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General Astronomy >> General Observing and Astronomy

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Tori
sage

Reged: 01/10/12

Loc: Somerville, MA/Warren, NH

Annoying way to lose dark adaption
#5500401 - 11/02/12 05:00 AM

Your alarm goes off. It's 2 am. You look outside, giddy to see steady little pinpoints of light everywhere, just as the clear sky chart told you it would be. You've been clouded in for weeks! You sneak into the kitchen to make coffee before going outside; You've done it so many times you can easily do it in the dark. Your eyes have been shut in the dark house for six hours, so you can make out the tiniest shadows as you move around your kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee fills the air as you open the refrigerator to get the cream...

Anyone else considering an external light switch on their refrigerator?

Post Extras:

Astrojensen
Post Laureate

Reged: 10/05/08

Loc: Bornholm, Denmark

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5500411 - 11/02/12 05:16 AM

Oh, this sounds familiar... LOL!

It is also annoying to forget to turn off your car's cabin light when you're out at that special dark site and need something in the car at 1.00 AM after three hours in the dark.

Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark

Post Extras:

Tony Flanders
Postmaster

Reged: 05/18/06

Loc: Cambridge, MA, USA

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5500428 - 11/02/12 05:41 AM

Quote:

Anyone else considering an external light switch on their refrigerator?

The refrigerator and microwave at my country home are real problems. I've kinda learned to use them with my eyes shut, but that's not a great solution. I'm having trouble figuring out how I would rig an external switch, though.

The refrigerator at my astronomy club has a red light.

Post Extras:

Astrojensen
Post Laureate

Reged: 10/05/08

Loc: Bornholm, Denmark

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tony Flanders]
#5500438 - 11/02/12 06:05 AM

Quote:

The refrigerator at my astronomy club has a red light.

Dedication!

Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark

Post Extras:

Qwickdraw
sage

Reged: 03/03/12

Loc: Ann Arbor, Mi

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Astrojensen]
#5500445 - 11/02/12 06:16 AM

Depends on your priorities, coffee>astronomy

Post Extras:

BSJ
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 12/22/08

Loc: Grand Isle, VT

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Qwickdraw]
#5500514 - 11/02/12 08:11 AM

Unscrew the bulb. Put a red flashlight on a fridge magnet...

Post Extras:

csrlice12
Post Laureate

Reged: 05/22/12

Loc: Denver, CO

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: BSJ]
#5500532 - 11/02/12 08:29 AM

Use a laser, that way you'll have it handy to collimate the scope when you go outside.....or, you can collimate the fridge at the same time.......

Post Extras:

star drop
Snowed In

Reged: 02/02/08

Loc: Snow Plop, WNY

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: BSJ]
#5500537 - 11/02/12 08:34 AM

Skip the coffee. It is probably not good for us to consume and the sky might cloud back up right after the pot has finished brewing.
Another annoyance are the bright LED lights on satellite modems.

Post Extras:

Tony Flanders
Postmaster

Reged: 05/18/06

Loc: Cambridge, MA, USA

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: star drop]
#5500580 - 11/02/12 09:07 AM

Quote:

Skip the coffee.

Sorry. If I wake up in the early a.m. -- no coffee, no observing.

Post Extras:

JasonBurry
sage

Reged: 04/27/12

Loc: Cape Spencer, NB, Canada

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tony Flanders]
#5500609 - 11/02/12 09:44 AM

Eyepatch the observing eye on those trips inside. Keep the eyepatch on the non-observing eye while observing, and you'll reduce eyestrain too.

J

Post Extras:

csrlice12
Post Laureate

Reged: 05/22/12

Loc: Denver, CO

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tony Flanders]
#5500630 - 11/02/12 09:57 AM

Quote:

Quote:

Skip the coffee.

Sorry. If I wake up in the early a.m. -- no coffee, no observing.

Ohhh Nooooooo!!!!!!!! No early morning coffee??????? What kind of Monster are you????????????

Post Extras:

Tom Polakis
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 12/20/04

Loc: Tempe, Arizona

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5500696 - 11/02/12 10:51 AM

Are these the solution?

AstroGoggles

Post Extras:

Bill Weir
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 06/01/04

Loc: Metchosin (Victoria), Canada

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tom Polakis]
#5500707 - 11/02/12 11:04 AM

Get the milk first. By the time the coffee is finished being made you will be well towards dark adaptation again. Besides, last night at 0200 a large waning gibbus Moon was well above the horizon.

