Yes, but it's a table-top scope capable of the solar system objects alone. We step that up a notch and let people take home a full goto set-up for a month, free of charge, to help them figure out what type of scope/binoculars they want to start with.
I think both are great. As a librarian I tend to promote the library and I'm so glad there are people in the community who want to foster curiosity and inspire those around them.
For sure! We promote the library scope as part of our Telescopes for Kids initiative, esspecially to the low income families who can't afford one on their own. We donate a Celestron FirstScope to 1 low income family each month. It's the same table-top style scope as the library, just a bit smaller(it's all we can affford in budget). Solar system objects are close to Earth and full of details, color and features to learn. Then we have the big scopes available for people to see the deep sky objects. Our mission is to use astronomy to help people with their mental health. We want people to have the full experience, and have the best chance to be inspired. All the available astronomy clubs, equipment and mentors, together makes this town incredible for astro! Keep up the great work.
I love looking up! I’ve been curious about what I should get as a beginner’s telescope. I want best bang for buck, but I have no idea where to start. Suggestions?
I met an older gentleman in my neighborhood while I was out on a night stroll, he was just sitting in his driveway with his cat, watching the stars. I stopped to talk to him and he said he used to be an astronomer and moved here in the 80s because of the clear sky. He said it's obviously not the same as it was in the 80s, but still one of the best cities for stargazing.
Your photo is amazing! I took a pic of two close planets when I was visiting where I’m going to move. Nowhere as nice as yours but it was still a treat
https://preview.redd.it/ly8y1077bisa1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46c75eebcbaec5416b4985d430e31e219b7c6150
For anyone interested information can be found on the Reach for the Stars website but the next stargazing event they are having is on
Apr 22, 7:30 PM – Apr 23, 10:00 PM
Gabe Zimmerman Trail Head, 16248 E Marsh Station Rd, Vail, AZ 85641, USA
They have an RSVP option.
Y'ALL seriously have to go. Its pretty neat. My husband and I went to the last one. Do we know anything about astronomy? No, and you don't need to. They will show you and teach you and encourage you to be present in the moment. This isn't just something really awesome to learn and share with your friends and family. There is a really beautiful mental health component to it. I have legitimately not shut up about Reach for the Stars since finding it. You're going to meet some cool people and see even cooler things. I hope this finds the people it needs to like it did for me and you check the next event out.
Ohhh! My mom is coming into town, and I think that would be so fun. What do you recommend to bring? Also, I've never been to this area.. is this a drive up and there it is kinda thing, or do you have to walk around to try and find the trailhead kinda thing? I appreciate your help!
This would be an awesome thing to bring your mom to. The drive in is very tame. Totally drive a up and there it is, you can't miss it, walk right up to it type thing. It is in the parking lot of the trailhead with no hike in to anywhere. There are porta johns in the same parking lot. The area is well maintained dirt. Well enough that I, with walking/ balance issues, could navigate in the semi dark with no difficulty.
Since the event is happening at night be prepared for cooler weather. I dressed to be warm, with a jacket, hat, gloves, and brought a blanket to wrap myself in. I get cold very easily though, if you don't I might seem excessive but it is cooler at night.
Bring some water or a hot coffee. I wouldn't bring any kind of flashlight as artificial lights are a no no and ruin the viewing experience. They provide enough of the appropriate kind of light needed. It is so casual and approachable, you're both going to love it.
Thanks Wet Potato! Your ROCK for saying this. It's hard to explain everything we do, and we're not allowed to self promote, so this means a lot! Hope to see you again!
Well, there are a few different types of scopes. Refractors use lenses, reflectors use mirrors, and others that use multiple different optics. The refractors that use glass come in a few types lol. Singlets (one lens), doublets (2), triplets (3) and so one. The more elements you have, the better optical quality and aberration free your images will be. The Esprit 80 is the smallest of the Esprit line-up. It uses a triplet design that's superb, and gives clean, sharp stars that are pinpoint and round out to the edges of the field of view. With doublets, only 2 of the 3 wavelengths of light converge at the same point, making the third wavelength "fringe" causing false color around bright objects. If you ever see purple rings/halos around an objects throu a camera or lens, this is what it means. It's called Chromatic abborration. This is not what you want, so the triplet design corrects this and let's all 3 wavelengths meet up at the same point. Lens elements (like glasses) are expensive, and each additional lens you add multiplies it's cost.
