DEATH VALLEY NIGHTS

[NGC7000]

We just got back from vacation and I had the opportunity to get out with my AstroTrac and Canon T3i for imaging.

Just a few setbacks:
Wind gusts up to 45mph- so I set up behind a protective stand of trees only to find out about an hour later that I was on a golf course. I found out when the sprinklers turned on about 10 feet from where I was standing. It was ok, as the nighttime temp at 11Pm was 100 degrees, but no humidity.

I used a Nikon 180mm lens at 2.8, and each image is comprised of 3minutes @ISO800 10 lights, 20 darks and 15 flats, Processed in Images Plus 4.50

Here's the North American /Pelican nebula area:



And the Antares Region.....something I've been after for some time....I stretched it a little too far...but I don't care. Just call me wet behind the ears.




Tom

[BobSikes]

Awesome images Tom

That's a lot of nebulosity/dust and a whole bunch of stars.
Must have been mighty good skies there. What was your visual impression of the sky?

Good that they don't play night golf.

BobS

[NGC7000]

Thanks Bob. We arrived when they were having the "Heatstroke Tournament". And they they think we amateur astronomers are nuts.

Skies were pretty steady- Both seeing and transperancy were good the night I was out. After that, it was a combination of waxing moon and much more LPd areas of California we were in that made imaging- or observing, well, fruitless. I did get some nightime timelapses of the Milky Way.

However, we did get to visit both Griffith and Wilson Observatories, and that made up for it.

Here's Griffith in the middle of an Outreach Night:



And here's the venerable Hooker Telescope at Mt Wilson:


Both are great places to visit.
Tom

[Bruce D]

Tom those are keepers! Glad you had a good vacation, the mental video of the moment the sprinklers came on is pretty entertaining
Great images

[WCGucfa]

Beautiful images, Tom!
I'm more open to having sprinklers turn on in the middle of an observing session, than
having Griffith bathed in UPLIGHTING during an outreach. Or should I say, uplit at all!
I'm sure (hope) that they were dimmer than the time exposure shows.
Thanks for posting your great images!

Bill G.

[Apollo XX]

Wow, Tom! You've got that Astrotrac really tuned in. Was that mounted on a photo tripod? Did you drive, or fly?

Mike

[NGC7000]

Thanks, Mark. The thought of the sprinklers ( think fire hose, actually ) is funny now. But then? In the complete darkness, it came as quite a surprise, and it was just the right time to blurt a few Holy Expletives.

Bill, I don't think they use the Griffith scope ( 12" Zeiss refractor) for much more than the moon, planets, and of course, COMETS! But the view of LA at night is spectacular. Griffith itself is an architectural jewel, and the interior has the look and feel of the old Hayden Planetariun in NYC. They also have a planetarium show. The place was packed when we were there.

Tom

[NGC7000]

Hey Mike, Yes, that was mounted on an old 3001 Bogen tripod. I got the 7001 Manfrotto head to support the Astrotrac, along with another Manfrotto Ball head to support the Camera. I used a small 12v reachargeable battery pack to power it.

We flew out to Vegas on Southwest and dropped the car off in LA. Thanks to my wife's incredible coupon and point collecting skills, the trip cost about 1/2 of what it should have. Ergo, more money for another scope. ( Ouch! I was only kidding, dear... )

Here's some stills from the timelapses. First was Death Valley in the High Wind, and second is from the Best Western Balcony at Pismo Beach. I just loved seeing the whole of Scorpius, tail and all.

Death valley Golf Course at Furnace Creek:



Pismo beach:

[Dr. Powell]

What a great post Tom. Fantastic astro-photos. Good angle on the telescope. Very interesting and I am glad you had such a great vacation.

Mike

[NGC7000]

Thanks, Mike. Look forward to seeing everyone at the meeting.

tom