden observers’ have any issues with observing when their property is relatively close to bright street lights?

(If street lights nearby ruin it, I can’t be on with carting a bulky telescope over the back field, especially when all the wine and toilet facilities are at home!)

I’ll add a picture of my front garden/driveway from the position I’d like to use the telescope and hopefully that’ll help you to inform me as to whether it’ll be too bright or perhaps just what effect it might have in general... Any and all info on this issue would be gratefully received. Obviously I wouldn’t be pointing the telescope directly at the street light and I won’t include the back garden as it’s definitely darker than the front.

Basically, I don’t want to buy a good beginners telescope to find that my garden is too ‘polluted’ and I’m always disappointed with what I’m looking at and effectively not seeing. Furthermore, I’d hate for the telescope to become an ornament or clothes horse.

Thanks in advance.

Christian.

[Stu]

Welcome to the forum CMR.

Hmmm, that looks more like a floodlight than a streetlight! It is likely to be quite challenging to observe out at the front and it will certainly limit what you can see. Planets and the Moon would still be doable, plus some other brighter objects but it will stop you gaining any form of dark adaptation. Glare and reflections in the eyepiece may also be distracting.

Your back garden is likely to be much more successful as it seems from what you have said it is shielded from the glare and you will be able to get better dark adapted.

Which direction does your garden face?

I live in a fairly light polluted area and still manage to observe successfully, largely from my back garden which is shielded from most artificial light.

Good luck!

[CMR]

Yeah, they are bright street lights 😕

The front garden faces West.

Sounds like the immediate surroundings are more likely to interfere than overall general light pollution of the geographical area?

Edited November 25, 2020 by CMR
Wanted to add a question.

[Paz]

I do most of my observing from the front and back of my house. Out the front (which is south facing) I have direct line of sight street lights, security lights, etc and so I only go out the front to observe things that are fairly bright or that are too low down to see over the roof of my house from my garden, but a lot is still good for observing - planets, double stars, the moon, and the brighter DSOs.

If you can shield your scope from direct lights that helps a bit, and if you can shield your eyes from direct lights that helps also. 

If your local council is one of those that switches off the street lights late at night to save money then a good idea is to have a nap early so you can then get up later when the lights are out.

Dark skies are better than light polluted skies but light pollutes skies are not a barrier to observing.

[CMR]

2 minutes ago, Paz said:

Dark skies are better than light polluted skies but light pollutes skies are not a barrier to observing

Sounds like I’ll be spending some cash soon then!

[Stu]

22 minutes ago, CMR said:

Yeah, they are bright street lights 😕

The front garden faces West.

Sounds like the immediate surroundings are more likely to interfere than overall general light pollution of the geographical area?

It sounds like your overall light pollution levels are quite manageable, it’s the glare issue of the streetlight which is the problem. If you can shield yourself from it, perhaps even with an observing hood then that will help when out at the front. I do find Goto very useful when trying to find objects under difficult conditions; it’s pretty easy to find stuff under dark skies, but when you can’t see brighter stars to star hop from then it gets tricky.

[Dark Vader]

I'm in a Bortle 6 area in suburban north Bristol. The council in their infinite wisdom sited  bright orange street lights at East, South and West all within 10-25 yards of my "orange" back garden. One of the houses opposite has a 500w "insecurity" light that comes on if a cat coughs within 30 yards of it, and it is angled 90° to the vertical so I never have problems finding eyepieces in the dark!🤪

I have the 200p and can recommend it for viewing in pretty bad light pollution. I'm still quite new to this and not the best at finding my way around the fainter objects, including Uranus and Neptune. Views of Mars, Jupiter and Saturn have been pretty good so far. I've just come back in after spending a good hour or so on the moon. No light pollution problems viewing that...

HTH

Andy

 

[IB20]

That light looks like it illuminates your bedroom and disrupts sleeping. You should probably notify the local council. 

[CMR]

37 minutes ago, Dark Vader said:

I never have problems finding eyepieces in the dark!🤪

Glad you’re looking on the ‘bright’ side... couldn’t resist that pun!

Sounds like I should be ok all in all then. Thanks for the info!

[smashing]

15 minutes ago, CMR said:

Glad you’re looking on the ‘bright’ side... couldn’t resist that pun!

Sounds like I should be ok all in all then. Thanks for the info!

