Hi everyone,
I've been struggling with a probelm for a while now, and I'd love to hear if anyone else has experienced something similar.
I have a nice imaging rig that I'm really happy with. Over time I've learned a heap about setting up all of my equipment and how best to use NINA to operate it all on my dedicated mini PC. I've also developed some decent Pixinsight workflows that produce images I'm proud of.
As you might've guessed, this isn't the issue. The issue is that I currently work away 8 days of every fortnight, and I don't have access to my scope for these 8 days. When I'm back home for the other 6 days, I want to do everything I can, catch up with friends and family, play sport, pursue my other hobbies and of course take images (if the clouds permit me). Unfortunately, I live in a block of units and while I'm able to set my scope up nearby, it needs more or less constant supervision because it's accessible to the public and other residents of the apartment complex. While I can run my rig remotely from inside my apartment through remote desktop, being awake for large chunks of the night ensuring that my rig doesn't get stolen or vandalized makes me quite tired the next morning and affects how much I can do in my limited time off back home.
I really love taking images, processing them and obtaining an awesome end result, but lately, I've not been using my rig much because of how tired I am after a night (or nights) of imaging. This is making me feel like all the time, effort and money I spent getting to the point I am now was somewhat of a waste.
Has anyone else gone through anything similar and if so, what did you do to rectify your situation? I'm considering sending my rig remote but I'm balking at the monthly cost of this a bit. I live in Western Australia so my options for domestic remote observatories are somewhat limited, but there are a few out there that I could try.
Any suggestions or insight would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks for reading, and clear skies!
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Got any friends with a back garden or such?
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Maybe roof of your block has limited access and you would be able to ask owners for access to it? You can even show it to some neighbours and get wider support and enthusiasts  |
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You could explore remote observatory pier rental. But I think it's $$$
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Your best option may be a remote observatory. Starfront is relatively cheap for a small rig, I think $200/month. Otherwise you really have to ask if this is the right hobby for you.
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If it’s in the budget consider Starfront. It’s been a real quality life improvement.
only real issue is to much data…
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Ya, if you are still in Australia, Starfront could be an issue. Any remotes down there.
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Your situation is almost the exact same reason that I moved my telescopes to a remote location. I have a daytime life and staying up half the night messing with my scopes was just killing me. I could never gather as much data as I wanted and the lack of sleep started to affect my health and sense of well being—not to mention that I was often too trashed to do a lot of things that I love doing during the day.
The obvious problem with remote imaging is that it isn’t cheap. I’m lucky that I can afford it but I know that not everyone can. So, the next best thing might be to setup your own local remote observatory. Of course you need an acceptable location like a backyard—or a location on a friend’s property. I have a good friend who shares a telescope with a friend of his and they keep it in one of their backyards under a cover. In that case, someone has to uncover it when it’s going to be clear but they manage to make it work.
Finally, as others have suggested, you might consider renting time on remote scopes. That’s probably the easiest way to gain access to dark skies and high quality data without having to own anything.
John
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As John and others have suggested, if you can find a friend is willing to host your rig, that would be the best solution for you. Maybe it's just a friend you haven't made yet?
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You've got some really nice images out there, Evan!
The best investment I have done in my astrophotography journey so far is going to a remote hosting site. The ability to use it also when I'm not at home for any stretch of time was for me a major reason to take this step. There is of course the cost associated with it. If that is too much, an alternative could be to do it together with someone else, or even with a small group. You could have a joint observation program, or split up observation time between each other for example. It requires a collaborative spirit, but it happens quite a lot.
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