Astronomy Hacks: Hack 12 - Protect Your Night Vision From Local Lights

[powerwindows1985]

This is a very short chapter on dealing with local lights (ie street lights). They have a really neat idea in here that I have tried, and it actually works. They recomend wearing a pirates eye patch over your observing eye. This keeps that eye dark adapted. When observing through the scope put a towel over your head, remove the patch. After observing put the patch back on and remove the towel. And yes they do concede that you will look like an idiot. After reading this I decided to take it a step further. I wear the patch over the one eye while inside about an hour before I go out so that the one eye will be adapted before I even step outside (and yes my wife does make fun of me). This is going to come in very handy in a couple of months when overnight lows are anywhere between -10 and +20 F.

Next Hack: Describe The Brightness Of An Object.

[Vinnie]

While on the Pirate theme, Keith me lad, aarr.

Many observers wear the eye patch over the eye not used at the eyepiece to avoid having to keep one eye closed which often gets uncomfortable after a while. So as an extension to what you are saying, you just swap sides with the patch when you want to look through the EP

Personally I have always viewed with both eyes open, but most people can't seem to do this. I think that in my case it comes from being taught from a very young age to shoot with both eyes open.

Oh and FWIW you can buy eye patches at any pharmacy for a only a dollar or two.

[First Scope]

Denkmeier has a fix for that!

Eyes wide open!