The 16” Dob is our traveling telescope. We search for remote viewing sites that are high and dry with minimal light pollution. Our favorite site is about 100 miles south of our home, high on a ridge above the Pacific Ocean in the Los Padres National Forest. We have other locations, such as Henry Coe State Park, that are closer to home. Occasionally we go to the east side of the Sierra, and once we set up in the White Mountains at 10,000 ft. elevation where the viewing was outstanding.
More recently Evert has been using his Sony Cybershot digital camera mounted on a tripod to take 30 second exposures. This is a good alternative when packing a large telescope isn’t practical. We’ve had fun making time exposure videos from some of these photos.
More recently Evert has been using his Sony Cybershot digital camera mounted on a tripod to take 30 second exposures. This is a good alternative when packing a large telescope isn’t practical. We’ve had fun making time exposure videos from some of these photos.
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This is the viewing site in the Los Padres Nation Forest, south of Big Sur.
This is where we set up the Dob on our way to Oklahoma one year. We're in the White Mountains near the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, overlooking the Owens Valley with Mt. Whitney in the background.
This is a time lapse video made from the photos Evert took with his Sony Cybershot camera at our favorite dark sky location.
As you view the time lapse video, Jupiter and Saturn will come into view to the left of the Milky Way. As Earth’s view of the celestial sphere moves from East to West (Earth rotates from West to East) Jupiter is seen first, followed by Saturn. Jupiter, traveling around the Sun faster than Saturn, caught up with Saturn five months later at the “Great Conjunction” that occurred December 21, 2020.
This photo of the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn is a time exposure taken with a Sony Cybershot camera on December 21, 2020.