Catching the Cosmos

As a very mobile imager who frequents star parties, one of the biggest adversaries we face are the elements.  All of your gear can be working well, the skies clear and dark, and imaging can still be impossible when the winds come.  At some of the venues in Oklahoma or Florida, we may see winds in excess of 40 m.p.h.  This will wreak havoc on your guiding and lead to frustrating night of wasted opportunitities.  The very elegant solution, originally designed by a close astronomy friend, John Love, is the Skybox.  A robust and easy up solution eliminates the dreaded lost nights due to wind.  The Skybox also offers a wonderful shield to outside stray lights as well as contains the lights emitted by any of your imaging gear.  After trying several other solutions, I recommend the Skybox as the ultimate and must have shelter for any mobile imager attending star parties or weekend excursions.