If you are talking about any other time then I stick with my "get the milk first".

Bill

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cliff mygatt
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 01/27/09

Loc: Kitsap County, WA

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Bill Weir]
#5500713 - 11/02/12 11:08 AM

I have a red light in my camper refer but not at home. I have used the red goggles and it helps a lot. Good Luck!

Post Extras:

cliff mygatt
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 01/27/09

Loc: Kitsap County, WA

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: cliff mygatt]
#5500714 - 11/02/12 11:09 AM

Maybe keep some creamer cups handy for those times when you don't want to open the refer.

Post Extras:

FirstSight
Postmaster

Reged: 12/26/05

Loc: Raleigh, NC

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5500825 - 11/02/12 12:09 PM

Quote:

Your alarm goes off. It's 2 am. You look outside, giddy to see steady little pinpoints of light everywhere, just as the clear sky chart told you it would be. You've been clouded in for weeks! You sneak into the kitchen to make coffee before going outside; You've done it so many times you can easily do it in the dark. Your eyes have been shut in the dark house for six hours, so you can make out the tiniest shadows as you move around your kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee fills the air as you open the refrigerator to get the cream...

Learn to drink coffee black when you're about to go out to observe, and that cures the problem.

Post Extras:

csrlice12
Post Laureate

Reged: 05/22/12

Loc: Denver, CO

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: FirstSight]
#5500838 - 11/02/12 12:14 PM

Maybe try a shot of Jack instead, or Bailey's Irish Cream, or my favorite, Kahlua and coffee...

Post Extras:

Man in a Tub
Postmaster

Reged: 10/28/08

Loc: Fogpatch, CA

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: csrlice12]
#5500850 - 11/02/12 12:24 PM

Fascinating thread!

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Gastrol
scholastic sledgehammer

Reged: 11/04/11

Loc: los angeles

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Man in a Tub]
#5500914 - 11/02/12 12:55 PM

This is why I only consume red wine.

Post Extras:

Tom and Beth
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 01/08/07

Loc: Tucson, AZ

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Gastrol]
#5500943 - 11/02/12 01:13 PM

Look in your coffee aisle for the powdered coffee "lightner". I keep some around for the times I forget
to pick up the "good stuff" as I don't like black coffee.

Post Extras:

Pinbout
Post Laureate

Reged: 02/22/10

Loc: Montclair

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: csrlice12]
#5500984 - 11/02/12 01:38 PM

Quote:

Maybe try a shot of Jack instead, or Bailey's Irish Cream, or my favorite, Kahlua and coffee...

I'll second that!!!

Post Extras:

Tori
sage

Reged: 01/10/12

Loc: Somerville, MA/Warren, NH

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Pinbout]
#5501134 - 11/02/12 03:34 PM

It wasn't last night, it was on several occasions and it has finally reached the point that I feel it necessary to do something about it. A dim red light or unscrewing the bulb would be great and feasible if I lived alone... I could do an eye patch I suppose.... I'm still thinking an override door switch would be the best solution, for me.

Post Extras:

MarcusE
member

Reged: 02/06/11

Loc: Iowa

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5501159 - 11/02/12 03:56 PM

A simple way to keep the refrigerator light off would be to tape the door switch "closed" with a piece of masking tape the night before you're going out. It would be easy to remove the next day. Use your red light to find the cream....

Post Extras:

Qwickdraw
sage

Reged: 03/03/12

Loc: Ann Arbor, Mi

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: MarcusE]
#5501179 - 11/02/12 04:12 PM

My fridge light has been burned out for about 5 years.

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drollere
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 02/02/10

Loc: sebastopol, california

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5501189 - 11/02/12 04:17 PM

Quote:

Your alarm goes off. It's 2 am. You look outside, giddy to see steady little pinpoints of light everywhere, just as the clear sky chart told you it would be. You've been clouded in for weeks! You sneak into the kitchen to make coffee before going outside; You've done it so many times you can easily do it in the dark. Your eyes have been shut in the dark house for six hours, so you can make out the tiniest shadows as you move around your kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee fills the air as you open the refrigerator to get the cream...

really?

fresh cream does not spoil in six hours. why isn't the obvious solution here to pour out the cream before you go to bed? pour it into the cup, or into the thermos, and you're done. better, room temperature cream does not cool the coffee as much.

put the cream and coffee in the mug, put the mug in the microwave. all you have to do at 2am is push a button and remove the heated mug with your eyes closed.

heat the hot coffee almost to boiling, put the cream and hot coffee in a thermos. six hours later it will still be very hot.

