Anyone else do the pirate Astronomer thing?

[Stonius (Markus)]

I've taken to using an eyepatch. It's mildly inconvenient, but I find that if I'm looking for new objects, I need to be able to see a map, *and preserve night vision. Obviously these things are not compatible.


I know which is my 'good eye', so I keep that one under the patch - only removing it when I want to actually observe. I think it works quite well so far.



The 'patch' I use is actually a sleep mask not unlike this one. It's nice and comfy and has removable fluffy eye cups so I can just have one attached - comfort is very important to us star-pirates.



I look completely ridiculous, the only saving grace being that it's dark, so no-one actually has to look at me.


Now I guess I should complete the look by hacking off a leg and replacing it with an extendable tripod leg, or maybe replacing a hand with an accessory tray.


Do you guys have any astro-attire hacks that serve you well?



Markus

[DarkArts]

Oh, eye patch! When I read the title, I thought you meant doing so little else, that you end up dressing daggy, with an unkempt beard and poor hygiene. So, yeah, I've been an astro pirate!

I did try the eyepatch thing for a couple of years - along the same lines as you describe - but it was inconvenient and I kep forgetting to put it over my eye. I eventually gave up.

[xelasnave]

Yes but not for some time due to my enforced lay off and I need to make another one because I cant find .my old one... I do have a new addition to the uniform which I have only worn around the house but it is at least now in the observatory acting as a part cover on the 115 mm and that is a cloak, with a hood. Looks great and I am tempted to wear it shopping..it is so me.

It needs to be thicker perhaps but I can line it with fake fur from Spotlight if I need to..but I have found that something that goes right to the ground over warm clothes becomes very warm ..its like your own tent.

I did set up for remote control once but dropped it as I enjoy being out there so I dress accordingly... Also I am setting up my eight inch for visual during imaging runs so the eye patch and cloak to me are as important as any other piece of gear.
Alex

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

I made the eye patch, first few iterations were horrible, but you get there. You can work on the fit/padding overtime for a very good fit.

I find I feel most ridiculous wearing my "Kenny" hood, which is the other option. Essentially a hoody with a floppy enough headpiece to cover your head and the focuser all in one go. Easy to use both eyes with, but not sure about map reading. Crap for warmer weather.

Maybe a Lawrence of Arabia style head piece, just modernise it, make it black and wear it backwards. You can flip the drape back over for map reading and use it as the cloak over the whole focuser etc.

With fashion tips like that, you can see why we wait till dark to go outside.

[Stonius (Markus)]

Do hoods make a huge difference if your eye is fully dark adapted? Maybe I'll have to experiment with that too, though at some point my S.O. may leave me for crimes against fashion, lol.

Also I have to say, my fingerless gloves are the best. Couldn't go out without them

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

Ah, sorry, mine are more for backyard viewing and reducing stray light around the EP. With street lights and the neighbour's patio lights etc etc, I don't get real dark vision, I find anything from horse blinkers onwards to be useful really. You could probably pop the lenses out of a Cancer Council pair of sunny's and find they help a bit.

Stopping the light around the EP and extending the tube are both great for suburban viewing, where you have strong white light close by. If you're at a good dark site, you shouldn't need to worry about any of the above.

*Like my red light headset, hands free for $10

[Stonius (Markus)]

Originally Posted by mura_gadi

I made the eye patch, first few iterations were horrible, but you get there. .

I'm curious how your design ended up and what materials you used

[astroron (Ron)]

When I first saw the heading
I thought you meant that stupid annoying talk like Pirate nonsense.
Cheers

[mura_gadi (Steve)]

The eye patch is more a uni-patch, pretty much just a head band with an "eye flap" attached.

The eye flap is slightly over sized, but easy to switch and the flap can stay flipped up if needed, but that was by chance.

Don't make the whole headband elastic, catches too much hair, just insert a few inches somewhere.

After you have stitched your flap/eye patch, you can just run a tack stitch around the edge and tug it slightly to add a little curve to the patch on each side.

[erick (Eric)]

Well I don't use an eye patch to preserve my night vision in my observing eye - I just make sure that my environment doesn't destroy that by keeping to low level red light or no light and work by feel. But I do use an eye patch on my non-observing eye so I can comfortably keep it open. That's the way to observe which best suits me.

Suitable eye patches are available at pharmacies. try a few different types - I prefer the soft ones.

[N1 (Mirko)]

I find eyepatches extremely useful both for preserving night vision and blocking the non-observing eye while at the eyepiece. Not having to squint increases my useful observing time from less than an hour to the entire night. One of the best non-astro astro accessories available