That week in 2015 when I got 3 straight nights of clear skies at Cherry Springs

Man, that was something else. I was camping up in Cherry Springs State Park, PA for 5 days back in October 2015. First two nights were cloudy, almost gave up. Then night 3 through night 5 were crystal clear, no moon, zero light pollution. I got this shot of the Andromeda Galaxy with my old Canon 60D and a 135mm lens that still hangs on my wall. Haven't had a run like that since. Anyone else ever get a lucky stretch like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

lee_bailey652mo ago

135mm is a sweet spot for Andromeda... I ran a similar setup with my old T3i and a 135mm f/2 lens at Cherry Springs back in 2017. Got two clear nights in a row and thought I'd died and gone to heaven. That dark sky preserve is no joke, you can literally see the Milky Way casting shadows on the ground. I still kick myself for not staying longer that trip, should have booked a full week.

the_oliver2mo ago

Did you also find yourself talking to your gear like it was a person after that third night? I definitely gave my 60D a pep talk before the clear skies finally rolled in.

lee_bailey6515d ago

Cherry Springs is still on my list but I gotta disagree on the 135mm being the sweet spot for Andromeda. I ran a 200mm f/2.8 on a crop sensor for two seasons and got way more detail in the dust lanes than I ever saw with my 135mm f/2. Yeah you get a wider field with the 135 but you lose a ton of the structural stuff that makes Andromeda actually look like a galaxy and not just a fuzzy blotch. I'd rather stitch a 2 panel mosaic with the longer lens than settle for the cropped in version from a shorter one. Different strokes I guess but I never got the hype for that focal length on that target.