My star tracker battery died 3 hours into a 6 hour shoot near Flagstaff

I was out in the Coconino National Forest last Thursday night, set up for a Milky Way panorama. Around midnight my iOptron SkyTracker just shut off no warning even though I charged it that morning. Turns out the cold dropped the battery capacity way faster than I expected. I ended up using a friends DSLR on a fixed tripod and just stacked shorter exposures later. Has anyone else had batteries fail on them in desert temps around 40 degrees?

2 comments

2 Comments

jordangibson16d ago

Ugh that is such a bummer I felt that sting just reading it.

michaeladams16d ago

Man, I've been there too. @jordangibson you gotta just accept the hit and move on. Next time keep a backup stash of whatever failed on you. Like I always have a second charger in my bag just in case the first one decides to give up. It stings less when you already have a fix ready to go.