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I have to travel to a dark sky site. What type of equipment would be best?
Home » Astronomy » Astronomy Equipment » I have to travel to a dark sky site. What type of equipment would be best?If you are willing to travel to a remote location to enjoy the hobby of astronomy, the only limitations you will encounter are portability and set-up. For example, it’s awfully hard to put a 16" dobsonian telescope into a compact car! Yet if you own an SUV and have a passion to galaxy hunt—binoculars aren’t going to be enough.
Choose equipment that suits your observing needs. A high-quality, large aperture pair of binoculars on a mount is incredibly easy to set up and offers a huge range of astronomical targets in a very small package. Many refractor and reflector telescopes also come in more compact sizes, yet you must remember that you will probably be doing your assembly in a dark situation. Once you have become accustomed to these procedures, it won’t cause you problems—but it might inhibit your willingness to travel to observe. The simple dobsonian is not for everyone, but its two-stage set up makes it a very convenient scope—but in larger sizes it is far from portable and requires a larger vehicle to transport.
Like purchasing a car, explore every option and pick the one that’s right for you. You may be pleasantly surprised when you find out a “real” telescope isn’t much more expensive than the one from the department store!
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- I have to travel to a dark sky site. What type of equipment would be best?