The best benefit of winter? No yard work. Second best? No yard work. (Sorry - I know I've mentioned this before.) I went out about 1:00 this morning to just enjoy the dark skies and bright stars for a bit. It was a short bit, as I was in my PJ's and I think the temp was around -15 or so. Now it's warmed up to -11. Patrick's a wimp. ;-) Jay, I began learning the night skies during the winter of '87-'88 with a planisphere, Sky Atlas 2000 and binos at Little Mountain, observing every clear night that I could. Because I've done a lot of serious backpacking and some mountaineering I've always had equally serious cold-weather clothing and other gear so bundling up for the cold wasn't a problem. I was very comfortable lying on the snow in my expedition sleeping bag, usually observing for a couple of hours at a time. Temps were often sub-zero. That period was the best observing season of my astronomy "career." The highlight was taking my family to Little Mountain in the middle of the night to observe the Quadrantid meteor shower. My daughters were only in elementary school at the time, but they, too loved the cold and the overall experience. For some reason, Child and Family Services was reluctant to conduct an investigation. And by the way, let me share here a valuable lesson that I was taught by that cold winter. Keep your ALUMINIUM Mini Maglite warm while you are observing. I once overlooked this minor detail and put it in my mouth to hold it while I consulted my charts. Food has not tasted the same since. Frostbite, as you may know, can cause permanent nerve damage. However, even this experience has a silver lining: I don't like liver and onions anyway. Kim -----Original Message----- From: utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com [mailto:utah-astronomy-bounces@mailman.xmission.com] On Behalf Of Jay Eads Sent: Wednesday, February 02, 2011 1:50 AM To: Utah Astronomy Subject: Re: [Utah-astronomy] One good thing about tonight's temps Patrick, Braver man tonight than I! After 4 cavities, a root canal and then learning that a tooth I had worked on a year ago probably has to be pulled on Friday, I decided not to brave the weather tonight. Far too cold for me. Glad you have a silver lining in these cold temps. Another one is the inversion is gone for now. I did go out briefly with some 10x50's, about 20 minutes. Jay