Frustrated (but getting better)

October 30.

I didn't buy a truck, or 600 acres in northern Nevada. But I do have an address Out West.

It's crossed my mind that a used Toyota-based RV would be the perfect mobile observatory, and I looked very seriously at several. Amy and I drove to Asheville to look at one being auctioned on eBay for a reality check and provisional spousal approval. It ended up being priced about a $1k over what I would have felt comfortable paying. Frankly, the stock market scared me, and I didn't pull the trigger. I also worried about how often I'd actually get to drive one from Back Here to Out There. The price of gas and 2,800 mile round trips seemed discouraging, too. (Later: maybe the point is to get to black-ish skies here more often even if to utterly black skies out there rarely.) The need to fix Jackadog's leg and repaint the Honda after its set-to with a tractor trailer on I-85 three years ago also played a role. (You remember the Honda: a black Gore-mobile with the DARKSKYZ license plate?)

So it's over-determined. Which may mean only that I'm indecisive. And that alone might be reason not to buy an RV. Let's just not rush into it, OK?

Then The New Yorker ran the piece I've been sketching for too long -- same interviews, same hooks, same every goddamn thing except the byline. (How realistic was that anyway?)

Then I discovered that the Planetary Society and a nice enough California astronomer named Tyler Nordgren are working on a project involving astronomy and North American parks (different thrust, comparative planetary studies, but too close for comfort). I've been comparing notes with Tyler about some sites and photos. I just need to pick a park and see how my notions work out. Webwork, weddings, CDs, assorted other paying gigs will just have to make room long enough to see if they prove up.

Enough already.
Either get drunk or get out west...

So I finally pitched a dark skies piece to Desert Exposure. It'll also be a testbed for some experiments with a new layout and extra online features early next year. And so I'm off for a circuit through darkest southwestern New Mexico next week. Is this the beginning of something good or is this just a consolation prize?

I had to ship a lot of stuff ahead because I'm carrying the 5-inch and its eyepieces on board with me. The checked luggage will contain my Giro on a medium-duty 340-series Gitzo tripod. It makes a surprisingly solid stargazing outfit. Checked luggage can't be locked, and I drew the line at checking lenses, computer, and so on... stuff that would usually ride in the overhead with me but has to make room for a literally irreplaceable telescope this time. I used my camping gear for padding and sent three boxes on.

This is a prospecting trip: I want to find some truly dark skies and revel in them. Get my licks in on this subject somewhere. Find out how dark is dark enough and how much difference there is between ultimate dark and merely "very dark" when it comes to skies for stargazing. I want to find out if flying west with the kit could be a realistic habit, and then I want re-evaluate everything about my prospects for future stargazing in light of this experience.

For now just enjoy this: at long last I have an address out west:

David Cortner
General Delivery
Socorro, NM

It's good only for the first week of November 2007. But that's a start.

 

Stargazing with a big refractor Out West.

 

 

 

Yours truly under eastern skies, in the side yard, amid a world of pines, with a short-focus A-P refractor. I'm practicing with my Canon Speedlites.

 

 

Hunting Dark Skies in New Mexico
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Text & Photos by David Cortner
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