Any star gazers and amateur astronomers ?

Yo!

Wannabe astrophotographer here. I'm still pretty noobish in the field, but that didn't stop me from spending way more on my equipment than I had any right to. My current setup is a GSO 10" RCT on a Losmandy G11.

@LeftCoastNerd I'm interested in where you typically view around SC, my Mom recently moved down there so I sometimes frequent the area. In the past I'd go to the Halls Valley events, in Joseph D Grant park near the Lick Observatory, when I could.

My problem is I just don't get out frequently enough to get enough practice and experience, I'm still learning to navigate stars too.

But I'm not totally hopeless:

 

I do a little but just with my binos and a spotting scope

 

heh, this was my ugly M42/Orion back in 2012. its a few frame stacked, shot with a EOS 60D DSLR, mounted on a vintage Celestron/Vixen 80mm f/11 refractor.

 

If anyone comes near Yosemite, please please please let me know! I have a great view of my deck but no gear. We can see satellites with naked eye. The Milky Way is incredible too! Looking to get into astrophotography but just for personal use, nothing professional. (Milky Way, star trails, moon lit scenes...)

 

Was able to see Jupiter last night with the family and the new scope. Could see the stripes and everything. First time we have ever seen it live and up close. Can't wait for the full moon but also when it's gone cause it's so bright.

 

full moons aren't much fun to look at, better is all the phases from crescent to 3/4 full, use high power along the terminator line and see the shadows of the craters.

 

I know there is some UFO sightings among someone on here. Do tell, you're in a judge-free zone.

Socal bright lights make the perfect cover for the 'unexplained'.

 

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/bigfoot-aliens-and-the-supernatural.302742/

 

Thx ... I will check that out.

Edit: Great thread ^

 

My sister lives right where the eclipse is going to be at optimal viewing. Her son rented out his house for 2 grand for 2 nights.

 

where's that ? some friends of mine rented virtually an entire small town in central oregon population of the town is like 125, they rented every house and field that would rent to them to accomodate their astronomy club + guests.

 

Hoptown, Ky

 

Anyone else attending one of the upcoming Fall Star Parties with their tacoma and equipment ? - https://www.cloudynights.com/forum/94-astronomy-clubs-and-star-parties/

 

i was just at a local star party at Pinnacles (West entrance visitors center) last night. I was going to go to Nightfall but I can't take any more PTO/Vacation as I'm retiring in 6 weeks, so I had to cancel. My club does 2 star parties per month locally, usually the weekend before and after the new moon. one weekend is a friday at a local county park, the other weekend is a saturday, and rotates.

November 11th, I'll be at a star party in the Mohave Desert National Reserve, at the group/horse camp next to Hole in the Wall.

Next *big* star party I'll be at will be GSSP 2018, next July. http://goldenstatestarparty.org

 

How do you pack your equipment in your Tacoma ? what do you bring for an evening stargazing ?

 

Me? My gear pretty much fills the back of my truck.

7' ladder on a roof rack on top of the snugtop shell.
Obsession 20" Classic main rocker box goes in first, its on wheels and I have two folding ramps
upper cage assembly goes in between the wheelbarrow handles of the main box.
bag with 8 6' poles goes between mirror box and side of truck, on top of wheel hump
ramps go on other side
chair goes on ramps
eyepiece case goes behind scope
miscellaneous gear bin goes behind the ramps.

all told looks like...

 

There are some great tubes here. I had a 8" Meade LX200 (Pre GPS models) 20 years ago that I loved. I ended up selling it with the intention of picking up on a 7" Maksutov, but used the cash to get married instead. I should have bought the Mak.

 

Anybody around LAX want to help a newbie choose a scope?

 

I took a dive back into astronomy a couple of years ago, starting to mess with astrophotography a little but haven't had a lot of time to devote to it. I have three telescopes and mounts; a C6 on a manual CG5, an AVX mount I use for visual and a EQ6R Pro for AP. My other scopes are a Edge HD 8" and a William Optics f/5.9 3" refractor. I've been using a DSLR so far, but getting ready to buy a cooled ZWO CMOS.