[sac-forum] Re: Messier Marathon results questions

In my case I just love observing, I can't get eonough of it or too much of it, so I find ways to get in as much observing as I can and also be able to work. Since clear skies can't be counted on to arrive on weekends I just find a way to get out when the good nights happen and that means getting creative with sleep during the week. So one strategy, especially during the waxing moon cycle around and after 1st quarter moon is to sleep until the moon sets and then get up whenever that is. ( I would normally have gone to bed early for some sleep Saturday evening but I got started on that 110 Best Lunar award so . . .)
Our southern skies are pretty soupy too, and a lot of the time after about 2-3 am the sky will haze up or fog will become a problem. But then again a lot of the time it stays perfect all night. So for me, I don't like to sleep all night when the moon is not up and find bright clear bluebird skies in the morning. Then I think, "hey I missed it!" So during any period when the moon is below the horizon I am going to be looking to be up somehow unless its cloudy. There is an old say that the best telescope is the one you will use. In a way that goes for night sky, the best being the ones you are actually out observing under. Or put another way, any cloudless night in which you observing is better than the most pristine night you slept through. I do have an advantage though in that I live in the country where my home skies are quite dark and I don't have to travel. 

David Hofland
Director, Student Services
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Jacksonville State University
256.782.5276
----- Original Message ----- From: "AJ Crayon" <acrayon@xxxxxxx> 
To: <sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 11:38 AM
Subject: [sac-forum] Re: Messier Marathon results questions
Dick, since I can't stay up all night long, I take an hour nap around 10:00pm. This let me stay up observing till 2:00am or 3:00am and depends on how many breaks I take, also how long. While I'm not observing during the time interval you stated, 2:00 to 4:00, I can't vouch for all of it. But it is my opinion, and my opinion alone, that the better observing conditions are just after midnight and lasts for a couple of hours or so. Reason for this is the temperatures have reached their minimum during this interval and helps to create the better observing conditions.
This is not always the case and can be changed by changing weather conditions, i.e. an approaching cold front with some slight breezes. 

AJ Crayon
Phoenix, AZ
----- Original Message ----- From: "Richard Harshaw" <rharshaw2@xxxxxxx> 
To: <sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 9:17 AM
Subject: [sac-forum] Re: Messier Marathon results questions
You remind me of something I have been meaning to try since I moved to Arizona. I have heard that it is often a good idea to observe for a few hours after sunset and then do what you did-- go to bed and wake up (via an alarm clock) at 1:00 or 2:00 am and observe until sunrise. I have heard that the 2:00-4:00 window is usually especially pristine. Having grown up in the Midwest, that was hardly ever the case in our soupy skies, but is it true here in Arizona? Can any local experienced observers confirm this?
In the past when I have done all nighters, I am usually pretty tired by 2:00 and so may be missing good observing and details in that pristine window when I do not take the midnight nap. 


Richard Harshaw
Cave Creek, AZ


-----Original Message-----
From: sac-forum-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:sac-forum-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of David Hofland 
Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 9:08 AM
To: sac-forum@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [sac-forum] Re: Messier Marathon results questions

Coffee is God's gift to mankind!  When I am observing the pot is always on
in the kitchen starting around midnight.
I am still recovering from an all nighter Saturday night/Sunday morning. It 
was the first good clear night for a couple weeks.  Did lunar observing in
the early Saturday evening, a short nap to await the moon set and got out to 
observe at 1:30 am just as the moon was setting. So about 2 hours sleep in
that nap and the rest of the night was great observing.  My wife won't let
me sleep away Sunday during the day with church and chores.  So last night
was first good sleep since Friday night.  I really should not comment on
anything for at least 72 hours after an all-nighter. :-)

David Hofland
Director, Student Services
College of Nursing and Health Sciences
Jacksonville State University
256.782.5276

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