Have I no Commitment?

[al55]

I poked my head through the back door at about 10pm last night to give the sky one more chance, only to gaze up at yet another orange blanket, no good, a bite to eat and a drink and off to bed.

2.30 am got up to go to gents room, walked through kitchen to see moonlight streaming through, looked throught he window to see stars twinkling away and a clear sky.

Just for a few seconds it came in my mind to go outside and set up, then the call of a warm bed came into to my mind, the bed won.

Does this mean i will not make it in this hobby or am i just sane?

[russ]

No, don't worry. Without you knowing, sub-consciously, your astro brain twigged that the stars were 'twinkling', as a result the seeing would be dire and thus no point in going out.

[Astro_Baby]

Nooo - I have the same every night when I get up at 3am and sit looking out the window.

[Worzsel]

I've got a pair of binoculars on my window sil for just this occasion

[bish]

The thought of my girfriends reaction when I start setting gear up at 2.30am is enough to stop me. But if I've got my bins to hand then that's a different story.

[GazOC]

I don't mind staying up very late to observe but once I've gone to bed thats it for the night!!!

[Talitha]

There's nothing wrong with putting yourself first. I can't count how many drop-dead gorgeous nights i've turned my back on because i just didnt feel like going out.

[tinvek]

wish i had this problem, working 5 nights a week staying up all night is no problem and if i go to bed at a normal time i'm usually awake by 3am. trouble is it's been months since there has been a proper clear night that's coincided with when i'm not working

but no it's perfectly normal to find your bed (or who's in it ) more attractive than getting dressed, draging your gear outside, waiting for everything to cool down and then, just when it's cooled down enough, bringing it back in as it's gone cloudy / starting to rain / blowing a gale / getting light

[brantuk]

Consider yourself lucky to have a choice of nights lol - with my work and travel I only have Sat night to choose from (assuming I'm not away on business) - even then the weather has to be right. So in a complete year I only get maybe a month of observing time including astro holidays.

(Hmmm... why do I keep buying equipment then you may well ask lol)

[ollypenrice]

I'm often asked how many nights I skip when not 'working' and it isn't many, actually. However, i don't do 'moon' and once in bed that's it. Fear not, you are quite normal.

Anyone who considers him or her self committed should read the biography of E. E. Barnard. He would get the the dome before dark, fret his socks off till it was even half dark and then start. He'd do all night then go to his darkroom and work till around mid day. Only at this point would he relax... and go off to join the solar observers!!!

Olly

[lulu57]

Yeah, you have absolutely no commitment and you besmirch the name of 'astronomer' with your half-baked attitude. ()

[Bigwings]

Dont know about commitment but if you spend all night every night waiting for a gap in the cloud its committed you are....to Rampton...

Mind there are a lot of us in there.....

My problem with a late start is the seeing......red wine double twinkling

[MartinB]

This year has been terrible for teasing skies. Time and again it has been cloudy at midnight and then cleared in the small hours. I get into work at 7.00am so I've been stuffed. Barely done anything since April.

[bish]

It's funny, if I am feeling really tired and not like going out I hope for cloud as I feel guilty for wasting a clear night. In my first year of having a scope I was out every single clear night. The 200p is too big for my balcony so involves alot more effort to set up (several trips to the car and a trip upto my girlfriend's parents' garden.

[LukeSkywatcher]

Yeah, you have absolutely no commitment and you besmirch the name of 'astronomer' with your half-baked attitude. ()

Thankfully you said that, so i didnt have to. I was thinking it though.

[al55]

Must admit Lulu I felt that guilty i only slept for the next 5 hours

[Thunder]

I go to work at 4:15am each day and it pains me to see such beautiful clear skies ... when its always cloudy at midnight ...

[Gy Stargazer]

I have this problem also.

But i don't see it as lack of commitment.

It's a case of right night, right time.

As with my luck just lately it'll be cloudy until 1am then suddenly clear.

But should i put the scope out i know that i'll end up with condensation in minutes then spend 10 or more minutes making sure my lenses and barlow are clear before i can use them.

Luckily it's getting to that time of year when clearer nights are more often. (Supposedly but have yet to see it. lol)

Commitment or lack there of off?

Nah.

Don't get down. Keep your head firmly in the direction it always wants to be.

Looking up and gazing far.

[Hypernova]

I tend have this attitude sometimes. The thing is I have college on weekdays which require me to be up at around 7:30. Not extremely early but I can be quite fatiguing getting through a full day when you've been up until 1-2am. I don't cope well with a lack of sleep so this can be a bit of a problem.

I do try and get out early and finish by 11. But then there are quite a few days when I simply cannot be arsed to observe at all. The lugging the tube about the garden and the cold night just don't appeal to me some nights.

I still like observing and seeing something new and exciting, I'm just not prepared to go too out of my way to do it.