Post Extras:

Tori
sage

Reged: 01/10/12

Loc: Somerville, MA/Warren, NH

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: drollere]
#5501280 - 11/02/12 05:42 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Your alarm goes off. It's 2 am. You look outside, giddy to see steady little pinpoints of light everywhere, just as the clear sky chart told you it would be. You've been clouded in for weeks! You sneak into the kitchen to make coffee before going outside; You've done it so many times you can easily do it in the dark. Your eyes have been shut in the dark house for six hours, so you can make out the tiniest shadows as you move around your kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee fills the air as you open the refrigerator to get the cream...

really?

fresh cream does not spoil in six hours. why isn't the obvious solution here to pour out the cream before you go to bed? pour it into the cup, or into the thermos, and you're done. better, room temperature cream does not cool the coffee as much.

put the cream and coffee in the mug, put the mug in the microwave. all you have to do at 2am is push a button and remove the heated mug with your eyes closed.

heat the hot coffee almost to boiling, put the cream and hot coffee in a thermos. six hours later it will still be very hot.

+1

I like that idea

Post Extras:

Starman1
Vendor (EyepiecesEtc.com)

Reged: 06/24/03

Loc: Los Angeles

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5501362 - 11/02/12 06:45 PM

Ha!
This reminds me of how I learned to drink coffee black: I had a professor who would take all his archaeology students out to the field on cold days to work in the open all day.
Well, you get kind of cold doing that (sort of like observing all night, eh?) and his idea of sweetened coffee with cream was one teaspoon of sugar and one teaspoon of instant creamer in a 1-quart thermos.
Needless to say, ANY hot beverage would have been just fine, and his coffee was, essentially, black.
Thermoses are wonderful things. Make the coffee at 6pm and it'll be hot all night. No refrigerator needed.

Post Extras:

csrlice12
Post Laureate

Reged: 05/22/12

Loc: Denver, CO

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Starman1]
#5501385 - 11/02/12 06:58 PM

Sorry, but if it's 2am and I'm asleep; my alarm is NOT going to go off......

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roscoe
curmudgeon

Reged: 02/04/09

Loc: NW Mass, inches from VT

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Starman1]
#5501397 - 11/02/12 07:07 PM

It's pretty hard to get into a refrigerator to rewire it....the walls are filled with hard foam insulation.
An eyepatch works (sort of) but light leaks in around the edges, and going back to the dark with one eye mostly dark adapted and one totally light-zapped challenges the brain......
I'd vote for a thermos made up beforehand, because you can also carry it out for a second hit.
I think the metal-lined construction-grade ones stay hot better, and you don't ever have to hear that heartbreaking sound of glass-and-coffee if you knock it over.......
R

Post Extras:

Littlegreenman
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 05/09/05

Loc: Southern California

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: roscoe]
#5501439 - 11/02/12 07:31 PM

Oh, I was hoping this was a thread on all the various annoying ways to lose your dark adaptation. Not just the microwave refridgerator ways.

Come to think of it, is there a way to lose your dark adaptation that isn't annoying? I'll answer that below, but....

I was out in the National Forest on the side of a road, setting up. I had a drummer's chair out, (really a Tele Vue air chair), a tripod with some strange mechanical device on it (A Vixen GP mount), when the Sherrif's pull in next to me to see what suspicious thing I'm up to. In a technique that probably does increase the safety to law enforcement and the people they interact with, they shine a gazillion lumens flashlight in my eyes. A minute later I'm offering them a look-see but blinking and triping over pebbles.
===

The only non-annoying way I can think of to lose your dark adaptation is if you see a really bright meteor or bolide. Or, comet or Supernova. If any one of those is bright enough to affect your dark adaptation, I want to see it.

LGM

Post Extras:

Bill Weir
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 06/01/04

Loc: Metchosin (Victoria), Canada

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Littlegreenman]
#5501487 - 11/02/12 07:59 PM

Or..... http://www.beaverbuzz.com/beaverbuzz.htm
I always keep a can in my cupboard of observing gear. It's also what I pack when overnight camping at star parties.

