Cold Night Viewing

[dpab]

Found the limit of the new scope, first winter with it.
It was a good clear night here last night in Northern Alberta, the only thing it went down to minus 25.
there was a few people at the dark site,maybe at least a dozen, most us are RASC members..non members are always welcome..
Most of them were using DOBS , I was using the CPC 1100 Schmidt.
As the night progressed I could feel the grease on the focuser getting really stiff.
And, turning the base... you could hear the servos were working a bit harder dealing with the frozen grease .
The hand controller was hard to read, and very , very sloow ....I think it wanted to conserve its life .
And I think that temp was my limit too....gettin to be a wuss at 54.
I packed up and went home earlier than I wanted.
It was still better than being in front of the TV.

[Blue Fire]

Originally Posted by dpab

...
And I think that temp was my limit too....gettin to be a wuss at 54.
I packed up and went home earlier than I wanted.
It was still better than being in front of the TV.

Hey, I'm right up there with ya age-wise, but I do agree about it being better than TV. It doesn't get quite that cold down here in Western New York State, but it can get a bit chilly. But you gotta love the clear, crisp night sky of winter - I've had some of my best viewing while shivering.

[Buldric]

I was just out in Horsefly the other day, near Williams Lake, in BC, and i know what your talking about, it was about -32 when I was out the other night. I just wear wool socks, Jeans, PROPER wool under-wear(not "panties" underwear). A proper wool under-shirt, a cotton hoodie, a windbreaker jacket, a ski-mask. and gloves which allow the little end cover flip off to reveal my fingers for delicate work. I'll over heat if it's only 25 below, and keep a comfy warm at 30 below. A trick with the hand controller is to stick it down the front of your jacket or shirt, so it keeps warm off your body heat. It will work fine that way.Another thing to do is build a half observatory( a little snow fort =D) and put a little heater in it. Just put a decent sized wall of snow between you and the scope and all should be fine. But you wont be able to turn the scope around, so its really only usefull if you know where you will be observing all night.

All the stuff i listed can be bought at Mark's Work Warehouse. And if the wool under-shirt costs you less than $50, your buying the wrong one.

About the scope freezing up, one thing that you can do is either yourself, or take it in to your scope dealer to have it taken apart, cleaned, and put in a lower freezing point lube.

[dpab]

Keeping myself warm isnt the problem , Ive worked for 3-1/2 years in minus 40 to minus 60 and stayed warm .
Its these Hi-Tech scopes built and designed in a warm climate.
Ive got a extension on the hand controller ,the one that comes with the scope is way to short.
Friends have even put low voltage heat pads in the controller, that just sucks more juice from the power pack and at a average minus 20 temp , I like to keep my ampere hours for control and slewing.

Was out last night ...lookin at Comet Tuttle and Holmes and being entertained by some fairly good Geminids to provide the background for a good night.

Dave

DO NOT READ THIS FOLLOWING STATEMENT ....If you cant take a joke.

One thing about the cold ...being a male ...the colder it gets the sperm production increases... the first sign the sperm count is up?......she has to ch_w before she sw_llows.

[Dragon Star]

Frozen grease? Holy crap! Visit me in Florida and thaw out a bit man.

[Jim Colyer]

I am looking forward to the 2009 Leonids because there will be no moon. Just hope I can stand those cold November nights.