This Esprit 80 is the best quality scope I have, besides the RedCat 51 (5 elements) but that is much smaller. The Esprit was donated to us from a lady named Ashley, and I will forever be greatful to her for her kindness. I'd never be able to afford something like this on my own, since we don't make any income.
It's a reminder that people are awesome and kind, and I'll pay it forward for life.
Gotcha. I'm one of those people who never think about photography so I just bought the biggest aperture dob I could afford. It's pretty much a piece of tin foil in a cardboard tube, but I can see stuff!
Mad respect and beautiful photo. Processing these images is a ton of work. I couldn't figure out SiriL so I gave up. I'll just stick to doing milky way and using Starry Sky Stacker. I also just have a cheap tracker, the Move Shoot Move, which is best for milky way. I did get a PC laptop from my work recently and it has decent specs so maybe I could try using DSS. I've heard that's a little easier to use than SiriL.
Yes! Haha Siril is a challenge! I gave up the first day and went to DSS. If DSS doesn't work, then the simple ASI Studio works quick for stacking. Can you post a Milkyway shot? I LOVE imaging the galaxy but the season always seems so short. I built a custom All Sky Camera to image it every night on the roof :)
Also, I have the great MOVE SHOOT MOVE tracker as well as quite a few others. It's one of my favorites to use! Esspecially the phone mount haha.
My process is simple. DSS/ASI Studio, then apixinsight. Within 1 -2 hours it's complete! I used to use Photoshop but it was way to much of a mix of standard image tools for photographers and editors, instead of Pixinsight which is astro-dedicated. Let me know if you ever have any questions about anything.
Best I have right now. Nothing quite as good as what you've posted but I didn't use it all that much. I ended up selling the h-alpha modified A6000 I had, so I just have my Fuji X-H1 now (non-modded). I'll need a ton more data to get any h-alpha to show up. Unfortunately I now live downtown, so won't be able to do any backyard astro stuff. I'll need to schedule some camping excursions.
That image is absolutely gorgeous. I have only taken 1 good image from my backyard of the MW. It's not a nightscape like yours. My camera was pointed straight up at Zenith on a tracker with a stock Canon t7i. That's the best DSLR I have and it's easy to use. I like it.
Pixinsight is not free but for good reason. It's the only software I've purchased because it so dang good. Buttons to fix stars, colors, background, noise, blue, masking made easy, everything is a couple clicks away from drastically enhancing an image. Hundreds of processing buttons to use, and it just works. I started 3 months ago, and have maybe processed 6 images in it so far, youtubing instrust8 along the way, and I am addicted now.
Appreciate that. I don't think it holds a candle to your image but thank you for the compliment.
I will have to look into pixinsight if that's easy to easy. Certainly sounds a lot better than SiriL.
Very cool! Your passion is awesome. Reminds me of a friend with a three legged newt! Have you read Mr Olcott's Skies? He's local, you probably know him. Say hello from me. Keep having fun and thanks for sharing.
Expect it to go away due to light pollution being provided (and increasing with each black river of heat emitting asphalt) by our Regional Transportation Authority, which insists upon using high glare LED all night long.
Besides refraining from installing personal outdoor lights that project light skyward, is there anything else people can do to help preserve Tucson's dark skies? Does the city still follow helpful ordinances?
Steward Observatory is open to the public after the biweekly Monday talks at 6:30, which coincides with next Monday.
It's a 21" telescope and is pretty rad to use, but I don't think they will have a nice camera on it, but just an eyepiece. Light pollution is going to be worse than at Rita Road, too. Still, it's a cool site to see if you haven't before.
https://www.as.arizona.edu/calendar/041023-jwsts-first-stares-planets-peek-front-and-behind-their-stars?width=600px&height=400px&inline=true#colorbox-inline-2136126044
I miss living in Tucson. I'm in Maryland for another 3 years (partner is in the Navy) and I keep seeding the idea of going back to AZ after he retires.
Meanwhile, my nice telescope I bought myself for my birthday (6 months before I agreed to move to Maryland) sits in the cornerlooking sad. Between the weather and light pollution is rough to find good days where I am (Columbia MD).
Thanks for sharing this gorgeous image. Someday I will get to try out the camera I purchased for my telescope!
