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how do you deal with the frustration with cloudy sky's

oldpink

By oldpink
in Getting Started With Observing

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Langy

Langy

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I know smoking is bad for you, but it does have the benefit of going outside regularly. Due to that I've spotted when the cloud has thinned and broken enough for an hours viewing even if Jupiter was about the only thing you could concentrate on. Kids don't copy my ways!

The clouds are just one of those things we can't do anything about. So you have to just spend your time on here, trawling through some interesting YouTube videos (in the middle of watching How Albert Einstein Discovered E = MC2 at the moment) or just getting on with life.

The night sky will always be there so just check the met office web site and keep an eye on things.

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Skipper Billy

Skipper Billy

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I empathise with you.

Despite being fascinated by the sky for 40 years I only recently moved to an area with truly dark skies and invested in my first telescope 2 months ago.

Since then we have had a 40 minute window about 10 days ago and a 10 minute window last night when any start at all were visible - the first night I saw Jupiter (WOW!!) and last night the Orion Nebula (DOUBLE WOW!!) but a big bank of cloud obscured the M82 which is what I am desperate to try to see.

I am beginning to think I have picked the wrong hobby for Scottish skies !!!

BUT - tomorrow night is looking good !!!!

Keep the faith but my plans for a HEq5 and ED80 and a 10" goto Dob are on hold for now !!!!

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JamesF

JamesF

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how do you guys deal with the frustration with cloudy sky's

As a rule, "badly".  It's not at all easy.

Fortunately tonight I have been playing skittles and indulged in rather more bottles of Abbot Ale than is perhaps entirely sensible for a school night.  These things happen.  Especially when the game is so close that it ends in a draw.

Learning the patience to cope with frustration is part of being an astronomer I think.  That or emigration, anyhow.

James

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oldpink

oldpink

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LOL I see I found some kindred spirits
tomorrows weather does look good (I'm strangely drawn to the BBC weather site these days)
tonight beer is blunting my frustration and making me wish for clear skies tomorrow night

mallorcasaint
I'm interested in Radio astronomy
I did a degree in radio electronics via the open university  when I did my armature radio license  
been trying to tell the Mrs a 3m sat dish is a good idea, and a field I need to research more
 
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Naemeth

Naemeth

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Buying scopes (I'm up to 8), buying eyepieces (up to 15), reading and posting on SGL and working.

That's how I do it :).

Although, recently if you discount my latest OTA purchase I've actually cut down a lot of my spending. I've got various astronomy books to read which will keep me busy for a while.

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AlexB67

AlexB67

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Certainly testing times I must admit for astro these days with the weather. I find there are always other interesting things to do though. Best thing is not to get too hooked into one thing like astronomy ,  and have some hobbies that do not depend on the weather or need to suck up money. If not into reading or something heavy science related so I do not need to fry my brain cells, a good computer game and I find the time can fly by, Skyrim anyone  :D 

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Qualia

Qualia

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It's a bit rough giving 'advice' or 'tips' or ideas on dealing with the frustration of cloudy nights when living out in Spain. There are terrible months here, honest, but generally speaking, I imagine the weather is a little more condusive to stargazing. On average, you should be able to get out around two or three times a week......during the winter :p

But with that said, cloudy, uneventful evenings are just that, nothing more. They're nature's kindly way of telling you to do something else. Spend some time with your loved ones; read something and listen to great music; do something nice for someone else; help folk out and chat with others here at SGL. What have you.

Putting on my

head....when we are older and grey and by nodding by fire, all those cloudy nights will appear as a singular, non-descript event, yet shining from them like a host of gleaming stars will be those evenings where everything just seemed perfect and the universe at last could murmur to us its secrets.

Failing this mellow temperament, move to Spain  :grin:

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ChrisLX200

ChrisLX200

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I disappear into my workshop and make things, some astro-related some not. When you have a good night (and you are into astro imaging) then grab as much data as you can, it takes longer to process the data than it does to capture it anyway I think, and you can end up with a lot of un-processed data waiting for those cloudy nights for you to catch up. I have to admit we've suffered through an awful bad spell of weather for observing though.

ChrisH

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andymac1981

andymac1981

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I can feel your pain. Due to the business of life and my new hobby being weather dependant I have only got out on about 5 ocassions since Christmas. Things have now slowed down a bit and I now have a bit more time but the weather has turned! Roll on the cold clear nights.

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Kirscovitch

Kirscovitch

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I spend as much time as I can with the significant other. I tend to find that if we spend quality time together on the cloudy nights, when it is clear out I hear far less complaining when I haul the scope outside  :grin:

Also I am going through a long, drawn out divorce so I get my kids one week on, one week off. On cloudy nights when they are here it's usually board games or movie night.

I also spend a bit of time on the forums trying to absorb as much info as a newbie can. Somewhere down the line I would like to get an EQ mount and something to put on it.So I do some research, watch some youtube vids. Sometimes I try to tweak my last image of Jupiter.

I also spend way more time than I should shopping for that next piece of astrogear. 

I love to cook so that gives me something to do. Last Sunday I was bored enough to make a pan of baked ziti at 10pm. Wasn't hungry. Didn't even eat any of it that night. But it gave me something to do and at least I'll have leftovers for work this week!

The last week or so we have been planning a trip for my girlfriends birthday in March. Nothing too spectacular. Just a trip to the Door County peninsula. We have gone the last few years and really enjoy it. This year though I have other motives for going as they have some pretty dark skies out over Lake Michigan. Plus the town we stay in has an excellent brewpub! 

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Paul73

Paul73

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Four options:

1/ Echoing Matt's sentiments, putting in some quality time with significant other to reduce the complaints when the clouds eventually clear. Although, it is generally the falling asleep on the dinner table the evening after a long observing session that mine really gets uptight about. Happily I have an exceptionally good coffee machine.

2/ So catching up on some sleep isn't a bad use of time.

3/ If you need something Astronomy related, planning the next observing session in detail and having a good read around your targets is quite enjoyable and productive.

4/ Pub (possible conflict with point 1)

Paul

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Killie

Killie

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I just got Left Turn at Orion so I am spending the cloudy days researching a plan for the next time I get out there... I decided this after going out a week ago and realising I had no idea what I wanted to look at after taking a look at M82 and M81

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sharkmelley

sharkmelley

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What to do with cloudy nights?  Take pictures of the cloud.  The trick is to really enjoy taking pictures of the cloud (or at least pretend to).  Once the weather realises you are looking forward to taking yet more cloud pictures, it will conspire against you and produce cloud-free nights where cloud-imaging is impossible ;)

Mark

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Astro Imp

Astro Imp

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You can always tell when the weather's bad by the time the regulars spend browsing and posting here.

I also spend time looking at all the new gear I'd like to invest in so that when the time comes I'll have an idea of what I want/need.

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