Hot weather and stargazing

[Highburymark]

Am in Spain at the moment with temperatures higher than anything I've experienced before within Europe - top 30s. This means air conditioning is on full blast in our hotel bedroom while we're out in the evening. As a result I have had to wait for the 'scope and eyepieces to heat up rather than cool down when we return to the hotel and I take them outside each night - this takes a remarkably long time, something I'm not used to as normally the 'scope only takes ten minutes to acclimatise to cooler outdoor conditions at home. The eyepieces (Panoptic/Naglers) in particular take ages to warm up and lose condensation before they're usable - I wonder if simpler designs like plossls might be better options for such temperature differences? Have now taken to putting all my gear in the car boot when we go out each evening so I'm ready to observe immmediately. Still fairly soupy views on many nights because of the humidity - think a holiday to Namibia or the Falklands might be in order next year.....

[Dr_Ju_ju]

Don't knock it, I have the best Tomatoes\Courgettes\Cucumbers etc. I've grown in years....

And the Koi are loving it, so much so they've decimated the water lilies...  

[Davey-T]

28 minutes ago, Dr_Ju_ju said:

And the Koi are loving it, so much so they've decimated the water lilies...  

Mine were a nightmare when trying to get water lilies established, I planted them in big baskets with bits of paving slab covering them and the Koi worked as a team lifting the slabs with their snouts, kept finding chewed up water lilies floating on the surface 

Dave

[Dr_Ju_ju]

This is the first year they've gone for them (in 20 years), so I've created a netted cage around the lilies using 20mm electrical conduit, netting & printed parts (I refuse to pay for exorbitant connectors etc.) I just hope they recover ok...