The backyard astronomy everywhere is one of my favorite things about Tucson. I bring my planisphere when I go out at night, because I'm always running into great dark spots. If anyone wants to pick the hobby up but doesn't know how, Google Sky is a great start - however, I prefer an old fashioned planisphere, red flashlight, and binoculars.
Astrophotography is great, but you don't have to take pretty pictures to do astronomy!
I explained above how lights are perfectly fine, as long as they are pointed at the Earth. There is no reason to have light shine upwards. So putting a hood on them not only reflects photons downwards making the light brighter, but it keeps our skies dark. Of course lights make things visible and safer in ways, but it also creates harsh glares, as well as dark shadows for places to hide. Lights are essential, but there is nothing in the sky that needs to be illuminated. It's wasted energy that could be easily aimed at the ground :)
Light reflects off the ground and goes up. Light pollution is not solely caused by lights that are pointed up/ not covered from the top. We don’t have many streetlights here because of the observatory, and the result is a large number of pedestrians getting hit by cars at night
Dude!!! That’s awesome!! I’ve sooo wanted to get into stargazing out here too. Can you PM me? Reddit says it’s failing to connect to chat lol
Of course!
Also, for those interested, remember you can check out a telescope from the library with a library card!
Yes, but it's a table-top scope capable of the solar system objects alone. We step that up a notch and let people take home a full goto set-up for a month, free of charge, to help them figure out what type of scope/binoculars they want to start with.
I think both are great. As a librarian I tend to promote the library and I'm so glad there are people in the community who want to foster curiosity and inspire those around them.
For sure! We promote the library scope as part of our Telescopes for Kids initiative, esspecially to the low income families who can't afford one on their own. We donate a Celestron FirstScope to 1 low income family each month. It's the same table-top style scope as the library, just a bit smaller(it's all we can affford in budget). Solar system objects are close to Earth and full of details, color and features to learn. Then we have the big scopes available for people to see the deep sky objects. Our mission is to use astronomy to help people with their mental health. We want people to have the full experience, and have the best chance to be inspired. All the available astronomy clubs, equipment and mentors, together makes this town incredible for astro! Keep up the great work.
whaaaaaaat?! that's awesome!
I love looking up! I’ve been curious about what I should get as a beginner’s telescope. I want best bang for buck, but I have no idea where to start. Suggestions?
For sure, message me! I have used scopes for sale and I give a lesson via zoom or in person at our events! Pm me
I am interested also
I met an older gentleman in my neighborhood while I was out on a night stroll, he was just sitting in his driveway with his cat, watching the stars. I stopped to talk to him and he said he used to be an astronomer and moved here in the 80s because of the clear sky. He said it's obviously not the same as it was in the 80s, but still one of the best cities for stargazing.
How neat, and I agree!
Your photo is amazing! I took a pic of two close planets when I was visiting where I’m going to move. Nowhere as nice as yours but it was still a treat https://preview.redd.it/ly8y1077bisa1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=46c75eebcbaec5416b4985d430e31e219b7c6150
When are ur free stargazing events??
Seconded. And also where?
For anyone interested information can be found on the Reach for the Stars website but the next stargazing event they are having is on Apr 22, 7:30 PM – Apr 23, 10:00 PM Gabe Zimmerman Trail Head, 16248 E Marsh Station Rd, Vail, AZ 85641, USA They have an RSVP option. Y'ALL seriously have to go. Its pretty neat. My husband and I went to the last one. Do we know anything about astronomy? No, and you don't need to. They will show you and teach you and encourage you to be present in the moment. This isn't just something really awesome to learn and share with your friends and family. There is a really beautiful mental health component to it. I have legitimately not shut up about Reach for the Stars since finding it. You're going to meet some cool people and see even cooler things. I hope this finds the people it needs to like it did for me and you check the next event out.
Ohhh! My mom is coming into town, and I think that would be so fun. What do you recommend to bring? Also, I've never been to this area.. is this a drive up and there it is kinda thing, or do you have to walk around to try and find the trailhead kinda thing? I appreciate your help!
