First light at Sky Fire Ridge Observatory
- 7 minutes ago
- 5 min read
This weekend was the first time I've ever taken images under Bortle 2 skies. Although I planned meticulously for the shoot, I faced a few challenges and learned a few things. More on that later. First, let's talk about this summer!
I use affiliate links in this post, so if you make a purdchase at Amazon or Highpoint Scientific, the two main suppliers for my business, I may receive a commission that will go straight to funding more content that I can share with you. I was not paid nor otherwise compensated for any of these liniks, and all opinions are my own.
Mark your calendar
This summer I'll be working with several local city and state agencies to deliver five events in Newport and Lincoln City! I am finalizing details on all of them but want to share the dates now so if you're interested, you can lock them down.
July 18 - Newport - Yaquina Bay State Park North Viewpoint - the evening starts with crescent moon and Venus, then moves into Milky Way and deep space exploration.
July 31 - Lincoln City - Taft District - star party
August 7 - Newport - Painted Hills - overnight dark skies field trip
August 27 - Newport - Yaquina Bay State Park North Viewpoint - a lunar eclipse!
August 28 - Lincoln City - Taft District - star party
I'll add more details as they come in.
Coming soon
I am working on a few new resources for our stargazing community. The first is a set of online classes that walk you through everything from basic understanding of cameras to complex deep space workflows. I would like to have a few modules ready when I release (and the first one will be free so you can see what the experience is like). If there is a specific topic nagging at you that you'd like to address, let me know!
I will also start adding resources for things like cheat sheets and checklists. All of the basic/intro level material will be free, and the more advanced assets will be bundled with courses.
Sky Fire Ridge Observatory first light
This weekend, I packed my gear and headed to my dark site. I drive a Subaru Outback and it is perfect for the conditions there. The ride up was quite bumpy.
I arrived with plenty of light left to find and clear a spot. The property is all rocks, shrubs, and dust where there aren't old juniper trees. I brought a ground cover to help control dust, but the wind made it almost redundant. It was blowing so hard it took me about twice as long to secure my tent. By the time I wrapped up and was ready to image, it was dark enough to use my headlamp.
I usually have a Go Pro running for a timelapse of the area and sometimes to catch meteors or aurora that I'm not expecting. It captured the sunset over the ridge.
Then I took this shot with my camera because it was so striking to see the sun's rays filter through the distant trees.
The angle in this timelapse shows me struggling to set it all up in the wind.
So, what gear did I bring?
I use an EcoFlow Delta Pro 2 for my main battery
I also have a solar-rechargeable high-capacity portable battery I use to backup the GoPro or See Star batteries
My original ZWO AM3 tripod is holding up the Sky Watcher Star Adventurer GTi mount that I use for my camera
I'm using a Sony A7R IV camera with a Viltrox 50mm f2 lens and a Sigma 14mm f1.4 lens
For the camera, I use a tethered battery replacement for "infinite battery"
I use a snap cable to control the exposure from the Star Adventurer so that I can take long exposures
The Star Adventurer mount requires a balanced counter-weight for the camera to take long exposures
I started with the Celestron EdgeHD 9.25" telescope (2350mm) to capture planets, then switched to
William Optics Redcat 71 for the Rho Ophiuchi complex
Both were solid and stable on my favorite tripod, the new Apertura heavy duty carbon tripod.
I also have a GoPro Max2 I use to document the shoot
I use a pack-and-go system. My field set up all collapses into duffel bags and cases for the telescope, camera, cables, etc. Similar gear is organized into similar containers so I can just grab and go with the set that I need. This makes loading and unloading a breeze.
I had a bit of a surprise when I reviewed the GoPro footage. I'll let the footage speak for itself.
The delays from the wind left me less time to image planets and I simply couldn't seem to get Jupiter into my field of vision. I did manage to grab this capture of Venus.
I didn't think about how the 360° GoPro would be able capture the full arch of the Milky Way, but it did. This is just a frame grab from the footage so the resolution is not great, but it shows what a potential shot could look like.
And now here's a "real" shot. Although I couldn't see the colors with my unaided eye, that night was so dark that I had no problem at all discerning the structure of the Milky Way.
I intended to track the Milky Way all night, but as is typical was distracted by some other opportunities so I did break up the imaging a bit. I do think the strategy paid off! This is what my camera roll of Milky Way shots looks like.
And this is my favorite shot. Until I can shoot it closer to the volcanoes in the West, my main option for a foreground for the Milky Way is the ridge above me. I like featuring my car since it's been there from "day one" and takes me wherever go for dark sky imaging.
For a $200 camera, the Viltrox is an incredidbly capable camera. I used it to capture a close up of the galactic core.
My main target for the evening was Rho Ophiuchi. This is Rho with the 50mm camera.
My main target was Rho Ophiuchi. I was counting on some excellent guiding based on tests with an experimental rig, but it was totally failing in the field. So, I focused on getting the best polar alignment I could, then shot 180 second (3 minute) exposures using luminance, red, green, and blue filters. This worked out well and this is the result.
I napped, photographed, marveled at the stars, and napped again on and off throughout the night. When I woke up the next morning, a thick fog was covering the volanoes and reflecting the pink dawn.
What a great experience and a fun way to kick off the summer!
