Popular Post cmknight Posted August 14, 2022 Popular Post Share Posted August 14, 2022 Last weekend, I decided to mix 3 of my favourite activities together, camping, bigfooting, and astronomy. My wife and I headed up a relatively popular FSR (Forest Service Road) that is gated (only members of the local 4WD club have the code). We were hoping to get back to a camping spot we were at 3 years ago, but fell many kilometres short. I put out a recorder (Zoom H4n), but the only sounds we had were a bear that decided to snoop around after I had gone to bed at 2 AM. The weekend wasn't a total loss. I did manage to get some nice photos ... 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowBorn Posted August 14, 2022 Moderator Share Posted August 14, 2022 @cmknightNaked eye or with a telescope. Either way that night sky is very beautiful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmknight Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 (edited) 3 minutes ago, ShadowBorn said: @cmknightNaked eye or with a telescope. Either way that night sky is very beautiful. I piggybacked my Pentax K-x and a Takumar 135mm f2.5 telephoto on top of my Celestron C8. Tracking was done with a Celestron AVX mount. The first photo is the Double Cluster, in Perseus. The second, M31, the Andromeda Galaxy, and the third photo is the North America Nebula, NGC7000, in Cygnus. Edited August 14, 2022 by cmknight 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BC witness Posted August 14, 2022 Author Share Posted August 14, 2022 Great shots, cmknight. That's a hobby I've always admired, but never got into. Too many expensive hobbies !! You were trying to get to the spot where you had a night intruder a few years ago, right? I was up that way this spring, and found the roads on both sides of the big creek severely washed out. I got high centered on the washout on the east side, and had to be winched out by 2 side by sides. Even those rigs could only go another 100 meters before they were stopped by a bigger washout. The area I explored yesterday is many km from any light source, and would make a good observation point, I think. The road in is full of potholes and cross ditching on the side branches, but no problem for your truck. Check it out on Google Earth or Gaia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShadowBorn Posted August 14, 2022 Moderator Share Posted August 14, 2022 Thats a nice setup. I am just now getting started into astronomy. My son and I have been playing around with a geographic telescope. Just looking at the moon and some planets. But I live in the city and not been out in the woods for a while. So, my eyes are through you guys who are getting out there. But I have been involved with another project in the city. That is taking me down the rabbit hole for sure. Thanks for those great pictures and those 4 x 4. I am still working on my 4" lift ford fx4 2012 5.0. Keep them comin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmknight Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 39 minutes ago, BC witness said: Great shots, cmknight. That's a hobby I've always admired, but never got into. Too many expensive hobbies !! You were trying to get to the spot where you had a night intruder a few years ago, right? I was up that way this spring, and found the roads on both sides of the big creek severely washed out. I got high centered on the washout on the east side, and had to be winched out by 2 side by sides. Even those rigs could only go another 100 meters before they were stopped by a bigger washout. The area I explored yesterday is many km from any light source, and would make a good observation point, I think. The road in is full of potholes and cross ditching on the side branches, but no problem for your truck. Check it out on Google Earth or Gaia. I don't believe we had a night intruder on that trip. The spot I'm looking for had a cleared out area with a spraypainted "H" for a SAR or forestry landing pad. I think we found it on Google maps, but it's a lot farther than I remember. We're going to take a day trip up there this afternoon to see if it's the right spot. I'll keep you updated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Incorrigible1 Posted August 14, 2022 Share Posted August 14, 2022 Cmknight, thanks for the great shots. I'm an avid visual hobbyist, haven't taken the large plunge into astrophotography. I have a Nexstar 8. I worked for Celestron in an Omaha call center for several years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmknight Posted August 15, 2022 Share Posted August 15, 2022 (edited) 9 hours ago, Incorrigible1 said: Cmknight, thanks for the great shots. I'm an avid visual hobbyist, haven't taken the large plunge into astrophotography. I have a Nexstar 8. I worked for Celestron in an Omaha call center for several years. I believe my C8 is circa 1974. It's definitely vintage. LOL I deforked it and put it on my AVX mount because it didn't come with the AC power cable. I've been told that the motor drive still works, but I haven't been able to test it. Edited August 15, 2022 by cmknight 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kiwakwe Posted August 21, 2022 Share Posted August 21, 2022 Great pics and thanks for inspiration, I've an 8" SC- Meade LX10 that needs to be exercised, been too long. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Madison5716 Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 Beautiful photos, @cmknight! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrPSH Posted August 22, 2022 Share Posted August 22, 2022 Agreed, @cmknight, your photos are beautiful. Thanks for sharing them here with your forum friends. We have been practicing with a much less exciting telescope...less exciting but still really fun. We went down the looking for constellations rabbit hole the other night and 3 hours zipped by before we even realized it. We are still in practice mode but hope to be taking photos sometime soon once we are able to more reliably find what we are looking for. Thanks again for the photos and the inspiration. Great stuff! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted August 23, 2022 Admin Share Posted August 23, 2022 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted August 23, 2022 Admin Share Posted August 23, 2022 Shout out to the BFF around 24:00! (Tiktok pissed me off) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntster Posted August 23, 2022 Share Posted August 23, 2022 Got a dashcam going on that truck at all times? Might be a good thing for a guy who lives in sasquatch country. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
norseman Posted August 23, 2022 Admin Share Posted August 23, 2022 5 minutes ago, Huntster said: Got a dashcam going on that truck at all times? Might be a good thing for a guy who lives in sasquatch country. I’m thinking so! Thx! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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