Interest in astrophotography photo outing(s) the week of November 2nd?

Hello CCC,

Kim Gall and I want to know if there's interest in going out for one or two astrophotography shoots in early November. I.e. stars or bright constellations, star trails, Milky Way, etc. with an interesting foreground.

If you were interested in trying this before but didn't know how, this is your chance! I've done it before and can help out as needed. I will also prepare a quick guide/cheat sheet with suggested settings and gear ahead of time.

PROPOSED DATES AND LOCATIONS (WEATHER PERMITTING)
11/2/2026: McCormick Observatory, Charlottesville, around 6pm. It should be dark by 7pm. While not the darkest site, it's a good place to practice, and the observatory provides a really nice foreground subject. I'm also a member of the Charlottesville Astronomical Society (CAS), so we might be able to set this up as a private CAS event but I'd like to give them an idea of the group size.

11/5/2026: Wood Ridge Farm Brewery, Lovingston. Early dinner at the brewery and then drive over to the field behind it. It can be tricky to find the field, so it's best to get there before it's dark. The sky is dark enough to see the Milky Way, though it will be the end of the MW "season". We might still be able to see it. If not, there's still plenty of beautiful night sky to photograph. CAS hosts public outreach events there most Thursdays, so there will also be telescopes set up.

If these dates don't work out, we can always try again another time.

MORE INFO
CAS hosts public observing at McCormick the 1st and 3rd Fridays of the month, monthly meetings, and other events: https://cvilleastro.com/calendar/

Wood Ridge Farm Brewery:
https://www.woodridgefarmva.com/
https://maps.app.goo.gl/892Y9YN8XEaCuV4s8

If you are interested, or have any questions, please reply to this post or email me at Gabriela.levit@gmail.com.

Thanks!

Gabriela and Kim