The Nope Scope Challenge (#nopescopechallenge) is a friendly challenge between astronomers to attempt to image with a “bargain” scope. The purpose of this challenge is two fold,:
1. To test an experienced astrophotographers with far less than ideal equipment.
2. To show beginners that these “Nope Scopes” are not the ideal starting tool and that they should look to get something decent to start.
Rules:
You must acquire a suitable “nope scope” for less than $100 (given local currency equivalences) either new or used. With the exception of the – camera and mounting device, you can ONLY use what you bought.
* Exception if you are shooting monochromatic then you are allowed a filter wheel however most “nope scopes” don’t have the backfocus.
Potential Targets should be Bright Objects that beginners would seek out:
– Messier Objects
– Magellanic Clouds
– Moon & Planets
– Milky Way
Using your best determined camera settings, try to collect 60 minutes worth of exposure time. Afterwards you may stack the images and process as you please using data collected from the Nope Scope to produce a final image.
Once you have your photo, comment below with a link to the final photo along with the technical details (Target Object, Name and specs of Nope-Scope, Number of Stacked Frames, Exposure Time).
At the end of the Nope Scope Challenge, either pass the scope to a fellow astroimager to give the challenge a try or donate the scope to a local Astronomy Club as a door prize for the public as almost any scope is better than none.
Have Fun!