If you haven't seem it
http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html has a
different picture every day.

I have a nearly 100% ACCURATE METHOD OF FORECASTING THE
CLOUD COVER, that works like this. when they have a meteor
shower or storm, an eclipse, or any other event it will be
overcast in central Kansas.



"Wade Hasbrouck" wrote in
message
...
|
| "N2310D" wrote in message
| news:Q1Yeh.716$IO5.347@trnddc01...
|
| "Wade Hasbrouck" wrote
in message
|
...
|
|
| I have a 10" Mead LX200GPS "Cloud Magnet." Sitting
here in Seattle
| waiting for clouds to go away as it is "M42 Season" and
M31 is straight
| over head. :-) Hoping to get a better picture of the
Horsehead this
| year.
|
| With a 10" telescope? I do most of my nebula photos with
a 300mm lens on
| my Canon -- although I do have it strapped to my C-8
Celestron and use
| that with the equatorial drive to chase a guide star.
|
| I have been contemplating buying another 'scope so when
your cloud magnet
| gets too dusty over in the corner G, send it down
here to the Mojave
| Desert. Our nominal cloud cover around here is "clear
and a million" for
| at least 300 days a year.
|
| I've made six trips to Whidby(?sp) Island and I can
unequivocally report
| that the sun never shines in that part of Washington.
|
|
| The astronomical society that I belong to (Eastside
Astronomical Society -
| www.eastsideastro.org) took over the Deception Pass Star
Party this year,
| and we had pretty good weather in August for it.
Deception Pass is at the
| north end of Whidbey, but the only problem with Deception
Pass is that it is
| really really really "wet" and Dew Heaters are a
requirement if you want to
| observe for more than 5 minutes. :-) Summers are
typically pretty good
| weather, but we won't admit it. :-) Eastern Washington
is much better, and
| much much drier.
|
| I have done quite a bit of Piggyback astrophotography, and
have that down
| pretty well... I have always been working on my prime
focus stuff. I have a
| wedge for my LX200. I recently got the 80mm Orion
Apochromatic, to mount on
| the LX200 to use a guide scope, and have been manually
guiding, but may move
| to autoguiding. I shoot slide film, while my flight
instructor is a digital
| guy and uses a Canon 10D. He harasses me about "How did
your pictures turn
| out last night???? Oh!!! that is right you use film...
:-)" but then I
| tell him, "At least I don't need a portable nuclear power
reactor to power
| my equipment. :-)" I will probably also start doing some
prime focus stuff
| with the Orion scope and guiding with the 10".
|
| My flight instructor and I go to Table Mountain every year
(www.tmspa.com).
| It has some pretty good dark skies, but the "Ellensburg
Nebula" and
| "Wenatchee Nebula" seem to get a little bigger every year.
|
| If you are curious, if have some photos at
| www.doodlespace.com/astro/gallery.htm , but I haven't
posted anything from
| this year yet as I have been too busy between work and
getting my PPL. :-)
| My instructor has some pictures at his site,
| www.eastsideastro.org/observatory
|