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Shame I didn't read your post about the star party sooner, would have only been an hour trip out there from here! Would it be worth making a trip out there on a normal weekend to have a look? They have a normal observing session coming up next month. Wouldn't mind checking out another observatory, and there's a few around here.
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There's a contingent that heads up there every new moon for some observing. I'm sure if you gave Don at Bintel a call he'll tell you all about it. It's a nice place to go, especially if you get to look through the 25" dob.
I image you'd more want to go for the social aspect and looking through other people's scopes, rather than the dark skies. You can get equally as dark skies closer to home I imagine.
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I'm definiately going to have to pack the dob up and take it out of town soon, my view from my backyard is really limited at the moment by trees. How did you go about packing your 10" safely into the car? Just using the original packing?
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Yep, I used the station wagon and laid down the back seat, and used 2 of the original foam packing to rest the OTA on, and I jammed the base and everything else around it so it didn't move about while driving.
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Is there a viewing night etiquette that everyone adhers to since you have so many scopes concentrated in the one area and I assume it would be pitch black. (No reference to the movie)
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Basically no white lights.. some people drove their cars in after dark with their lights blazing and that drew a roar of unpleasant responses from many an observer.
But apart from that, just normal courtesy and ettiquette.. you'll find that amateurs are more than willing to talk about their gear and let you have a look through their gear. All you have to do is ask.
Oh and of course be careful not to lean all over their scope or put any grubby fingers on their eyepiece lens
Thanks for the comments.. looking forward to reading the reports from Robby, Rod, seeker and xstream.. bring 'em on guys!