Photo from Feb. 2009 of the Astro-Physics Traveler getting ready for a night of imaging at Chuckwalla Bench
Jane and I were by ourselves for the dark sky weekend of November 14, 2009. We set up at our usual spot at Chuckwalla Bench. Unlike the past two months, this night featured a cold air mass [...]
Full photo album of setting up and astrophotos here at the Whiteoaks Photo Album.
Update: Here’s Jane’s version of the same evening.
It was another perfect new moon Saturday for a trip to our favorite spot in the Colorado Desert out I-10.
Yes this is a very full Grand Caravan!
Jane and I happily took out [...]
Observing report, dark sky weekend, September, 2009, Chuckwalla Bench
The "Double Cluster" between Cassiopeia and Perseus
The Clear Sky Chart forecast for Desert Center, CA, was dark blue all night for our favorite observing site. The NOAA forecast called for a high of 99 and low of 77. Often a night like this can have uncomfortably [...]
Photos and video found here
What do herpetologists and astronomers have in common?
They both like going out on new moon weekends: astronomers to find faint fuzzies, and herpetologists to find nocturnal reptiles.
Last year in October, Jane met herpetologist Hanna Strauss at an event in Mojave National Preserve, and the two of them resolved to get together [...]
The Messier Marathon seems like a silly exercise, but it’s certainly fun. Jane and I were introduced to our favorite dark sky desert observing site five years ago when Don Machholz invited us to join him for a mid-week Messier Marathon.
Big dobs set up for the Messier Marathon under clear steady blue skies.
We’ve logged 108 [...]