5 years of backyard stargazing and I finally saw the Andromeda galaxy from my driveway

Last Tuesday night I dragged my 8 inch Dobsonian out at 11 PM. It took me 3 years just to find the right spot in the sky, always thinking I needed darker skies. Turns out my own driveway in Phoenix works fine if I wait until the neighbor's floodlights shut off. Anyone else struggle with light pollution more than they expected?

2 comments

2 Comments

hayden_rivera21d ago

Wait until a few years from now when you realize that stray photons from a neighbor's security light can actually be a cheat code for finding your focus point faster. I spent six months convincing myself I needed to drive two hours to a dark site, but all I really needed was to point my scope at a patch of sky where the light pollution mostly came from one direction. Your driveway win is a solid reminder that the best equipment is the stuff you actually use, not the stuff you dream about using. Also, learning to read a light pollution map and then ignoring it entirely is a legitimate skill.

kevin_martin21d ago

Hayden_rivera that part about ignoring light pollution maps hit home for me. I read somewhere that a lot of amateur astronomers get hung up on perfect conditions and miss clear nights with okay skies. I spent a whole year thinking I needed to head out to the desert before I realized my neighbor's porch light actually helped me line up my finder scope faster on brighter stars. Same idea with your driveway win - good reminder to just get out there instead of waiting for perfection.