I have a red lightbulb in the fixture outside the sliding glass door off the
den (which looks over the backyard), and it's "on" the whole time when I'm
out imaging. It's also on for a while when I set up and breakdown my Dob
setup. I also have a red light in the ceiling fixture in the den, and
another in the bathroom off the den, both of which can be easily seen from
the backyard, to light up the rooms in red light. In my garage is yet
another red light that is on whenever I am out observing from the driveway
facing the street with the garage doors open, and I maintain a snowblown
path around the garage side of the house, on out to the back where I clear
an area in front of the den slider, and then a path up up to the top of the
large mound in the backyard. At the top of the mound I make a clearing in
the shape of a circle about 12 feet in diameter where I can setup my
equipment and have a larger view of the sky.

All of this is clearly visible to my new neighbor on the hill behind me. g

One night, after imaging, I left the Ultima 8 where I had it setup just
outside the slider. I was too tired to haul it in, and besides, I wanted it
to be seen by the new neighbor. There is no mistaking this scope as a piece
of imaging equipment. I had hoped that they would see it, and realize that I
was doing some kind of night sky imaging. The red light out back, the red
light in the den, the bathroom, and the garage; the path across the yard,
the clearing at the top of the mound; the Dob at dusk, the SCT at dawn.
Taken together it's pretty obvious that I'm doing something out there that
requires darkness. There are no white lights on the back of the property,
only the front.

Well, all I can say is thanks for red lights, SCTs and snow circles. The SCT
looks so much like a camera lens that it is unmistakeable, and the
association of red lights with dark rooms, and dark rooms with photography
are obvious. But inferences aside, I'm going to go up and introduce myself
with a gift and a thanks. They need to know just how thankful I am that they
are the best neighbors an amateur astronomer could ask for.

The first night they were in the house, they had left the flood lights on
outside the garage (and all the next day as well) and I was pretty nervous.
As it turns out, this was an obvious anomoly. Since that first night
they've kept the outside lights off, and have a 5 minute timer on the
floodlight outside their garage. I didn't have to say a word. They have a
farmer's porch on the front of the house with a recessed overhead light, so
even when that's on, it isn't a major nusance to backyard astronomy.

Feeling blessed. Now, if I could just get the town of Ayer and the city of
Leominster, and the Massachusetts Correctional Institution in South Shirley
to cut back on the lumens, I'd be in astronomer's heaven.

Of course, I wouldn't recommend putting on a red light in the city. :-)
--
-Stephen Paul