Ready in seconds and no brewing required. Tasty too.

Bill

Post Extras:

GeneT
Ely Kid

Reged: 11/07/08

Loc: South Texas

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5501609 - 11/02/12 09:30 PM

I don't get up at 2 a.m.--I stay up until 2 a.m.

Post Extras:

jrbarnett
Eyepiece Hooligan

Reged: 02/28/06

Loc: Petaluma, CA

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5501723 - 11/02/12 10:41 PM

Or drink it pure and black.

- Jim

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star drop
Snowed In

Reged: 02/02/08

Loc: Snow Plop, WNY

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: jrbarnett]
#5501753 - 11/02/12 11:01 PM

Freeze the coffee on a stick (coffsicle).

Post Extras:

mountain monk
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 11/06/09

Loc: Grand Teton National Park

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: star drop]
#5501847 - 11/03/12 12:19 AM

Stanley 2-quart Classic. Problem solved---forever. Even works for hot chocolate!

Dark skies.

Jack

Post Extras:

AdirondackAstro
sage

Reged: 06/06/11

Loc: Plattsburgh, NY

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: mountain monk]
#5501885 - 11/03/12 01:10 AM

I wore an eye patch for about an hour one night as I was preparing to go out and view. I got all my stuff together, flipped up the eye patch to view. Realized I forgot my notepad so I ran back inside and turned on the light blinding my dark adapted eye.

Post Extras:

mark8888
Pooh-Bah

Reged: 09/24/10

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: AdirondackAstro]
#5501917 - 11/03/12 01:48 AM

I use this thermos every day:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004S1CY/ref=oh_detail...
It's great, 12+ hours later your coffee is still hot. It's also very robust compared to other thermoses, you can really knock it around. As you can see it's a little steel tank. Because the design is so simple it's also easy to clean.

Post Extras:

Astrojensen
Post Laureate

Reged: 10/05/08

Loc: Bornholm, Denmark

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: mark8888]
#5501976 - 11/03/12 05:37 AM

Quote:

I use this thermos every day:

I have a similar one. If I fill it up and don't drink any of it, the tea is still scolding hot 24 hours later! They really are fantastic. It's many years old now, but still going strong. The plug and cup has started to slowly fall apart, though. Never seen spare parts for one, so I figure I just have to get a new one.

Clear skies!
Thomas, Denmark

Post Extras:

Tori
sage

Reged: 01/10/12

Loc: Somerville, MA/Warren, NH

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: roscoe]
#5502022 - 11/03/12 07:31 AM

Quote:

It's pretty hard to get into a refrigerator to rewire it....the walls are filled with hard foam insulation.

In my refer, I can drill a hole directly from the outside of the fridge into the back side of the cutout for the door switch. I'll post pics when I do it.

Post Extras:

star drop
Snowed In

Reged: 02/02/08

Loc: Snow Plop, WNY

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5502279 - 11/03/12 11:54 AM

Quote:

Quote:

It's pretty hard to get into a refrigerator to rewire it....the walls are filled with hard foam insulation.

In my refer, I can drill a hole directly from the outside of the fridge into the back side of the cutout for the door switch. I'll post pics when I do it.

Red Green would be proud of you. (Please unplug the refrigerator before proceeding.)

Post Extras:

Ed D
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 04/30/10

Loc: Sunny South Florida

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: star drop]
#5502658 - 11/03/12 05:01 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

It's pretty hard to get into a refrigerator to rewire it....the walls are filled with hard foam insulation.

In my refer, I can drill a hole directly from the outside of the fridge into the back side of the cutout for the door switch. I'll post pics when I do it.

Red Green would be proud of you. (Please unplug the refrigerator before proceeding.)

Ed D

Post Extras:

FeynmanFan
sage

Reged: 02/18/11

Loc: N Colo front range

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: jrbarnett]
#5502660 - 11/03/12 05:03 PM

Quote:

Or drink it pure and black.

- Jim

+1 If you've got good coffee, this is truly the only way to drink it.

Post Extras:

Tori
sage

Reged: 01/10/12

Loc: Somerville, MA/Warren, NH

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: star drop]
#5502962 - 11/03/12 08:48 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Quote:

It's pretty hard to get into a refrigerator to rewire it....the walls are filled with hard foam insulation.

