2024-12: Joshua Tree National Park

Milestones

• 24th time camping in 24 months (SHOW ON MAP)
• 2nd time camping in Riverside County (SEE THE FIRST)
• 5th time camping in a National Park (SEE THE 4th)
• Camped in 5 out of the 9 National Parks located in California (SEE THE PREVIOUS).
• 2nd time taking celestial photographs while camping (SEE THE PREVIOUS).

Stargazing – Bortle Class 3

This location has the lowest Bortle Class that I have photographed up to this point (FYI… Class 1 is the best). I had high expectations for the results. Unfortunately, as soon as I connected to my SeeStar 50, it said “firmware update pending, do you want to proceed?” To which, I responded, “Hell Yes”. That was a mistake.

For context, my campsite has zero cell service. I had to rely completely on satellite texting. No internet. What I didn’t realize was, by updating the firmware, my next step really should have been to re-calibrate my SeeStar 50. But, I couldn’t without internet access. When I tried to “GoTo” the Moon, the telescope couldn’t find it. I could see that it was 10’s of degrees in error. I tried to manually adjust the viewing angle, but that was a disaster. I then did what every man does when they don’t what else to do… I fiddled with it. Unintentionally, I disabled “Auto-Focus”. Bad idea.

As a computer-guy, I realized that I probably should reboot the telescope…. which I did. Immediately, I could find the moon again. OK…. now I’m making progress. I took a short duration photograph, and it was horrible. There were ugly splotches all over the picture. I thought it was dust/dirt on the lens. I tried to wipe it off using a “semi-soft” cotton shirt-sleeve. That didn’t fix it. …. several moments go by. I then hit “Auto-Focus”… and magically… everything is fine again. I did a test run of the Triangulum Galaxy and it worked fine. I then proceeded to the Pleiades. But, my supreme goal was to capture something spectacular. That’s when the telescope said, “The Horse Head Nebula is in a great position from your viewing location”. I went for it. Here’s the results:

• Pleiades
• Horse Head Nebula

Because of the great viewing, and the fact that it is only 2 hrs drive from my house, I am adding this location to my “go-back” list. However, I am now motivated to camp in a Bortle Class 2 or even a Class 1 location. They must exist in California…. somewhere.

Camping

I was excited to camp here because it is a National Park, and it is a Bortle Class 3 (which is pretty darn good for astrophotography viewing). Camping here in December was a little cold (High 40’s F), but certainly nothing too difficult. The drive into the park went a little ways through a beautiful canyon, before arriving at the campground.

Another great feature was the nearby bathroom. You know how much I love a good bathroom.

The ground was a little hard. I cut my knee on some sharp rocks in the middle of the night. I shed a little blood on the inside of my tent. DNA analysis will show it was my own… and not a crime scene.

Never seen a sign quite like this! The warning is to protect the desert tortoise, Gopherus agassizii, California’s state reptile. FUN FACT: During its lifetime of 50 to 100 years, a wild tortoise rarely moves more than a couple of miles from its birthplace.

On the drive up, I was talking with my friend Norm Brinkley. He mentioned how the desert has a beauty all its own, which not everyone appreciates. I actually think the desert IS quite nice. But, variety is the spice of life.

There were a huge number of animal tracks at my campsite (birds, coyotes, etc.).

Joshua Tree, which harbors some of the darkest night skies in the United States, was certified in 2017 as the 10th International Dark Sky Park in the U.S. National Park system. Others include Death Valley, Big Bend and Grand Canyon national parks.

I caught this picture on my phone of the Moon in conjunction with Venus. The two brightest nighttime objects reached their closest approach of the year.

Looking straight up in the sky, I took this picture using my phone, then I uploaded it to Astrometry.net to add the constellations.