Dain
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 03/24/05
Posts: 1596
Loc: N.Y. Adirondack Mnts. NGC 4565...
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I know alot of folks out there don't like the short of daylight hours. For me, way before I started observing, I've always liked it since I can remember as a kid. I always thought that the night seemed to stretch out a bit longer before it was 'time to go to bed'. Sometimes when I was a kid, I'd think.." wow, it's only 7pm when I thought it was almost my bedtime (9:30pm) ". Fast forward to a few years later-- here I am still enjoying it as much as I did when I was a kid, except this time I have the benefits of astronomy. Heck, being able to observe at 5:30pm is a blast, and the amount of observing time you can get in on a regular work week is great. Well..weather conditions permitting of course! This time of year is when we have Thanksgiving and later on being Christmas, I believe my mind looks forward to getting together with friends and family as well. The whole atmosphere that these long dark days bring is pure excitement. Call me crazy, it's ok!
Do any of you folks truly enjoy the long dark days like I do?
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Best,
Dain
Adirondack Mountains (my true dark sky site)
@ Cedar River Flow
Local Site
Clear Skies?
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star drop
Guilty as Charged
Reged: 02/02/08
Posts: 16368
Loc: Snow Plop, WNY
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It is convenient to observe right after dinner at this time of the year. I do enjoy that.
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Ted
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panhard
Mongo
Reged: 01/20/08
Posts: 5216
Loc: Markham Ontario Canada
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I love the fact that I can get out earlier. The bad thing right now is my physical problems. I can't even take my scope out right now. This year it has been very cloudy night after night. Today we had a little bit of snow here.
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JayinUT
I'm not Sleepy
Reged: 09/19/08
Posts: 950
Loc: Utah
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Love getting out early but the moon and now the weather is going to interfere. Sigh . . . love it when it is clear out. I do look forward to the holiday season also.
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Jay in Utah
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Location: Lat: 40.514N Long: -112.032W
Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day. But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth.
— Ptolemy, c.150 AD
My Blog
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ebusinesstutor
sage
Reged: 07/01/09
Posts: 465
Loc: Nanaimo, BC, Canada
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September to mid October seems to hit the sweet spot for me. It gets dark earlier but still pleasant to be outside.
But now we are into rainy cloudy season here so the early dark is wasted... 
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Garland Coulson
Orion XT8i Dob & Celestron 80 ED on a Vixen Porta Mount Mini
Baader Hyperion 8-24mm Click Zoom & Siebert Observatory 36mm
Siebert Black Knight Binoviewers
SkyWatcher Observing Chair
Celestron Skymaster 15x70mm binos
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John Noble
super member
Reged: 05/07/08
Posts: 179
Loc: Sandy Eggo, California
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Same here: the nights are longer, but the clouds move in more often.
Still, it's better than the "June Gloom" we get here in "sunny" Southern California. It's not uncommon to have a thick blanket of night and morning overcast for two or three weeks straight in the late spring.
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"We had the sky up there, all speckled with stars, and we used to lay on our backs and look up at them, and discuss about whether they was made or only just happened."
--Huckleberry Finn
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arellanon
member
Reged: 12/12/06
Posts: 25
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Always loved observing early. That way, one can log in much time before midnight. Since I usually observe from Joshua Tree National Park, my drive is about two hours, so the earlier night skies are very welcomed! lol
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brianb11213
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/25/09
Posts: 2113
Loc: 55.215N 6.554W
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Dark, cloudy, wet & windy, I don't enjoy ... but I do like at least 12 hours of darkness when the sky is clear.
I find the very late sunset in June annoying, really I think there should be "negative daylight saving time" so that it goes dark at a reasonable time, say 8pm.
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RLTYS
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 12/18/04
Posts: 2159
Loc: New York (Long Island)
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I also prefer the longer nights, espically if you have to work the next day.
Rich (RLTYS)
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10" F4.8 Refl.
4" F5 Refr. (Genesis)
3" F4 Celestron FirstScope
50mm F12 Refr. (Tasco #6TE-5)
12x63 and 10x50 Binoculars.
"I want to do more then just look."
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Hrundi
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 02/06/08
Posts: 1240
Loc: Estonia
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I love em. Sunrise at 9am and sunset at 3pm means it's rather awesome.
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Tony Flanders
Post Laureate
Reged: 05/18/06
Posts: 3469
Loc: Cambridge, MA, USA
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Quote:
Do any of you folks truly enjoy the long dark days like I do?
