Ola,
I was wondering if anyone would like to indulge me in their telescope observing habits. I have not be star gazing with my telescope for long but I'm addicted now and have not been able to share this new habit that is taking up alot of my time. How often do you guys get out their and for how long? I try and observe any night it's clear. I can't complain living on the prairies, the sky is filled with stars and very clear most nights.
Grats,

DM

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another beautiful day in paradise

Howdy Darth,
I've been observing seriously for about eight years now-since I retired, and have had all the time I want to spend,a luxury I know.
Personally I like to begin about 9:00 because by then the sky is about as dark as it will get and the light pollution ordinances are beginning to kick in.I live about 30 miles north of the Mexican border south of Tucson and also have dark clear skies.Trouble, is folks are discovering this area in ever increasing numbers hence the wait for the sky glow to fade.
I like to observe long enough for a second group of constellations to rise.Right now if I begin at 9:00 or earlier,I can start with Orion in the Southeast,Cassiopaeia to the North with Taurus and the Pleiades overhead.Caution:Cardinal directions approximate!A wide range of objects are thus observable:Galaxies M31 and her companions;M33;S/N remnant M1;Saturn;a showpiece star nursery in Orion;The finest open cluster-M45;a fine comet,not to mention wonderful stars from Sirius to Iota Orionis(my favorite). There is a lot more to see but after about three hours Leo is rising in the East and now Galaxies rule here-the further Leo rises,the more rewards because Virgo and Coma Berenices are close behind.
My point is one can visit many types of objects in the seven or more constellations one will have access to and it's easy to learn the sky when we can break it up into manageable pieces and link these areas to targets.
I use a Meade 8" LX10 SCT;I've added a Lumicon enhanced diagonal and all my scopes use EZFinders.Why didn't they alway use something this easy? I have an ETX 90mm when I want to set up quickly.It's also my Moon 'scope- it gives razor sharp views.
Over the past few years I've built my eyepiece collection which is made up of TeleVue Plossls 32mm through 10.5mm for low and medium power views and Orion Lanthanum 7.5mm and 5.2mm for close-in views of the Moon and planets. I recieved the 5.2mm just the other day and can't wait to try it out.
Write us and let us know what gear you use.I enjoy swapping "test results" and promise I won't exaggerate!Happy hunting,E

Hi there.

would be good if we could say where we are located.

Am in S. Wales UK and the word from here is that you observe when you can. We often get beautiful days and then just after sunset it clouds over. Have had a few good nights in Jan but not enough.

As I live in the City, I have to travel about 30 mins to get to a reasonable site, so the first habit I have is everything is packed ready to load into the car. As I am a manual (no goto) i can set up pretty quick and start looking at the brighter objects whilst getting dark adapted.. After approx an hour, try to do some learning/checking by selecting a constellation and looking at it in some detail.
Once I start to think about heading homeward, I'll look at the sights I started with. After all you can miss so much whilst becoming dark adapted.

If you've got an observatory, I envy you and if you live in a dark area then I envy you even more.

Ed J

It depends...

Where I am, the time of the year, and when what I want to see is visible.

I observe about 3-4x a year. I look for a clear sky, very little or no moon, preferably on a weekend. On occasion, I will get up early (0300) for an hour or so before I have to get dressed for work. That's usually during the summer, since at the height of the summer, it doesn't get dark enough here in MI until nearly midnight.

If I am observing from the house or one of the planets is on the menu, I'll usually set up my 8" Dob. If I'm going to a star party, I'll take my Orion 120 ST as it's much more portable. There's plenty of HUGE telescopes at those, so you can get to see some of the dimmer objects. I'm happy enough with the Orion short tube as I tend to observe clusters and the larger nebuli at those.

I keep the "support" equipment costs to a minimum. I don't have a fancy observing chair, so I sit on an ice chest. With the Dob, I have 3 cinder blocks I will use to raise/lower the thing. I set down the tailgate on the pickup truck as a table. I have a large fishing tackle box that holds everything such as EPs, books, maps and tools.

I find that wearing bib overalls gives you a lot of extra pockets for assorted gear like red flashlights, eyepieces, cases, etc. I've downloaded PocketStars for my PDA, which fits nicely into one of these pockets. (I haven't taken the opportunity to use this in the field, but it looks promising.)

As for dressing, that's strictly weather dependant. If it's winter and it's clear in MI, then it's DARN cold. I find the fall period to be the best observing conditions as it's cool enough you're not sweating, the bugs are not out, and you're not constantly taking your gloves off/on to do things. The spring is also good, but once the time changes you're out later.

If it is cold, a knit hat is better than a hat with a bill. The gloves I use are the combination mitten/glove models. The ends are cut off the fingers and you can flip a fold forward to cover the finger tips when not needed. Woolen long winter underware is sometimes required as is a parka. During the summer, sweat pants and a tee shirt, with a heavier shirt on hand if it gets cool.

I wear glasses, but I take them off to observe, but I have to put them back on to point. A real pain. I have one of those holder thingees that's like a necklace that attaches to the glasses. That keeps them from falling off or me losing them.

But with all that, if the sky isn't clear, ... oh well!