Does anyone have a tracking dobsonian with a equatorial base built by them self ? if anyone did pls help me on doing so .
Also how can we know about timing of sounding rocket launches in isro ?
Happy new-year everyone 
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Can anyone pls help me learn more about astrophotography ? I am interested to do so but i am really confused of these terminologies like dark frames, bias and etc. Also i completely dont know anything on these filters used for photography. Pls anyone help (not urgent but just for knowledge).
Hi CAC members, This is my first post to this group. Not sure if this is the appropriate topic. I will be visiting Chennai with my family between July 7- Aug 7. We are thinking about bringing our astrophotography equipment, so that we can photograph southern hemisphere objects that arenāt visible from where we are located. We would love to meet up with other group members while we are there, if possible.
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Will be looking forward to meeting you in one of our events!
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Not sure āSouthern Hemisphereā objects are visible from Chennai. 
Can an expert clarify?
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Hi @astroparent, I am located at latitude 37Ā° N, so objects in the southern celestial hemisphere which are at declination lower than -53Ā° never rise above my horizon. On the other hand, Chennai is at latitude 13Ā° N, and so objects with declination down to -77Ā° would theoretically rise above the horizon. In practice, visibility below altitude of 20Ā° is poor. So I think the main difference will be that the objects between declination -35Ā° to -60Ā° are practically invisible from here but should be visible from Chennai because they will be 24Ā° higher in the sky.
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Any info regarding the star party ?
Hey @Thiyagarajan , we are thinking of one this month. I personally wanted to go to a location other than Kavalur which weāve been to last 2 times. So any suggestions are welcome!
It might be a bit costly and logistically challenging to organise this. However, I guess, it might be just one of the best experiences we could hope for. Indiaās first Dark Sky Reserve to come up in Ladakh soon | India News,The Indian Express. If you guys are keen on this and plan for this, Iāll surely fly down there.
Intriguingly, came across this video from the sky at night magazine here in UK.
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@Gnana I think some of our members have been to Handle before, in the pre-covid times.
Lets see if we can combine Hanle, Ladakh with the new Devasthal observatory in Uttarakhand. Thatāll make for an interesting trip.
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Iām planning to travel to Chennai / Coimbatore from July 9 - Aug 9. I was planning to haul my astrophotography equipment along, but it seems like the forecast is cloudy for the next several weeks with no breaks. I am wondering now if there is any point in lugging all that equipment. What is the probability of clear nights in the next month?
Hi ! , does anyone have or use their equatorial platform or mounts to make their dobsonain telescope (ota) automatic (goto) ?