Some of the Nitty Gritty of Expeditions (With first scope advice!)

Hi all, Its been awhile. Sorry I  haven't posted, but its hard to think of pithy things to say when your on your back in a CT scanner. Anyway I have had substantial interest in the Astrophotography Expeditions so I think its a good time to talk about some details. (Subject to change since the first expedition is over a year away.)

 The idea is that as long as your willing to bring your own food and gear for you and yours you are welcome. We should have multiple vehicles since I can only carry one person other than myself. The idea is that there will be multiple tents, mine will be for gear and maybe 2-3 people other than myself. We will get together before hand to make sure there is tent space for everyone. Individuals will be responsible for there own sleeping bags and pillows. Now since there will be astrophotography it is going to be natural to ask the question of what other are supposed to do at night.

 I would encourage people who are bringing there own vehicle to bring a scope. This leads me to a question I get asked a lot, which is basically what kind of telescope should I buy. Since we will be under dark skies it will be an opportune time to explore the night sky. The scope I think everyone should start of with is a Dobsonian. My personal recommendation is to go to Orion Telescopes and Binoculars for your first dob. I started out on a 6" and had a blast under suburban skies, so it I would say a 6" Dob would be the low end. Now if your willing to save a bit of money I would actually recommend the XX12i Truss tube, as it will be easy to transport and give you better views at the eyepiece. The computer will give you instant gratification, by pointing you at objects and giving you tours of the night sky, but to push yourself  and get better at astronomy you need to try star hopping to your target. Finally if push comes to shove a good pair of 7x50 binoculars can give you great views without the hassle or the expense of a scope.

If you have some experience with using a telescope and your poison is taking photos of the stars and planets, well I don't really know what to tell you since I cannot recommend my setup to anyone yet. I mean stay tuned for test reports but until I actually have the scope and camera and try it in my backyard or in a field, I cannot say for certain its the right way to go. If your a novice just starting off I would go with the Orion Sirius 80 which is sort of the standard telescope to start out with for astrophotography. As for a camera, I would start of with an unmodified Canon EOS. (t3 or t3i) This will give you a taste for astrophotography.

Now you may be saying, Aaron none of these scopes are what you would buy, and that is correct. However I am not a novice, I am a journeyman. (or at least I tell myself that) I am configuring a modular system for specific targets. When the time comes you may want to do the same, these suggestions are for people beginning there journey.

I would like to reiterate that I do not recommend people jump right into astrophotography, its hard enough when you have a vague notion of what to do, its is impossible if you do not know if you have the target you are interested in in the Field of View of your scope.