Quote:
Originally Posted by mental4astro
Valleys are not the best places to use astronomical scopes. They act as dew traps & can funnel wind and turbulence & often have reduced transparency. Notice how fog settles in valleys and the tops of the ridges are clear? And if the valley is agricultural land, dew/fog is even worse. The better place to set up a scope is up high above the fog line.
Now if you live in a valley, you might not have access to higher areas - no ones fault, but it is a small consolation to know the limitations you have.
Dark skies close to Sydney are very hard to come by that are best suited to astro. A few of us chasing sites limit possible sites to the ridge tops and plateaus of the Blue Mountains. We would have more choice if we went into the valleys, but this would work against the skies we are chasing. I mention this so you and others can understand what works best for astro and what to look for in possible astro sites.
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My site is half way up the valley side, with escarpments close by. There are plateaus that I could drive to that would be nice dark, elevated sites - but I like the comforts of home close by - I'm one of those lazy astronomers, not a real one.
