- Joined
- Jul 27, 2019
- Messages
- 13,024
- Location
- Midlothian, VA
- RV Year
- 2017
- RV Make
- Newmar
- RV Model
- Ventana 4037
- RV Length
- 40' 10"
- Chassis
- Freightliner XCR
- Engine
- Cummins 400 HP
- TOW/TOAD
- 2017 Chevy Colorado
- Fulltimer
- No
Who here is into Astronomy? Knowing I was going on a winter trip out west and having lived in this area before I know the skies are ideal for astronomy and star gazing, or planet gazing as it is. Prior to my trip I decided to get a telescope to come along for the ride so I researched and decided on the Celestron 8se. An ole trusty and popular choice, nothing new or cutting edge, just something that works well. I bought all of the accouterments for it including the NexStar StartSense Autoalign, wifi dongle, on and on. Yeah, not cheap, but hey, let's do this right.
In Ruidoso following the Balloon Fiesta I decided to give it a try, there is a lot to learn and but at least we got to get a good look at the moon staring out front of us. Was neat for a first attempt. Later as I traveled to Deming, NM I had a great view as I was in a very remote area and got a great view of Jupiter and easily viewed it with four moons and then Saturn which was a little less impressive but still cool to see. Keep in mind I am still learning this beast and have to get the proper magnification and filters figured out yet. So far it's been cool and I'm looking forward to more star gazing. I didn't expect all the vegetation/trees around me in Tucson so I'll hold off until I move up to Mesa next for hopefully the next attempts. I considered driving 1+30 out to Kitt peak to take a tour there, not sure I'm up for that. Me old!
So where do I store this I've been asked. Yes, it takes up some space. The telescope itself I store in the box and foam it came in and it fits in the back master bath closet horizontally taking about 90% of the width so still some room on the side for my cleaning items. I put the telescope mount (black thing) on top of the box. The tripod I store in the space next to the bed in the compartment there in my coach, handy storage. All of the accessories are under the bed in a rubbermaid bin type thing. I really thinned out to things I rarely or haven't used prior to departing on this trip so it opened up some good space for storage thankfully.
So far it's been fun and looking forward to more stargazing soon.
In Ruidoso following the Balloon Fiesta I decided to give it a try, there is a lot to learn and but at least we got to get a good look at the moon staring out front of us. Was neat for a first attempt. Later as I traveled to Deming, NM I had a great view as I was in a very remote area and got a great view of Jupiter and easily viewed it with four moons and then Saturn which was a little less impressive but still cool to see. Keep in mind I am still learning this beast and have to get the proper magnification and filters figured out yet. So far it's been cool and I'm looking forward to more star gazing. I didn't expect all the vegetation/trees around me in Tucson so I'll hold off until I move up to Mesa next for hopefully the next attempts. I considered driving 1+30 out to Kitt peak to take a tour there, not sure I'm up for that. Me old!
So where do I store this I've been asked. Yes, it takes up some space. The telescope itself I store in the box and foam it came in and it fits in the back master bath closet horizontally taking about 90% of the width so still some room on the side for my cleaning items. I put the telescope mount (black thing) on top of the box. The tripod I store in the space next to the bed in the compartment there in my coach, handy storage. All of the accessories are under the bed in a rubbermaid bin type thing. I really thinned out to things I rarely or haven't used prior to departing on this trip so it opened up some good space for storage thankfully.
So far it's been fun and looking forward to more stargazing soon.
