Staring out into space

[Bat Dude]

Hmmm, when at an RV park and you see your neighbor "Just staring out into space" and you ask "What are you looking at?"

He replies "This!... the first Andromeda is about 2.537 million light-years away" and then shows you a few glimpses. So how could I not be impressed with the last one the Bat Nebula!

Rusty's RV Ranch near Rodeo, NM is a dark sky park, replete with astronomy buffs and mega telescopes most with cameras.





As a bat biologist I kinda gravitated towards this one... the Bat Nebula.




Cheers all,
Bat Dude

[Toby Dog]

The pics remind me how insignificant we are. I learned it the first time when I retired.

[abbeyman]

These were actually taken in the open, ie not in some sort of observatory?

[PhilAndTee]

Every time I see images like that I immediately google telescopes, find the one I want and then not buy it. I did the same thing when I saw these. One day I may end up getting one.

[Bat Dude]

Yes neighbor had a telescope fitted with a camera.

The scope has all the motion tracking stuff so one locked onto the area of interest it tracks until finished. The way is was set up is it takes images every for a minute a a time all night. All of the images are merged in special software into one. So that all the light waves "seen" are captured.

Special light wave filters are used that for his case were if I recall got sulfur, hydrogen, oxygen and one other.

Apparently it takes some 5+ hours to process each nights data into the single image. Considering the light has traveled for millions of light years to even be detected on Earth it is quite amazing.

He does not look at planetary bodies but distant galaxies.
I hear you on the WOW factor and also look at telescopes just 'cause.
I think he has ~ $15+ K invested in the equipment.

I will not be induced to by a scope at the moment, as neat as the images are. With all of the bat acoustic work I am doing and mentoring people in Central and South America it already takes weeks to process acoustic data to ID the bats from their unique vocal signatures LOL

Rusty's RV Ranch is a wonderful place and the surrounding area of Rodeo, NM and Portal, AZ one of the U.S. Major Dark Sky areas.


Quite a wonderful change from some RV parks that are lit up like prisons, worried about any potential critters that may be prowling around ;-)

Alas we pull out of here Wed and head to lower elevation to the Sonoran desert until after the New Year. 2nd stay her this year, we departed in mid April as we wrapped up last winter's escape. Likely we will return again to one of the most biodiverse area of the U.S. Cave Creek Canyon again in the future.

Cheers all,
Bat Dude

[DonavonP]

Great thread. Thanks Bat Dude.

[twogypsies]

Rusty's is an awesome place in the boonies and indeed, one needs very dark skies to see the universe. That's the place! Have done lots of hiking in the unique, nearby Chiricahua Nat'l Park.

Awesome photos!!!

[mr. ed]

You're looking at those galaxies as they appeared thousands of years ago in many cases. Even some stars we see today may have "gone nova" years ago, but we'll only learn that when the light finally reaches us. The expanse of outer space boggles the imagination. It seems unlikely man will ever achieve the speeds necessary to visit these distant places.

[Bamaman]

My college roommate has an observatory with a huge telescope built on a second story of his house in Ft. Myers.

I wonder if it survived the hurricane? He lost the main floor of the home but it's being rebuilt.

He's so fed up with insurance adjusters and rebuilding that he's taking a cruise around the world.