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Wednesday, January 18, 2012Telescopes below zeroWe’re forecast to have clear skies, tonight, so I’ll no doubt grab the astronomy binoculars or, perhaps, one of my smaller telescopes and do a little astronomy. We’re also forecast to go well below zero, too, so emphasis on little as far as astronomy. I’m at an age where I have less resistance to the cold and it’s getting harder to put in long observing sessions with the binoculars or the telescope eyepiece in sub-zero cold. Now, I’m sure that a lot of folks who aren’t astronomers are thinking this gal is off her rocker to setup & use a telescope in those kinds of temperatures, just to do a little astronomy. I even know some astronomers who would have second thoughts about that kind of cold. There is, however, a solid reason for braving the cold to get some time with the telescope or binoculars. The air following a polar cold front tends to be clear and dry and that makes for excellent sky transparency and that, in turn, translates to more objects and more detail seen in the binoculars or telescopes. In fact, these cold, dry winter nights are often the best nights of the year for astronomy in our area. Moreover, even as little as ten or fifteen minutes with the telescope under a magnificent winter sky is enough to recharge my astronomy batteries to get through weeks of cloudy skies. Now, where did I set those mittens? Comments: |
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