FAQ and cold weather gear

I've not yet seen a FAQ for this group, and it's been far more than a
month since I've been reading this group, so I have to ask, is there s
website that hosts the FAQ ?

And surely the subject of what to wear when observing in cold weather has
been beaten to death. Is there a good place to find the results of that
discussion ? I've got all sorts of cold weather gear that are great for
cross country skiing and telescopic observing is about as different from
that as one could imagine. I'd love to read about what people wear in the
cold, but I don't think it's useful to open an old an of worms.

Tom R

By FAQ, do you mean one for and about this newsgroup itself? or some other
kind of FAQ?
--

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
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"Tom Rauschenbach" wrote in message
news

I've not yet seen a FAQ for this group, and it's been far more than a
month since I've been reading this group, so I have to ask, is there s
website that hosts the FAQ ?

And surely the subject of what to wear when observing in cold weather has
been beaten to death. Is there a good place to find the results of that
discussion ? I've got all sorts of cold weather gear that are great for
cross country skiing and telescopic observing is about as different from
that as one could imagine. I'd love to read about what people wear in the
cold, but I don't think it's useful to open an old an of worms.

Tom R

I'm going to steal and post this one:
Brian Tung
My Own Personal FAQ (SAA) at http://astro.isi.edu/reference/faq.txt

As for cold weather gear, the rule of thumb is to dress for 20F colder than
you would for a mild activity like walking.

I have Carhartt overalls and jacket for when it gets down below 40F, these
seem to work well down into the teens F. But I'd still recommend a warm up
from time to time, say in the car, or if you are out back in the yard, take
a break in the house.

-Stephen

"Tom Rauschenbach" wrote in message
news

I've not yet seen a FAQ for this group, and it's been far more than a
month since I've been reading this group, so I have to ask, is there s
website that hosts the FAQ ?

And surely the subject of what to wear when observing in cold weather has
been beaten to death. Is there a good place to find the results of that
discussion ? I've got all sorts of cold weather gear that are great for
cross country skiing and telescopic observing is about as different from
that as one could imagine. I'd love to read about what people wear in the
cold, but I don't think it's useful to open an old an of worms.

Tom R

"Tom Rauschenbach" wrote
...........
And surely the subject of what to wear when observing in cold weather has
been beaten to death. Is there a good place to find the results of that
discussion ? I've got all sorts of cold weather gear that are great for
cross country skiing and telescopic observing is about as different from
that as one could imagine. I'd love to read about what people wear in the
cold, but I don't think it's useful to open an old an of worms.

Tom R

Tom,

Well you could Google "cold weather astronomy" and find lots of advice.
Here's just two WebPages that I came up with:
http://www.mapug-astronomy.net/Astro...oldWeather.htm and
http://amateurastronomy.org/Events/EH329.html

Personally, if the temp is below 20 F at the beginning of the night I
figure that the universe will still be there when it warms up and I just
don't observe. However, if there is something special, like a nice comet,
I'll observe down to zero or so. One time when I was 14 I froze my cheek to
an eyepiece and ended up with a red circle under my eye for a week or so.

In very cold weather I think it's very important to keep your head and
feet warm. I sometimes use a mask and usually heavy boots. Since I find it
difficult to drive with really heavy boots I often take them to put on after
arriving at the observing location. I also set up with lighter cloths on and
then dress for observing, and do the same for taking down. It's not fun to
take a UTA off a 20-inch Dob at 2 am and 10 F while wearing lots of bulky
clothes. I also sometimes observe at a remote observatory and I'm extra
careful in very cold weather because if I slip and fall I could end up being
coyote food!

One thing I've never tried are the chemical hand warmer packs. I see that
Celestron sells them, but they're pretty expensive. The owner of Obsession
telescopes advises buying these from hunting supply stores at the end of
hunting season and saving them for next year.

George Normandin

"Tom Rauschenbach" I'd love to read about what people wear in the
cold, but I don't think it's useful to open an old an of worms.

Tom R

I haven't tried it, but the 12V heated biker suits look toasty.
Anyway you're not a 'real' astronomer until you've lost a minor appendage to
frostbite and had your cornea frozen to the ocular :-)
jc

Here are a few good "cold weather dressing links, faq's, etc." that I have
bookmarked in my "Favorites."

http://www.novac.com/resources/winter.php

http://www.mapug-astronomy.net/Astro...oldWeather.htm

http://home.mindspring.com/~mikesimonsen/id19.html

http://amateurastronomy.org/Events/EH329.html

http://www.concentric.net/~Edmoran/obs_tips.htm


Clear Skies!!!!! Stay warm!!!

Andy Blackburn

Andy's Astronomy Page
http://home.g-net.net/~andy/astro.htm

Oglethorpe Astronomical Association
http://home.g-net.net/~oaa/









"Tom Rauschenbach" wrote in message
news

I've not yet seen a FAQ for this group, and it's been far more than a
month since I've been reading this group, so I have to ask, is there s
website that hosts the FAQ ?

And surely the subject of what to wear when observing in cold weather has
been beaten to death. Is there a good place to find the results of that
discussion ? I've got all sorts of cold weather gear that are great for
cross country skiing and telescopic observing is about as different from
that as one could imagine. I'd love to read about what people wear in the
cold, but I don't think it's useful to open an old an of worms.

Tom R

"john carruthers" wrote
....
... Anyway you're not a 'real' astronomer until you've lost a minor
appendage to frostbite and had your cornea frozen to the ocular :-)
jc

John, et al:

Personally, I'm for getting rid of Castro and holding a month long winter
star party in Cuba. It's warm, dark, and both the seeing and the music are
great!

George Normandin

You may not have long to wait, from a short blip in the news not long ago,
he's showing his age, BUT someone ( a son I think ) is beeing groomed to
step into his shoes when he does go feed the sharks.


--

The Lone Sidewalk Astronomer of Rosamond
Telescope Buyers FAQ
http://home.inreach.com/starlord
Astronomy Net Online Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/astronomy_net
In Garden Online Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/ingarden
Blast Off Online Gift Shop
http://www.cafepress.com/starlords




"George Normandin" wrote in message
news
"john carruthers" wrote
...
... Anyway you're not a 'real' astronomer until you've lost a minor
appendage to frostbite and had your cornea frozen to the ocular :-)
jc

John, et al:

Personally, I'm for getting rid of Castro and holding a month long
winter star party in Cuba. It's warm, dark, and both the seeing and the
music are great!

George Normandin

On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 03:25:23 +0000, George Normandin wrote:


Personally, I'm for getting rid of Castro and holding a month long winter
star party in Cuba.

LOL ! When I first read this I wondered what C-Astro was !!

"Tom Rauschenbach" wrote
....
On Mon, 28 Nov 2005 03:25:23 +0000, George Normandin wrote:


Personally, I'm for getting rid of Castro and holding a month long
winter
star party in Cuba.

LOL ! When I first read this I wondered what C-Astro was !!



C-astro = A telescope made from Cuban Cigars!

.....or maybe it's the name of a famous Cuban telescope company that
competes with those capitalists at Meade......

George N.