My star tracker battery died at 2am on a mountain in Vermont

I drove 3 hours up to Mt. Mansfield last Tuesday to catch the Orion Nebula with my new tracker. Set everything up around 11pm, got maybe 12 good frames before the battery indicator dropped from full to nothing in what felt like 10 minutes. Turns out the cold drained my lithium pack way faster than I expected, and I forgot the spare in the car. I sat there for an hour watching the stars move while my camera sat dead, then I packed up and just took wide angle shots with my phone instead. Those phone shots actually came out decent, which surprised me. So now I'm wondering, what do you all do for power in freezing temps, extra batteries or hand warmers on the pack?

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1 Comment

green.jenny5h ago

Ugh, that is SO typical. I swear cold weather has a personal vendetta against camera gear, it's like the battery just gives up and goes to sleep. Next time, stick those hand warmers right on the battery pack and wrap it in a beanie. It's not fancy, but it works. Also, keep the spare battery inside your coat, right next to your skin, so it stays warm until you need it. But hey, at least you got phone shots. I once drove 4 hours for a meteor shower and forgot my whole memory card. THAT was a fun night of staring at a camera that literally couldn't save anything.