First session at new house (where did I pack the bug spray?)

[prowler75]

Hi Friends,

After a long hiatus from observing due to work, weather and moving I finally got an opportunity to do a little observing from my new back yard last night
.
Our new house is in a slightly darker area. Definitely not dark sky, but the real improvement is the lack of tress obstructing my views. Now I can observe in nearly every direction!

Ground lighting doesn’t seem to be an issue at all either. The developer of the neighborhood did a great job with the street lights. They are completely shielded so that light only shines down and you have to be standing next to see the actual bulbs. My neighbors have been playing nice as well and keep their back yards about as dark as mine.

So for my first backyard session I couldn’t resist diving into Virgo to explore some galaxies with my Z12. Transparency turned out to suck as the bugs were horrible so I didn’t bother with notes and didn’t stay out very long either. It was more of a testing the waters session so I am just going to give y’all the list of what I spotted.

I started at Vindemiatrix and hoped over the NGC 4754 and 4762. Both put on a fairly feeble showing due to bad transparency. Next up was M60 and NGC 4647 followed by M59, NGC 4638.

The bugs were absolutely horrid and since I haven’t located in what box I packed the bug spray I cut this session short after a few targets.

The new back yard is definitely not a replacement for traveling to a dark site, but I am definitely a happier camper with the new views that I has to offer, This is going to make future casual back yard observing much more rewarding so I am pretty happy! Looking toward to getting back out soon!

Anyhow, thanks for reading

Craig

[UlteriorModem]

https://www.thermacell.com/

[10538]

Hi Craig! Yep, ThermaCells work pretty well but down here in the low country you need the spray too! I tried going out there tonight but between the bugs and the heat I gave it up! Congrats on your new house and observing location. Hopefully you’ll get some good viewing opportunities soon.

[Lady Fraktor]

Congratulations on getting out finally, to bad about the bugs though.
The lighting sounds like good planning at least, you should do a viewing night with your immediate neighbors so they are (usually) more willing to turn off lights if needed.
Enjoy the new skies when you can!

[kt4hx]

Glad you finally got a chance to give it a go at the new place Craig. Bugs are certainly an issue, from skeeters to chiggers. Between them and the impact of humidity, I often eschew observing from home during summer as we are less than 100ft ASL, so it is pretty miserable out there. The other place is over 2700ft ASL and what few skeeters I've encountered were not aggressive, so spray is never needed. Plus the air is cooler at night with the elevation, and the skies are indeed dark, so summer observing there is a real treat as compared to the murky muck at home!

[bladekeeper]

Sounds like a definite improvement over the old backyard!

Mine has definitely become worse the past couple of years. Between that and the continuously sucky transparency, it has been very discouraging. And with the lava lamp clouds springing up hither and yon, it is hard to trust traveling to a dark site. Come to think of it, I don't think I have a dark site any longer since my aunt sold her farm.

Anyway, hope you get some more casual viewing time soon!