I have LED street lamps directly into my garden, next door have smoking lights that they use when outside which also illuminate the garden and the house at the bottom of the garden leaves their curtains open with the lights on most of the night but I can still view and image things...tbh the moon is more of an issue than the others 

[Zermelo]

1 hour ago, CMR said:

Ok, here goes. First ever question asked online... basically I’ve read up on telescopes and looked at a lot of potential first purchases and to cut a long story short, I’ve decided on the Skywatcher Skyliner 150p or the 200p. Primarily I want to use it in my front and back garden but also travel to dark sites on occasion... I imagine 90% of the time, I’d use it at home.

The first thing that concerns me is that while I live in fairly rural area, looking at light pollution maps, I’m still in a fairly ‘bright’ area. I can tell you that on clear nights it’s easy to see plenty of stars and constellations and I can definitely see some planets shining even with the naked eye... So, I’d like to know if any other ‘garden observers’ have any issues with observing when their property is relatively close to bright street lights?

(If street lights nearby ruin it, I can’t be on with carting a bulky telescope over the back field, especially when all the wine and toilet facilities are at home!)

I’ll add a picture of my front garden/driveway from the position I’d like to use the telescope and hopefully that’ll help you to inform me as to whether it’ll be too bright or perhaps just what effect it might have in general... Any and all info on this issue would be gratefully received. Obviously I wouldn’t be pointing the telescope directly at the street light and I won’t include the back garden as it’s definitely darker than the front.

Basically, I don’t want to buy a good beginners telescope to find that my garden is too ‘polluted’ and I’m always disappointed with what I’m looking at and effectively not seeing. Furthermore, I’d hate for the telescope to become an ornament or clothes horse.

Hi Christian,

you might find this book to be useful. I don't have particularly polluted skies, but there are some useful tips, and the choice of targets - intended as being suitable for challenging locations - is also a good reference for starting out in any conditions. And did anyone mention Turn Left at Orion yet? 

[Physopto]

I gave up trying to observe from my back garden precisely because of street lights...... All eleven  of them.

Trouble is the older you get it seems the worse light pollution seems to affect your eyesight and ability to dark adapt in a short time period. You also loose the ability to see colours that were obvious when younger.

[M40]

We are in a bortle 6 area and using a 200P didn't cause me too many challenges with light pollution but with the skymax the DIY dew shield is a must. If you can create a shadow using a sheet or screen of some sort I am sure that will also help.

Enjoy

[Jamgood]

I'm in a Bortle 8 with a car park full of light behind me and street lights both sides. You just do what you do to make things work. I only image though. I've never used an eyepiece as yet.

[CMR]

1 hour ago, Jamgood said:

I'm in a Bortle 8 with a car park full of light behind me and street lights both sides. You just do what you do to make things work. I only image though. I've never used an eyepiece as yet.

Can I ask why you don’t look through the eyepiece?

[Jamgood]

2 minutes ago, CMR said:

Can I ask why you don’t look through the eyepiece?

I just wanted to do Astrophotography from the start. (I've only had a telescope since July) I only have the eyepiece that came with the scope which is probably not the best anyway. It's still in the wrapping, in the box. 

[ScouseSpaceCadet]

11 hours ago, IB20 said:

That light looks like it illuminates your bedroom and disrupts sleeping. You should probably notify the local council. 

Yes, check the council website. Many now contain an online reporting form. Whatever method you use, ask for a light shield to be fitted because of the above.

If you live in a "fairly rural" area, then either of the two dobsonians mentioned will be up to the job. Contending with the local light pollution and obstructions will be the real battle.

I live in an urban area on the edge of a major city but countered some of the most obtrusive lighting by installing extra high rear fencing and bodging a tarpaulin light shield, together creating a dark corner to observe from.

Cloud permitting, even though astronomy is frustrating here, space is big and there's still plenty to observe despite the brighter than I'd like night sky. I've had some incredible evenings and also learnt a great deal, so go for it.

Edited November 26, 2020 by ScouseSpaceCadet

[rwilkey]

Hi Christian, I live a mile from the town centre of Swindon, so light-polluted with that orange glow you see from a distance.  A couple of nights last year I saw the Andromeda Galaxy (M31) from my back garden with the naked eye, so anything is possible if you look carefully.