In my refer, I can drill a hole directly from the outside of the fridge into the back side of the cutout for the door switch. I'll post pics when I do it.

Red Green would be proud of you. (Please unplug the refrigerator before proceeding.)

Only if I use duct tape to attach the switch. ;-)

Post Extras:

orion61
Vendor(Clear Edge Optical)

Reged: 10/20/07

Loc: NW Iowa BURRRR

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Littlegreenman]
#5504368 - 11/04/12 06:43 PM

I have a handy little eye patch from the eye Dr when I got something in my eye. works well.
I also hate it when IDIOTS pull up in their car and sit there with Headlights on, or even turn them on bright to help you see better (true story) ARRRGH glad I sold my guns
when the baby was born!!!!

Post Extras:

Achernar
Postmaster

Reged: 02/25/06

Loc: Mobile, Alabama, USA

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: orion61]
#5504411 - 11/04/12 07:19 PM

I don't know how many times I had to check my annoyance if not anger with the next oaf to show up with the headlights ablaze myself. It is obvious to me that non-astronomers just do not know the effect of being nailed with a bright light has on people who are dark adapted, I cannot see anything for several seconds. Everytime they do that, my night vision takes at least 20 or 30 minutes to return. This is why I look for places to observe as FAR away from everyone else as I can, I am reclusive to begin with and there are times when I want to be left alone. An aging and grouchy bear like me is not the most social of creatures.

Taras

Post Extras:

tomcody
professor emeritus

Reged: 07/06/08

Loc: Titusville, Florida

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5505609 - 11/05/12 03:38 PM

Quote:

Quote:

It's pretty hard to get into a refrigerator to rewire it....the walls are filled with hard foam insulation.

In my refer, I can drill a hole directly from the outside of the fridge into the back side of the cutout for the door switch. I'll post pics when I do it.

How about a red bulb for the fridge? years ago red bulbs were common in dark rooms for film processing, I bet camera supply stores still have them.
See:
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/15766-REG/Delta_35110_Brightlab_Univers...
Rex

Edited by tomcody (11/05/12 03:40 PM)

Post Extras:

GaryJCarter
sage

Reged: 06/06/09

Loc: Fairview, Texas

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: tomcody]
#5505736 - 11/05/12 05:36 PM

The one annoyance that seems to be prevalent at outreach events of late are the kids wearing sneakers equipped with motion fired high luminosity LED lights.

WOW are those bright to the dark adapted eyes!

Post Extras:

Matt Lindsey
sage

Reged: 06/06/08

Loc: Baltimore, MD, U.S.A.

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5505840 - 11/05/12 07:10 PM

Perhaps my most coveted piece of astronomy equipment is a handheld vacuum-insulated thermos. Getting up at 2 am? Planning a long observing run (or any observing for that matter)? Make the coffee and add cream before bedtime and pour into the thermos. Stays hot for hours.

Post Extras:

Tori
sage

Reged: 01/10/12

Loc: Somerville, MA/Warren, NH

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Matt Lindsey]
#5506150 - 11/05/12 11:11 PM

In my case, a red light is a little impractical because the other four people in my house need to see inside the fridge during the day and a bright enough red light might as well be white.

A thermos or leaving the cream out or something... they're great ideas. The problem is that I'd only go to sleep and get up at 2 if the sky was cloudy but forecast to be clear and stable at 2. All too often, despite the predictions, it's not clear or the seeing is horrible, so after looking out the window I just hop back into my warm bed... I'd hate to waste the coffee and I don't want the cream to go bad faster by leaving it out to get warm.

On the special occasion that it does clear as expected, it's easy to make coffee, and besides I need a few minutes to wake up. The only challenge is that darn fridge.

And in a week or two I'll solve that problem

Post Extras:

Alvin Huey
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 10/18/05

Loc: NorCal

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: FirstSight]
#5506260 - 11/06/12 01:35 AM

Quote:

Quote:

Your alarm goes off. It's 2 am. You look outside, giddy to see steady little pinpoints of light everywhere, just as the clear sky chart told you it would be. You've been clouded in for weeks! You sneak into the kitchen to make coffee before going outside; You've done it so many times you can easily do it in the dark. Your eyes have been shut in the dark house for six hours, so you can make out the tiniest shadows as you move around your kitchen. The smell of fresh coffee fills the air as you open the refrigerator to get the cream...

