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June 1 sound good for everyone? Alternatively, we could do Friday June 3, though there will be an 8% moon rather than 0%. Note this may have to change a few days later or earlier due to weather conditions. Otherwise, next possible date would be around July 27.
Inspired by http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=220413
It's been a while since I last drove out to somewhere dark, on a moonless, clear, night to view the milky way with the naked eye. Now that summer is approaching again, which means the return of the interior of the Milky Way, I'm wondering how many TL'ers would be interested in taking a nerdy trip 
I have a 6" telescope btw, any other scopes or binoculars would be great too.
Date is tentatively around July 30 or 31st (saturday/sunday) - new moon will occur then, and we will be well into summer, so the view should be great. Alternatively, if weather permits and there is enough interest, Around June 1/2 could work too (but this is wednesday/thursday).
Post if interested
p.s. fried zerglings will be served as a snack
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Where in NC are you planning on going? I'd probably be down to go that sounds fun but I'm not 100% sure of my schedule that far in the future O.o
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There are two good places I've found (read - been to and confirmed so far). Creswell on the coast (literally like 10 feet from the Atlantic) last August, and in the Blue Ridge Mountains about half a year ago. Creswell has a bit of a light halo around the horizon, but the view is still very good - the light actually doesn't pollute much. I was a stupid retard and accidentally drove to the mountains under a full moon (fuck my stupidity) but there was very little light pollution. I also offroaded in the mountains in a small car and nearly got stuck driving into a ditch in a valley, resulting in my car being tilted in like a 60 degree angle to the left side. Ahhh fun.
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United States10328 Posts
ugh if only I could go... too bad i'll be off somewhere funny 
I used to (try to) go stargazing quite a bit, but the trees surrounding my house made it... kind of annoying -_- I know the winter constellations much better than the summer constellations, since that's when I was into it.
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somewhere funny eh -_-
what a lame ㅋ_ㅋ
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I would definitely be interested as long as it is in the mountains and not on the coast. There are all kinds of good spots in the mountains of NC. I also have a decent telescope that will actually track stars and such for me that I could bring.
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Nice nice. Mountains have seemed pretty good - plus there is more space for random exploration lulz. The spot in Creswell is pretty smallish, and it involves sneaking past park patrol guardposts at night LOL.
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Sneaking is kind of hard for me to do, I ride a Harley... There are some spots on blue ridge that don't require that though. 
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Oh god you're not gonna carry a telescope on a Harley are you, that's blasphemy!
On another note, thinking about the early June date now, might be easier for people to decide on their schedule XD
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I'm interested in this, especially for a mountains trip. I'm not that familiar with constellations but do enjoy stargazing.
Send me a PM when you get more of the details worked out.
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I'd definitely be down if its a mountain trip! I always try to get up in the NC mountains every summer. A coast trip might be a little too far though (from Charlotte ^^)
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Definitely interested, love the outdoors and the the mountains in NC are beautiful. Have only been there once when i was a kid but would love to go back! (Will probably be in Greensboro during the summer so the coast is a bit far, though not as bad as Charlotte^^)
Would love a PM when there are more details!
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Zhe, come to MLG and do this with thousands
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17031 Posts
Ooh one of my friends has this huge Schmidt Cassegrain that can be mounted on a stand built into the ground. I remember seeing lots of cool stuff with it.
Also try Pisgah. I spent a week there over spring break. Tons of fun and the skies are epic dark
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well id probably do the blue ridge parkway, no cities there for a long ass time, so you could get a good view there i imagine(infact nearest city i know of is wilkesboro + mt airy,though sparta and galax arent all that far off(sparta not a big city in general though) and those are far apart, so theres not alot of city glow to interfere.
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17031 Posts
On May 11 2011 15:20 arb wrote:
well id probably do the blue ridge parkway, no cities there for a long ass time, so you could get a good view there i imagine(infact nearest city i know of is wilkesboro + mt airy,though sparta and galax arent all that far off(sparta not a big city in general though) and those are far apart, so theres not alot of city glow to interfere.
Again, Pisgah National Forest. The Blue Ridge Parkway goes through it, and the only "close" city is Brevard.
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On May 11 2011 14:48 rbkl wrote:
Zhe, come to MLG and do this with thousands
q.q moon + large city q.q
On May 11 2011 15:12 Empyrean wrote:Ooh one of my friends has this huge Schmidt Cassegrain that can be mounted on a stand built into the ground. I remember seeing lots of cool stuff with it. Also try Pisgah. I spent a week there over spring break. Tons of fun and the skies are epic dark
hmm.... time to check up on that place.
On May 11 2011 15:20 arb wrote:
well id probably do the blue ridge parkway, no cities there for a long ass time, so you could get a good view there i imagine(infact nearest city i know of is wilkesboro + mt airy,though sparta and galax arent all that far off(sparta not a big city in general though) and those are far apart, so theres not alot of city glow to interfere.