I must admit that November has always been my least favorite month -- and that didn't change when I took up telescopic astronomy. Partly, no doubt, it's the weather. November tends to be one of the rainiest and cloudiest months in the U.S. Northeast, coming right after September and October, which tend to be driest. Of course, that's just averages. In this part of the world, the variation in precipitation from one year to another is far bigger than the seasonal variation.
It also has to do with the fact that November is often cold but rarely snowy. I don't mind cold, but I don't exactly like it either. Snow, on the other hand, always lifts my spirits. So cold with no snow is the worst combination for me.
But length of day is definitely part of it, too. My favorite months are February, April, May, August, September, and October -- all except May being months when day and night are roughly equal. I find it really depressing when it's still light outside when I go to bed, and I also find it depressing when it's dark when I leave work. I like a balance between light and dark!
I think the thing about November is that not only are the days shorter than I like, but they're still getting shorter at a noticeable rate. In December, they're essentially stationary, and by February, they're pleasantly short but getting longer quite rapidly. I really love February!
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Tony Flanders
First and foremost observing love: naked eye.
Second, binoculars.
Last but not least, telescopes.
And I sometimes dabble with cameras.
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RussL
Music Maker
Reged: 03/18/08
Posts: 1925
Loc: Cayce, SC
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Actually, I wish daylight savings time was in the winter. While it's nice to be able to observe earlier in the evening, the early nightfall interferes with other activities. I like to be able to do a few things outside after work during the week, whether it be a motorcycle ride or working in the yard. Also, this time of year, although pretty nice here temperature-wise, is the beginning of cold observing, which I don't like. I love the warm months with their balmy evenings, well, until it gets to mid-summer and it's still 90-degrees at midnight. Of course, the viewing is not as good in summer due to atmospherics, but it's much more easy to be out there, for me, as long as I can keep the skeeters at bay. Right now, it's not too bad, though, although it was 39-degrees when I came in last night around 1 a.m. That's colder than I like. Below 50-degrees and I'm freezing--yeah, I'm a wimp when it comes to being cold.
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--Dawg, the Russell
"Akita mani yo." Observe everything as you walk. (--Lakota)
Celestron Celestar 8 Standard SCT, f10
Celestron 80mm Wide View ref., f5
Orion 120ST ref., f5
Criterion RV-6 Dynascope, Newt., f8, (c. 1962)
Sears Discoverer 60mm ref., f7, (c. 1973)
Celestron Ultima DX 10x50, 6.5 TFOV
Tasco 7x35 wide
Several mediocre eyepieces
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brianb11213
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 02/25/09
Posts: 2113
Loc: 55.215N 6.554W
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Quote:
I wish daylight savings time was in the winter.
This was tried in the UK in the 1960s ... everyone hated getting up in the dark, and the accident rate rose markedly (in direct opposition to what was expected).
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Harold925
member
Reged: 07/11/09
Posts: 40
Loc: Near Charleston, S.C. Cluster
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Yes I am! I have no regrets to say goodbye to daylight saving time at all for a few months. Just last night, a fellow club member and myself traveled to a rural dark site that I recently received permission from the property owner to observe at, spending more than three hours viewing before the moon glow in the east took over. We could make out the Milky Way even before 6:30 PM after aligning our scopes and the dark skies provided many bright objects. It was one of my better trips, due to the rural location and clear, cold weather. I wish you all the same.
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Harold
Celestron CGEM, C-9.25 XLT
Orion XT8i
Celestron SkyMaster 9x63
Many Accessories
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Jack Tripper
sage
Reged: 05/10/09
Posts: 349
Loc: Canada
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Quote:
Do any of you folks truly enjoy the long dark days like I do?
You better believe it! Going back to Standard Time gives me the ability to observe on worknights. That's 5 extra days a week! (weather permitting...)
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Celestron CPC 1100 
Denkmeier S2 Power Filter Switch Diagonal (.66x Reducer, 2x Barlow)
Ethos 17mm, Baader Scopos 30mm
Lunt 60mm Hydrogen-Alpha Solar Scope, Lunt Zoom
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JayinUT
I'm not Sleepy
Reged: 09/19/08
Posts: 950
Loc: Utah
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Yep, I agree. Conditions were so so the last two nights but I was out and ready to go by 6:00p.m. and done by 10:00p.m. home and unpacked and in bed by 11:30p.m. I bagged 14 Herschels (edit: I stated 16 but when I entered them this a.m. that was incorrect)between the two nights. Love this time of the year!
