Venus/Jupiter Close Conjunction

[Buckeye_Nut]

The darkest skies I've observed under were Class 2 on the Bortle Scale.
http://www.novac.com/lp/def.php
I'm lucky because my regular observing site has class 3 skies, which is excellent considering it's only a 1hr commute. I want to go to the Texas or Nebraska Star parties (if only just once) so I can experience class 1 skies for myself. To get as dark as class 1........you need to be in an extremely remote locale. IE......in the western USA in the middle of absolutely nowhere.

You probably won't get that great of a night sky view off a ship unless they turn off every single light long enough to become dark adapted, but yes..... the night sky would look amazing while at sea!! The humidity would degrade the sky transparency, but it would still be an impressive sight to behold. Even the most minute lighting on board the ship would degrade the views rather significantly. If they cut the lights for an extended period, it would be fun to just lie in a recliner with a pair of binoc's to scan the sky. (Somewhere arid AND at elevation would be much, much better)

This is a fun resource...........
http://cleardarksky.com/csk/
Besides the observing forecast, it also has a feature that includes light pollution and sky darkness by location in the USA and Canada.

 

[Halon451]

You probably won't get that great of a night sky view off a ship unless they turn off every single light long enough to become dark adapted, but yes..... the night sky would look amazing while at sea!! The humidity would degrade the sky transparency, but it would still be an impressive sight to behold. Even the most minute lighting on board the ship would degrade the views rather significantly. If they cut the lights for an extended period, it would be fun to just lie in a recliner with a pair of binoc's to scan the sky. (Somewhere arid AND at elevation would be much, much better)

That's exactly what they do - it's called "Darken ship". Every exterior light is extinguished in order to visibly "hide" the ship in the darkness of night. Of course it wasn't that spectacular every night - probably on account of the humidity that you mentioned, but I remember a few really clear, dry nights that literally stunned me.

 

[Tomorrow]

Wow....that's quite the collection!! I try to make a dark sky trip every clear moonless weekend possible. Lately it seems we get clouded out most months, but we keep on trying.

I have a 16" modded Meade dob that's affectionately named tubby.

How much does Tubby weigh? How much does a typical 6 or 8 inch dobsonian weigh? Lifting constraints may come into play with us. Thanks.

 

[Buckeye_Nut]

How much does Tubby weigh? How much does a typical 6 or 8 inch dobsonian weigh? Lifting constraints may come into play with us. Thanks.

I can handle it without any problems, but it's probably more than most people will either want/or can handle themselves. The OTA weighs 100lbs + the base weighs another 75lbs. On the other hand, a 16" truss designed dobsonian like 101001's will be much lighter and easy to manage for a single person to setup.


A small 6"-8" dob will be very light and be easily manageable by most anyone. (around 30-45lbs total weight for both base and OTA combined)

 

[10010011]

The OTA weighs 100lbs + the base weighs another 75lbs.

That's pretty heavy.

The mirror box for my 16 weighs 60-70 pounds I am guessing. The mirror is about three inches thick. I can lift it myself but it's kind of big and awkward, better handled by two people.

The Orion XT8, I recommended its pretty light and easy for one person to handle since the tube is made from sheet metal instead of inch thick cardboard like my Coulter, Meade and I am guessing Tubby's tubes are made from.