Learn to drink coffee black when you're about to go out to observe, and that cures the problem.

Absolutely...pure unadulterated coffee. That is how I drink mine.

Post Extras:

sissyc
member

Reged: 10/23/12

Loc: Arkansas Ozarks

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Alvin Huey]
#5507905 - 11/07/12 04:37 AM

Well, read your post, and thought no way would that happen to me,,, coffee at 2 am. Well, I had just started this observing, enjoying being outside late at night. Looking at Jupiter, just giddy! Drink my last swig of beer, teeter into the dark house, throw the beer bottle away (still in the dark), open up the fridge to retrieve another,,,, dam!! Felt like someone shot me. Took me a few minutes to calm down and quit kicking myself! Very annoying! MUST PLAN AHEAD!

Post Extras:

Pinbout
Post Laureate

Reged: 02/22/10

Loc: Montclair

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: sissyc]
#5507964 - 11/07/12 06:26 AM

for some reason when I first saw this post I thought of this as the most annoying way to loose dark adaptation...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58jkqqgVV08

Post Extras:

Aquarist
sage

Reged: 08/27/12

Loc: Illinois

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tom and Beth]
#5519676 - 11/14/12 03:13 PM

Well, if caffeine is the issue, Red Bull works well.

Post Extras:

uniondrone
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 12/05/09

Loc: Streetlight Archipelago

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tony Flanders]
#5519703 - 11/14/12 03:26 PM

Quote:

Quote:

Skip the coffee.

Sorry. If I wake up in the early a.m. -- no coffee, no observing.

Caffiene in tablet form works amazingly well.

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Meadeball
sage

Reged: 10/22/12

Loc: Midlothian, Virginia

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tom and Beth]
#5520430 - 11/15/12 12:56 AM

A shot o' Jack at 2 a.m. would put me right back in the cozy warm sack.

Here's an idea -- Buy an insulated coffee carafe from Wal-Mart or Target. I have one that will swallow up almost an entire pot of coffee and keep it hot -- I'm not exaggerating here -- for almost two entire days on my kitchen counter. Amazing. Since I like cream & sweetener, I often pre-sweeten & cream the entire carafe so I can just pour & go throughout the day.

If you know you're going to get up and observe (you did have to set an alarm), you could always make your coffee the evening before, put it in the carafe ready-to-go, and then all ya gotta do is pour it in a cup. Heck, take the carafe outside with ya.

The nice thing about a carafe over a thermos is that you can use the carafe at home all the time and for a multitude of purposes. I work at home and use mine every day. Many people aren't aware how much energy is required to keep their coffee warm on their coffee makers for several hours. Mine pulls 800 watts when that little hot plate is on! Why pay your electric company to keep your coffee warm all day? I turn my maker off the moment the coffee's finished brewing and pour it into the carafe.

Meade

Edited by Meadeball (11/15/12 01:09 AM)

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csrlice12
Post Laureate

Reged: 05/22/12

Loc: Denver, CO

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: sissyc]
#5520765 - 11/15/12 09:00 AM

Quote:

Well, read your post, and thought no way would that happen to me,,, coffee at 2 am. Well, I had just started this observing, enjoying being outside late at night. Looking at Jupiter, just giddy! Drink my last swig of beer, teeter into the dark house, throw the beer bottle away (still in the dark), open up the fridge to retrieve another,,,, dam!! Felt like someone shot me. Took me a few minutes to calm down and quit kicking myself! Very annoying! MUST PLAN AHEAD!

See, I told you a cooler was mandatory astronomy equipment!!

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dscarpa
Carpal Tunnel

Reged: 03/15/08

Loc: San Diego Ca.

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: Tori]
#5521737 - 11/15/12 07:04 PM

I keep my observing eye closed when doing something that requires white light. My brain seems to deal with having one dark adapted eye pretty well. The problem is my non observing eye isn't very good reguardless of the lighting. David

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av8or
member

Reged: 10/24/11

Loc: Vista, CA

Re: Annoying way to lose dark adaption new

[Re: dscarpa]
#5522104 - 11/15/12 11:16 PM

Once at a star party, I used the eye patch over one eye method while entering a white light room. It worked fantastic but once I went back under dark skies, I felt like I was blind in one eye!! Couldn't believe the difference it made.

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