zola
Cygnus
Posts: 9
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Post by zola on Mar 20, 2017 9:05:59 GMT
Hello all,
I am new around here.
I am based in Belfast. I have always been interested in looking at the stars and space photos, ever since I was a kid, but I have never taken an interest in snapping my own pics until now.
I have bought myself a good camera, and I am keen to take shots of things like the Milky Way etc.
I understand it will not be visible during 'normal' hours (e.g 10pm at night etc), until late summer?
I see a lot of photos of the night sky have been taken at the north coast (e.g. near Dunluce castle etc).
Is there anywhere closer to Belfast that is a good place to see stars and take photos, without all the light pollution? I am keen to take photos in interesting locations also to make the photos have a little magic.
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Post by stevie on Mar 21, 2017 0:32:12 GMT
Hi Zola, and welcome to the forum
I am not a photographer, but we have a few members who take some very good widefield images of things like the Milky Way and various constellations. You can see some of their work on the gallery.
As you say, the Milky Way is best in late summer and early autumn, but at the moment, Orion and the surrounding constellations can provide a nice target, as can the Plough. There is also the aurora (northern lights), which is unpredictable. You can get aurora alerts from various sources, although they are only forecasts and cannot be relied on (rather like the weather forecast!)
It's a sad fact that the light pollution in Belfast, and for around 20 miles in any direction, especially along the M1 corridor to Lisburn, is very bad. Therefore the best thing to do is get as far away from it as possible. As you say, the north coast is good, and the area around Dunluce castle is especially popular, as the castle itself adds a nice feature to images. The car park at the rope bridge is also very good.
However, there are some places which will provide a bit of fairly dark sky. The A36 between Ballymena and Larne has some dark(ish) areas. Killylane reservoir is one, although it is notoriously cloudy even when other areas are clear. The road from Ballyclare up to the A36 has a couple of areas, including the car park at Big Colin.
We have now abandoned Killylane reservoir as an observing site, and are using a new site near Toome, which is not too bad. Or you can go to County Down. The area around and including Delamont country park is ok. Islandmagee is another possibility, especially the Portmuck area, and there are a few good places on the coast road, especially between the Halfway House and Glenarm. There is a small car park up there on the seaward side of the road and I saw a superb aurora there a couple of years ago. There is another car park on the hill above Carncastle which is ok, although usually pretty windy. Of course, there are also places further on up the coast.
However, for astrophotography, and for observational astronomy, the old saying "head west young man" is very apt. County's Tyrone and Fermanagh have some good spots, and the west coast of Ireland has some of the darkest skies in Europe. Places like the two dark sky sites, one in Mayo and the other in Kerry, or places like the Burren in County Clare, are where you will get the best results
If you would like to come to one of our observing sessions, send me a pm on this website, along with a phone number, and I will let you know when we are heading out. Hopefully you will be able to get some tips from our experienced photographers, and get some nice shots.
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zola
Cygnus
Posts: 9
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Post by zola on Mar 21, 2017 16:22:23 GMT
Thanks Stevie! Will PM now..
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Post by janellcain on Jan 23, 2018 18:03:22 GMT
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Post by jonathan on Jan 23, 2018 22:34:28 GMT
Welcome Zola to the forum very good advice from stevie there hopefully you can get to our meetings and observing sessions in the near future and put that camera to work on the night sky !
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