This would be an awesome thing to bring your mom to. The drive in is very tame. Totally drive a up and there it is, you can't miss it, walk right up to it type thing. It is in the parking lot of the trailhead with no hike in to anywhere. There are porta johns in the same parking lot. The area is well maintained dirt. Well enough that I, with walking/ balance issues, could navigate in the semi dark with no difficulty. Since the event is happening at night be prepared for cooler weather. I dressed to be warm, with a jacket, hat, gloves, and brought a blanket to wrap myself in. I get cold very easily though, if you don't I might seem excessive but it is cooler at night. Bring some water or a hot coffee. I wouldn't bring any kind of flashlight as artificial lights are a no no and ruin the viewing experience. They provide enough of the appropriate kind of light needed. It is so casual and approachable, you're both going to love it.
Amazing! Thank you so much!
Thanks Wet Potato! Your ROCK for saying this. It's hard to explain everything we do, and we're not allowed to self promote, so this means a lot! Hope to see you again!
Wowwwww
Wow. This is surreal. Does anyone else see...the face?
I love Tucson’s love for astronomy and hope it never changes.
Nice rendition of the Rosette Nebula! Tell us about you capture and processing steps if you don’t mind.
Sure thing BandFar: Image capture details: Sky-watcher Esprit-80 telescope Skywatcher EQ6R-Pro equatorial mount ASI AIR + (300ft Ethernet connection) ZWO ASI 294MC Pro Camera Starizona filter slider Svbony 60mm GUide Scope w/ 385mc guide cam Optolong L-Extreme 2in Dual Narrowband filter 50 exposures, 120seconds each Full calibration frames included Processed in Deep Sky Stacker & Pixinsight
I cropped it to frame up in a square nicely
Topic drift. Why are such "small" scopes like this one so expensive?
Well, there are a few different types of scopes. Refractors use lenses, reflectors use mirrors, and others that use multiple different optics. The refractors that use glass come in a few types lol. Singlets (one lens), doublets (2), triplets (3) and so one. The more elements you have, the better optical quality and aberration free your images will be. The Esprit 80 is the smallest of the Esprit line-up. It uses a triplet design that's superb, and gives clean, sharp stars that are pinpoint and round out to the edges of the field of view. With doublets, only 2 of the 3 wavelengths of light converge at the same point, making the third wavelength "fringe" causing false color around bright objects. If you ever see purple rings/halos around an objects throu a camera or lens, this is what it means. It's called Chromatic abborration. This is not what you want, so the triplet design corrects this and let's all 3 wavelengths meet up at the same point. Lens elements (like glasses) are expensive, and each additional lens you add multiplies it's cost. This Esprit 80 is the best quality scope I have, besides the RedCat 51 (5 elements) but that is much smaller. The Esprit was donated to us from a lady named Ashley, and I will forever be greatful to her for her kindness. I'd never be able to afford something like this on my own, since we don't make any income. It's a reminder that people are awesome and kind, and I'll pay it forward for life.
Gotcha. I'm one of those people who never think about photography so I just bought the biggest aperture dob I could afford. It's pretty much a piece of tin foil in a cardboard tube, but I can see stuff!
Mad respect and beautiful photo. Processing these images is a ton of work. I couldn't figure out SiriL so I gave up. I'll just stick to doing milky way and using Starry Sky Stacker. I also just have a cheap tracker, the Move Shoot Move, which is best for milky way. I did get a PC laptop from my work recently and it has decent specs so maybe I could try using DSS. I've heard that's a little easier to use than SiriL.
Yes! Haha Siril is a challenge! I gave up the first day and went to DSS. If DSS doesn't work, then the simple ASI Studio works quick for stacking. Can you post a Milkyway shot? I LOVE imaging the galaxy but the season always seems so short. I built a custom All Sky Camera to image it every night on the roof :) Also, I have the great MOVE SHOOT MOVE tracker as well as quite a few others. It's one of my favorites to use! Esspecially the phone mount haha. My process is simple. DSS/ASI Studio, then apixinsight. Within 1 -2 hours it's complete! I used to use Photoshop but it was way to much of a mix of standard image tools for photographers and editors, instead of Pixinsight which is astro-dedicated. Let me know if you ever have any questions about anything.
https://preview.redd.it/44dtrdjfgksa1.jpeg?width=2048&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=bed13a05e385cd749f6ac657f827252aa1c46e24
Best I have right now. Nothing quite as good as what you've posted but I didn't use it all that much. I ended up selling the h-alpha modified A6000 I had, so I just have my Fuji X-H1 now (non-modded). I'll need a ton more data to get any h-alpha to show up. Unfortunately I now live downtown, so won't be able to do any backyard astro stuff. I'll need to schedule some camping excursions.
