Habitforming

Does anyone care to head up to the 5200ft overlook on the Cherohala late one night at SatG? I want to go up there for some stargazing and to get some astrophotography practice in. Looking at dark sky maps it is one of the best spots to be found east of the Mississippi. It should be a real treat if you're into this sort of thing. The drive up will be casual as that is a very dangerous road, especially at night.

I'm thinking to depart around 10 or 11, and I plan to stay for at least an hour or two. Thirty minutes is needed just for your eyes to adapt. It doesn't matter much to me if we do it Thurs, Fri, or Sat - we will probably be dependent on the weather regardless, so there's not much use planning.

If you want to come as a passenger, or drive along, please post in this thread. I won't go unless I have at least one other person (preferrably, car) to go with.

It will probably be COLD. Pack/plan accordingly!

Attendee List
1. s2kmiami69 ²
2. Bama Dave ²
3. 1st07inOH
4. funat9000rpm (is a drunk - will ride along)
5. Habitforming ²
6. batguano
7. RedCelica (is a drunk - will ride along)
8. frei ²

"²" indicates empty passenger seat

Tentative plans - gather at Fontana Village by the mini golf course (where the car wash & dent removal was in the spring) at 9:45PM on Friday, depart 10PM sharp(ish). Watch white board (if we have one) for event updates. If no white board, call me on 4-0

Habitforming

Here is approximately where we will be headed. I think there is an overlook a couple miles farther that will get us out of the line of headlights for passing traffic.

http://www.jshine.ne...selected_id=512

s2kmiami69

in

Bama Dave

I am in any night Andy. This would be cool idea.

s2kmiami69

andy look at this awesome pic that darryl took...from his front yard

Habitforming

wicked. that's a great trail shot

I'm going to build a barndoor mount so the camera moves with the sky - hopefully i can expose for 5+ min without star trails I'd really like to pick up the outline of a nebula that night, but that's aiming high for my first time out with it.

s2kmiami69

barndoor mount? nebula? teach me obi-wan

Habitforming

in its simplest form:



further reading:
http://en.wikipedia....rn_door_tracker
http://www.homebuilt...ndoor/index.htm

TLR
it is a mount where you manually turn a screw (can be modified with stepper motor) 1 revolution per minute to keep the camera in sync with movement of the sky. this way you can keep the shutter open for very long periods of time, while keeping the stars sharp




galaxy (nebula appears similarly), and what i'd love to be able to shoot one day:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/larson/4980201613/
this photo was taken with my camera, a slightly better lens, and a $1000+ tracking mount vs. my $5 hardware store special. it is a composite of 87 seperate 1 minute exposures. because of the tracking mount, each exposure captures the exact same spot in the sky, so the photos can be combined to bring out what would normally be a very faint detail

s2kmiami69

they suggest using a 50...you can try with my 1.4 if you want


is your mount going to be motorized?


and how does the camera not vibrate when its turning?

Habitforming

i may eventually motorize it, but i don't have time to pull that all together before the trip. i'll be lucky to have this built, troubleshot, and tested. I just got back from picking the boards and getting things laid out & drawn up. can't do much more without the saw and it's a bit late for that

That 1.4 will prob be a great lens to use. i have the 1.8 and a 17-55 2.8, as well as the macro which is pin sharp. i'll certainly be trying a variety to see what works out best

don't know what to tell you on vibration, except it is a VERY slow adjustment so I expect there isn't much to begin with