To take scope or not

[that_guy]

Hi guys, I'll be returning to my home country of South Korea for a couple of weeks and pondering whether or not to take my ed80 + az3 mount for some northern hemisphere gazing. There are a couple of factors to consider here, the ed80 is in a home made padded toolbox and I'll most likely take it with me when boarding the plane. Will i run in to any trouble taking it on the plane with me? Also, what are some northern objects I'll be able to see with the ed80. Eyepiece wise I'll be purchasing a baader hyperion zoom eyepiece for the sake of variety and convenience. Got my uhc filter too for the nebulas.

[el_draco]

The obvious target is M31 but there are many others. You may also consider leaving your scope behind and seeing if you can hook up with some amateurs over there to use their gear. I did that when I went to the U.S. years ago and it seems amateurs go out of their way to help each other in this regard. They sure as hell fell over themselves to make sure I had a great time...

[that_guy]

one of the reason im hesitant on finding local clubs is the language barrier. my korean is passable at best and when you start adding astro linguo :S

[tlgerdes]

Where about in SK? Anything within 100km of Seoul would be pretty useless. Can barely see Jupiter in Seoul.

[that_guy]

my great aunt has a great property in the country, completely flat, no light pollution. ill prob spend a good night there but thats another reason why im iffy on taking a scope, ill prob only use it there for a day or two and not use it when im in seoul (where ill be most of the time).

[astro744]

I'd just view the sky unaided or maybe binoculars as it's a good opportunity just to learn some northern constellations. You never know what the weather is doing too. Enjoy your trip!

[Wavytone]

Personally I'd say take binoculars and leave the scope at home.

I've travelled a few times by air with scopes, no issues apart from the weight and the compromises you'll have to make with luggage, and lugging it around with you when not using it.

For many years I had a 4" Meade SCT as a travel scope for solar eclipses, it was fine on a sturdy camera tripod, and the OTA is easy as cabin luggage. Current equivalent would be one of the baby maksutovs around 90-127mm. This would be far preferable to your refractor.

There's even a C5 with tabletop mount in the IIS classifieds... perfect.

FWIW M31 is pretty close to the sun at moment ... wrong time of year to look at that.

[rrussell1962]

If I ever go back to the UK for a visit my list of Northern Hemisphere objects would include: Ursa Major galaxies, NGC 457, double cluster in Perseus. If you opt for binoculars then sweeping around Cygnus would be worthwhile.

[guipago]

If the tool box is the usual metal one with sharp edges then the aircrew will have a pink fit over it, air turbulence, sharp edges & heads don't match, if it goes in with the baggage handlers they will treat it with the usual contempt, I'd suggest a soft bag with the scope wrapped in a rug of some sorts & take it on with hand luggage, it may cost you extra, but it will be safer, why not think about buying a cheap mount when you get there? Would save lugging it around.

[glend]

Airlines are absolutely paranoid about people taking anything onboard these days. I would check with them in advance, don't just show up with it and expect to be allowed to take it onboard. It would have to be checked carefully anyway. I would leave it at home.

[that_guy]

yeah i think ill just take the binos and camera tripod

[brian nordstrom]

:thumbsup: Yes Binos , a bino adaptor from bintel to mount it to a photograph tripod and you are set . You will be suprised what can be seen in 7-10x50 mounted binoculars from a dark site .
Enjoy your holiday and we would love a few photos on return .

Brian.