Yea I've been through Sparta, place is super tiny (I actually drove past the entrance to the Blue Ridge parkway by accident and ended up there..people didn't even know where the parkway was despite being 10 minutes from it -_-
Does that mean you are going
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17031 Posts
Pisgah's huge.
Feel free to creep through my spring break photo album. Most of it was spent between 20-40 degrees (Fahrenheit, you Europeans) in the rain. Here are some of the pictures of the terribad weather (although not the absolute worst, because I was more concerned with getting through the trails than taking pretty pictures).
Think this:
+ Show Spoiler +
or this:
+ Show Spoiler +
or this:
+ Show Spoiler +
It does get nice though Had a few days of sunshine.
Here's a good picture of a view
+ Show Spoiler +
It started snowing five minutes afterwards.
+ Show Spoiler +
Moral of the story is don't go to Pisgah over spring break. Should be gorgeous now though. Flowers should be blooming everywhere on trees.
EDIT: Great, posting two posts about Pisgah now gives me ads that advertise "hiking singles."
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Whoa, something about the incoming line of snow.....
lol hiking singles, looks like you are in the market for a blind hiking date
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17031 Posts
Yeah my current one is:
"Adventure in New Zealand
Experience New Zealand in Person. Package Deals, Travel Info & More.
www.NewZealand.com"
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I'll be back in NC this summer. I would fucking LOVE to go for sure. I don't care where it is :D
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When exactly will you be back ;o
holy fuck your profile
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I'm in Asheville, NC for the summer, smack in the middle of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Thus, I'm absolutely game for any (mountain-side) stargazing trip. Been planning to buy a new telescope sometime soon actually, hopefully i'll have it by this purported trip...
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On May 11 2011 16:09 EtherealDeath wrote:q.q moon + large city q.q Show nested quote +On May 11 2011 15:12 Empyrean wrote:Ooh one of my friends has this huge Schmidt Cassegrain that can be mounted on a stand built into the ground. I remember seeing lots of cool stuff with it. Also try Pisgah. I spent a week there over spring break. Tons of fun and the skies are epic dark hmm.... time to check up on that place. Show nested quote +On May 11 2011 15:20 arb wrote:
well id probably do the blue ridge parkway, no cities there for a long ass time, so you could get a good view there i imagine(infact nearest city i know of is wilkesboro + mt airy,though sparta and galax arent all that far off(sparta not a big city in general though) and those are far apart, so theres not alot of city glow to interfere.
Yea I've been through Sparta, place is super tiny (I actually drove past the entrance to the Blue Ridge parkway by accident and ended up there..people didn't even know where the parkway was despite being 10 minutes from it -_- Does that mean you are going
well maybe, id have to think on it a bit
now that i think about it, the overlook near elkin(like you're going to galax or sparta) wouldnt be a bad spot(its near where i live) but im not sure how the city glow would effect your viewing though
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JeBi, I'm from Bryson City ^^, I lived in Ashvegas for like ~2.5 years.
I'll be back in NC @ the end of this month, I believe the 28th is the day my wife and I are moving back ~~;;. I probably won't feel like doing shit for a few days, at least. I mean I'll have to pack all of our belongings by myself and then drive 10 hours or so. Then find a storage place, then unload, etc etc. lol So I probably won't be able to do anything for that whole week, but I'll be down for other stuff NC-related for the next few years lol.
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On May 11 2011 19:29 arb wrote:Show nested quote +On May 11 2011 16:09 EtherealDeath wrote:On May 11 2011 14:48 rbkl wrote:
Zhe, come to MLG and do this with thousands q.q moon + large city q.q On May 11 2011 15:12 Empyrean wrote:Ooh one of my friends has this huge Schmidt Cassegrain that can be mounted on a stand built into the ground. I remember seeing lots of cool stuff with it. Also try Pisgah. I spent a week there over spring break. Tons of fun and the skies are epic dark hmm.... time to check up on that place. On May 11 2011 15:20 arb wrote:
well id probably do the blue ridge parkway, no cities there for a long ass time, so you could get a good view there i imagine(infact nearest city i know of is wilkesboro + mt airy,though sparta and galax arent all that far off(sparta not a big city in general though) and those are far apart, so theres not alot of city glow to interfere.
Yea I've been through Sparta, place is super tiny (I actually drove past the entrance to the Blue Ridge parkway by accident and ended up there..people didn't even know where the parkway was despite being 10 minutes from it -_- Does that mean you are going well maybe, id have to think on it a bit now that i think about it, the overlook near elkin(like you're going to galax or sparta) wouldnt be a bad spot(its near where i live) but im not sure how the city glow would effect your viewing though
City glow bad (unless there's like, only ~10k people there). In that case it's usually not a big deal, as it only affects near-horizon.
On another note, anyone have a laser pointer that is actually useful? In case someone has a random desire to point out stars or something.
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Oheyyyy you North Carolinians read the red text and post :O. We are nearing the day!
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