Staying really warm while it’s really cold

Staying warm while observing is tricky, since it’s an essentially a sedentary activity. However, a few Christmas presents have come to my aid to keep me comfortable and I tried them out last night in 10-12 degree temperatures. They worked just fine, giving me two hours of super observing. This is another one of those – I-may-be-the-last-kid-on-the-block-to-discover-these-things – but for what’s it’s worth . . .

The two major keys are a battery-heated vest and silk glove liners. The vest keeps constant warmth, especially on the small of my back, and I found could run on “high” for the entire two hours.

The silk gloveliners allow me to still manipulate everything from telescope controls, to computer keyboard and pencils. They are not warm in themselves, but they protect your hands as you handle cold objects. At 30 degrees or above they’re fine alone. When it gets down to around 10 you definitely need to help them out. I don’t wear them inside gloves, however, because I have the gloves off nearly all the time and when I put them back on they’re freezing cold. Instead, I wear one of those muffs like NFL quarterbacks use to keep their hands warm. Mine has an internal pocket where I place two chemical handwarmers. Using this in combination with the silk gloves worked great.

I know there are several glove liners. I’ve never tried any before. These are”Terramar Thermasilk” and are available from several places. The heated vest is called “ActiVheat” and was purchased at Brookstone. In near freezing temps I start it on high, then after 15 minutes, turn it down. In 10 degree, I need it on high the whole time. The battery takes about 4 hours to recharge.

Here was my complete outfit for last night. Kept me warm. May provide some hints for others. And I’d be delighted to hear of any other hints folks might have. I do get dark adapted before going out so I don’t waste observing time. And I do – though it wasn’t necessary last night – use various items heated in the microwave to warm up when I come in. Last night I just kept the vest on until I was entirely comfortable.

From top to bottom -

1. Silk sock liners beneath normal socks. Check!
2. Sweat pants - probably should have worn two pair ;-)
3. Sweat shirt followed by heated vest on "high" the whole time, followed by hoody, followed by winter jacket.
4. NFL "muff-style" handwarmer with two chemical handwarmers inside.
5. Silk glove liners - but no gloves outside them. (I started with gloves outside them, but I had them off almost the entire time and when I did put them on, they seemed colder than not putting them on because the gloves were so cold by then. Putting my hands inside the muff and grabbing a handwarmer was much more effective and convenient for the way I operate than putting on gloves over the silk ones.
6. My new balaclava, topped by my old balaclava - no kidding - two were better than one and kept the heat in nicely.

I've observed in these temps before - my usual times is one hour - maybe an hour and half - so to make two hours and not be freezing is great.

Oh – and what did I observe? Well I put the Orion 80mmED on the NexStar mount, set the altitude limits to 60 (else it hits the stand) and checked out Polaris. Terrific. I can split it easily with an 80mm scope – bnever tried that before. Used a 5mm Hyperion (120X). Also used a terrific new Hyperion 21-mm (68 degree) eyepiece and had a great view of the entire “engagement ring.” (Polaris is the diamond – an imaginative stretch, but it works. )

Checked out the Pleiades with this set-up and found the 21mm captured all the bright stars and then some. Switched to M37 and the 5mm gave a nice view. Not bad on Mars either. Then went to Castor and though it was very low and in trees, split it nicely.

I then switched to the 5-inch NexStar and got a look at fast-moving Comet Tuttle. Interesting, but Comet Holmes - still naked eye, though faint and diffuse - has left me a bit jaded when it comes to lesser lights ;-) But I checked out M33 – ok – and M31, really quite nice. And I had no problem with M110 as well – not bad for a small SCT.

Why am I using a 5-inch? Because it’s in the observatory and both eight-inch scopes I normally use in there are having either mount or handcontroller problems. So while I wait on repairs to those, I’m learning to appreciate smaller scopes once more.

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