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How often do you get out observing?


Nick P

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Commenting on another thread got me thinking about how often I manage to get outside to observe. From my log book I have managed about six times in the last five months - so an average of just over once a month!

Between weather conditions, family, and work commitments, it can be quite difficult to get all the variables lined up to allow a good observing session.

How often do other SGL'ers manage to go observing?

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Like yourself, work and family take up a lot of my time. Also as you have mentioned, the weather is the most important factor to take into consideration.

Where possible, if it is clear i will take the scope out and try to do a bit of observing but this is not always sucessful as there are times when the scope is cooling and by the time i go out to observe the clouds are rolling in.:)

Weather permitting i get to use the scope twice a week, but feel i would like to do more.

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I can't get out before 9pm regardless of what the sky is doing. There is the kids to see and take care off. And then some time with my wife. 9pm is a bit optimistic, more like 10pm. The winter and darker nights are wasted on me. I do just as well for observing time in the spring and late summer as i do in the winter.

I do grab early morning chances as well. I reckon if the weather plays ball, as it did in July/August, i get out half dozen times a month.

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Maybe 280 - 300 nights a year? But I am in a slightly different position, of course, and not just geographically! It was rather different in Derbyshire...

Olly

PS not just nights, now. With the Lunt I have a peep at the sun most days as well.

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Almost twice a month for the past year I reckon looking back through my astronomy log book. Then I would double that to include the times I just step out into the back garden and have a quick butchers for ten minutes with the bins just to see what I can see.

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This year, it's been around 10 times - due to cloud and other commitments. The year previously I was out a lot more - but my work and home life started to suffer. With regards to this hobby, I find I have to burn the candle at both ends, and therefore cannot catch up with sleep in the daytime.

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Sort of two to four times a week at the moment.

If it's clear and I'm not too tired, I'm out after something or other. This little newt is good in that i can leave it set up and just grab it and get it out of the (kept locked and guarded by a doggie) patio doors in less than a minute.

I've survived twenty minutes in a lake at 1C diving before now, so being on land is toasty in comparison. And I'm a southerner - just sort of cold adapted!

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Because of the deadly temps during the meteor showers, i had a bit of time tonight and went through the last 7 years of my logbooks. Turns out that since 1 January 2004 until tonight, i've logged in 521 sessions.

That breaks down to 74.43 per year, and 6.20 per month.

2004: 59

2005: 72

2006: 104 (must have been pretty clear)

2007: 75

2008: 84

2009: 50

2010: 77

Monthly averages:

Jan - 3

Feb - 3.57

Mar - 49

Apr - 46

May - 45

Jun - 55

Jul - 61

Aug - 57

Sep - 67

Nov - 28

Dec - 17

There were only three months with no entries.. two of them were in December, and one was in January. Might have been due to either clouds or cold, but i'm guessing it was the cold.

Interesting thread Nick, thanks for starting it. :)

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From my log book I have managed about six times in the last five months - so an average of just over once a month!

How often do other SGL'ers manage to go observing?

My long term (over the past 10 years) average is 15 - 20 times PER YEAR. The duration of each session varies, depending on whether the next day is a working day. If the clouds roll in. If something unforeseen happens. If I get tired ... or occasionally if dawn breaks!

Looking at the weather stats for my area, since the beginning of March this year we've had about 800 hours of clear night sky - that's about 12% of all the possible hours of darkness have been clear. Just taking the hours up to midnight, the total drops to 500 clear, night, hours.

Out of that, you have to take nights of adverse moonlight, other commitments and nights when the local amateur football team light up the whole sky with their floodlights - between them, these effects just about halve the dusk-midnight opportunities.

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Like most people I tend to have too many other more pressing commitments on week-day nights, so for me its Friday, Sat or Sunday night if its excellent & theres something up & about, Jupiter or Saturn for instance.

So that splits down to less than half the week, added to that the miserable year for weather I guess I've actually managed to have a reasonable session about 4 times this year.

Whats really frustrating is that when I'm on the road to work at 3.30am, have recently have had fantastic views of Orion on my way south on the M11, shame I cant drive & observe all at once!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Like many others, work commitments and bad weather reduces the amount of time available for stargazing. I bought a new scope in September this year and have only had the chance to use it twice.

The very cold nights we are having in the UK at the moment means I am tucked up in front of the fire at night and will wait for warmer temperatures before I venture out again!!

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