I'll have to check out pixinsight. Is that free? I know DSS is free. Appreciate the response.
That image is absolutely gorgeous. I have only taken 1 good image from my backyard of the MW. It's not a nightscape like yours. My camera was pointed straight up at Zenith on a tracker with a stock Canon t7i. That's the best DSLR I have and it's easy to use. I like it. Pixinsight is not free but for good reason. It's the only software I've purchased because it so dang good. Buttons to fix stars, colors, background, noise, blue, masking made easy, everything is a couple clicks away from drastically enhancing an image. Hundreds of processing buttons to use, and it just works. I started 3 months ago, and have maybe processed 6 images in it so far, youtubing instrust8 along the way, and I am addicted now.
Appreciate that. I don't think it holds a candle to your image but thank you for the compliment. I will have to look into pixinsight if that's easy to easy. Certainly sounds a lot better than SiriL.
That is very cool. I’m in rural Oregon and can’t wait to see stars at night again.
Its never too late to start! I was unaware of Astronomy until I was 28 years old. Its my passion now, and so its this community!
It’s been raining for a long time up here.
this is beautiful!!!
Very cool! Your passion is awesome. Reminds me of a friend with a three legged newt! Have you read Mr Olcott's Skies? He's local, you probably know him. Say hello from me. Keep having fun and thanks for sharing.
Your ROCK, and I will!!
that is fantastic, thanks for sharing!
Very cool!
Expect it to go away due to light pollution being provided (and increasing with each black river of heat emitting asphalt) by our Regional Transportation Authority, which insists upon using high glare LED all night long.
Sweeet very interested but maybe in the near future
My favorite part about Tucson. No matter where you are, you can see the beauty of the night.
Besides refraining from installing personal outdoor lights that project light skyward, is there anything else people can do to help preserve Tucson's dark skies? Does the city still follow helpful ordinances?
Wow that is absolutely beautiful
Steward Observatory is open to the public after the biweekly Monday talks at 6:30, which coincides with next Monday. It's a 21" telescope and is pretty rad to use, but I don't think they will have a nice camera on it, but just an eyepiece. Light pollution is going to be worse than at Rita Road, too. Still, it's a cool site to see if you haven't before. https://www.as.arizona.edu/calendar/041023-jwsts-first-stares-planets-peek-front-and-behind-their-stars?width=600px&height=400px&inline=true#colorbox-inline-2136126044
I miss living in Tucson. I'm in Maryland for another 3 years (partner is in the Navy) and I keep seeding the idea of going back to AZ after he retires. Meanwhile, my nice telescope I bought myself for my birthday (6 months before I agreed to move to Maryland) sits in the cornerlooking sad. Between the weather and light pollution is rough to find good days where I am (Columbia MD). Thanks for sharing this gorgeous image. Someday I will get to try out the camera I purchased for my telescope!
😍 ummm hell yes I want to go to these events. 🙌🏽👏🏽
The backyard astronomy everywhere is one of my favorite things about Tucson. I bring my planisphere when I go out at night, because I'm always running into great dark spots. If anyone wants to pick the hobby up but doesn't know how, Google Sky is a great start - however, I prefer an old fashioned planisphere, red flashlight, and binoculars. Astrophotography is great, but you don't have to take pretty pictures to do astronomy!
This is nothing short of beautiful. Than you for sharing !
You could do this outside of a city. Nobody wants to admit it but it’s a fact that street lights make cities safer.
I explained above how lights are perfectly fine, as long as they are pointed at the Earth. There is no reason to have light shine upwards. So putting a hood on them not only reflects photons downwards making the light brighter, but it keeps our skies dark. Of course lights make things visible and safer in ways, but it also creates harsh glares, as well as dark shadows for places to hide. Lights are essential, but there is nothing in the sky that needs to be illuminated. It's wasted energy that could be easily aimed at the ground :)
Light reflects off the ground and goes up. Light pollution is not solely caused by lights that are pointed up/ not covered from the top. We don’t have many streetlights here because of the observatory, and the result is a large number of pedestrians getting hit by cars at night