Whether you setup in your light polluted backyard or drive three hours to your chosen site, nothing will impact overall image quality more than this choice. Everything else pales in comparison when you are serious about getting the most from your telescope. The first step to "where" has to consider darker skies.
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My favorite dark sky site, the Comanche Springs Astronomy Campus near Crowell, Texas, is less than 4 hours from my DFW home. Everything that I believe you should factor into an observing site decision is itemized as follows, starting, of course, with the geographical location itself. In this article, we will discuss some of the factors that go through my mind. I'm getting old and the equipment is getting heavier!īut when my ambitions turn to quality views of the sky, then a whole new set of parameters is defined, from packing all my gear, to travelling to the right site, to setting everything up the best way in just the right spot. People are worth it.Īt that point, I just want to keep from carrying stuff too far. Dark skies would be nice, but they aren't required if you hope to make a difference in the lives of people.
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Even in my DFW skies, there is plenty to see up there. Otherwise, I'll just bring a scope that I can push around. If they have accessible power, then I might show some ambition and bring an imaging setup. It celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2007.When I do public observing events, whether in front of my school or for another cause, I've learned that my needs are small. The Portland Observatory is the only remaining historic maritime signal station in the United States. As an intact survivor from the Golden Age of Sail, the Observatory was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972, became a National Historic Landmark in 2006, and named a National Civil Engineering Landmark in 2006. The tower was saved and reopened in 2000. The City of Portland and concerned citizens collaborated with Greater Portland Landmarks to once again restore the Observatory. In 1984 Greater Portland Landmarks assumed management of the tower, opening it for regular tours. Then, ten years later, inspections revealed serious moisture damage and an infestation of powder-post beetles. Restorations were done and the tower opened to tourists in 1939.
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The Observatory fell into disrepair and was donated to the City of Portland. This signal tower communication greatly increased the efficiency of Portland Harbor and the Observatory remained a working marine signal tower run by the Moody family until 1923 when the invention of the two-way radio made it obsolete. Moody informed subscribing merchants by hoisting signal flags identifying their vessels. With his powerful telescope at the top of the tower, sea captain-turned-entrepreneur Moody could identify incoming vessels as far away as 30 miles. It was a commercial venture designed to give a competitive edge to ship owners who paid Moody a subscription fee of $5.00 a year to alert them when their ships were arriving.Īt the time, ships entering the harbor could not be seen from the docks of Portland until they rounded the point of land at Spring Point Ledge and were almost in the harbor. In 1807 Captain Lemuel Moody (1768-1846), ordered construction of this octagonal, 86-foot high tower on Munjoy Hill to serve as a communication station for Portland’s bustling harbor.