full moon and hay barn...

I don't have the ability to get in close to the moon, so I just took a shot of one of our hay barns with the moon rising over it.

Nice Elizabeth ! I see the pond in the foreground also !

drevilsmom wrote in post #6869704
...I just took a shot of one of our hay barns...

Looks like you get some nice skies there? I'd be tempted to convert one of those hay barns into an observatory if I were you!

LOL, don't tempt me! However, our cows are a little bit more important than my desire for an observatory. That will have to wait. This is the main farm and is about 1/4 of a mile from where we live. My in-laws live there. And yes, the skies are very dark, to the point that it is easy to see Andromeda with the naked eye without averting your eyes. There is a 20,000 pop. town about 30 miles to the east, and a 2000 pop. town 10 miles south, but the rest of it is very sparsely populated. The hay barn pictured holds probably about 30-40 1200 lb round bales, and even though we have 2 barns that can hold a couple of hundred, this barn holds enough to feed the cattle for at least a couple of weeks.

And Celestron, the pond is wonderfully stocked with great pan-fish like bluegill hybrids, plus bass and catfish. It is blocked off so the cows can't wallow in the water, so the water is very clean. Great place to get some dinner!

Just so you can see how much light pollution the 20000 pop. town gives me, this is a 30 sec exposure of Orion rising the night of the first. It is pointing more directly to the east over the same pond that is pictured above. And this was straight out of the camera, but just sent to Photobucket and transferred to here. I may be asking some questions about Barnard's loop here shortly, as I might be getting a piece of equipment on loan to me. I'd say more, but I don't really know what I may be getting!

That would be a nice scene for a star trails shot.

drevilsmom wrote in post #6882358
And Celestron, the pond is wonderfully stocked with great pan-fish like bluegill hybrids, plus bass and catfish. It is blocked off so the cows can't wallow in the water, so the water is very clean. Great place to get some dinner!

MY KINDA POND and i'm always fish hungry !!

jseivert wrote in post #6888898
That would be a nice scene for a star trails shot.

I've thought that as well, but there is so much light pollution. We have tons of areas though that will work great!

Too much light pollution for a star trails shot? That's okay, rather than open the shutter for hours, just take loads of exposures of 30s. That shot of Orion rising is perfectly exposed I think. Sihlouette-like trees, a glow from a nearby town...fantastic. Stack a couple of hundred shots like that and it'll make a lovely trail. Or make the images into a timelapse movie instead.

Wow, when I started reading your post I was thinking "where is this at" and then I looked at your location and almost fell out of my chair. My parents live in Gatewood, which is about 15 minutes west of Doniphan. My brother works in Doniphan, too! I have often marvelled at how clear the sky is when I visit them. It makes me realize why our ancestors put so much stock into the night sky, because there is so much to see when you eliminate light pollution. I did take some star trails when I was there a few winters ago, but I didn't really know what I was doing and they aren't the greatest. And this last visit I forgot my battery charger...fortunately it was stormy/overcast so I didn't kick myself too much. I saved my precious battery life for pics of the family instead. Anyway, I know exactly what you're talking about in terms of how clear it can be in that area!!

We live up 21 N close to Grandin. I've got a couple of friends that live towards the Gatewood area, and my hubby graduated from Doniphan in 1997. We have a great old barn on our farm on K Highway that I have photographed a bunch, and I've got some ideas for it for some astrophotography once I get some more equipment. We know a former Don that lives in Indianapolis that now teaches science there... How ironic!