On Tony's reply, having grown up in the SF Bay Area where we do tend to get a lot of sun, even in the winter, the only thing I personally don't like about winter where I live is it can get quite gray/grey for a long period of time with little or no sun, and I firmly believe during those times I go into light deprivation which affects my mood somewhat. Didn't have this when I lived in Florida but have in Virginia and Utah.
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Jay in Utah
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Location: Lat: 40.514N Long: -112.032W
Mortal as I am, I know that I am born for a day. But when I follow at my pleasure the serried multitude of the stars in their circular course, my feet no longer touch the earth.
— Ptolemy, c.150 AD
My Blog
Edited by JayinUT (11/08/09 11:42 AM)
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nyc_nurse
sage
Reged: 07/29/09
Posts: 254
Loc: nyc
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Might be in the minority here but I hate it when it gets dark early. Much prefer the sun and the things I can do outdoors on a beautiful sunny day than it getting dark at 5ish. It's a hard balance between work, family, other interests and astronomy but if I can get a couple of hours a night, assuming a clear night, I'm a happy man.
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Sam P.
www.agirlandaguy.blogspot.com
Pentax 7X50
TV-102 APO w/ (Starbeam - on backorder )
Ash Gibraltar w/ SkyTour DSC
NZ3-6, N9T6, N13T6
TV 20 Plossl
Pan 24, 35
Pentax XW10, XW14
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Jack Tripper
sage
Reged: 05/10/09
Posts: 349
Loc: Canada
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Quote:
Heck, being able to observe at 5:30pm is a blast, and the amount of observing time you can get in on a regular work week is great
It's only 8PM and I can confidently state I just had an incredible evening of observing. I can also get to work tomorrow feeling rested and happy with my observing. An impossibility in the summertime!
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Celestron CPC 1100
Denkmeier S2 Power Filter Switch Diagonal (.66x Reducer, 2x Barlow)
Ethos 17mm, Baader Scopos 30mm
Lunt 60mm Hydrogen-Alpha Solar Scope, Lunt Zoom
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Jimmy2K63
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 04/26/09
Posts: 1193
Loc: Kentucky
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I think the early long Canadian winter nights were what really got me into astronomy as a kid because I could get out and observe, but not for long and still be in bed at a reasonable hour. And in the summer months we were on vacation so when it doesn't get dark until 11 PM that was still OK. My favorite month for doing astronomy is really April because it is reasonably warm, bug free, and there is a whole lot to see in the spring sky. October is also one of my favorite months for many of the same reasons, a good balance between the extremes in temperature, and you can catch both summer and winter objects depending on how early or late the evening goes. You have to remember that the further north you go, the shorter the night in summers and longer the night in winters become, and it really does make a difference. In Canada, June is practically a washout spare for about 4 hours.
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http://astronomyguy63.blogspot.com/
LXD75 SN6-UHTC
Cave Astrola 10" f/5
Garrett 15x70/FarSight
Canon XS (1000D)
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Phillip Creed
Idiot Seeking Village
Reged: 07/25/06
Posts: 1302
Loc: Canton, OH
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I don't mind the fact it gets dark early. Heck, I can now drive an hour to a dark-sky site, observe for 3-4 hours, and STILL get home before midnight.
The problem around here is that once the clocks go back to Standard Time, the "cloud season" usually follows. Our winters are VERY cloudy downwind of Lake Erie.
I'd really, really like to see year-round Standard Time, but unless I move to Arizona (as in yet another reason to move to Arizona), ain't happening soon.
Clear Skies,
Phil
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"The hopeful depend on a world without end, whatever the hopeless may say"--Rush, "Manhattan Project"
Wilderness Center Astronomy Club member since 1995
ICQ Comet Observer Code: CRE01
*****
(1) 12" f/4.9 Skywatcher Collapsible Dobsonian
(2) Orion 120mm ST Refractor
(3) Oberwerk 15x70 Binoculars
(4) Minimalist Eyepiece Set:
"23"-mm Axiom LX (~24mm; long story...)
13mm Nagler Type 6
9mm Nagler Type 6
7mm Nagler Type 6
1.75X Siebert Barlow
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