Tonight is my third and final night observing here at Kitt Peak. Overall, the run has been fine. I just have to take a moment and reflect on how much I like observing during the summer. There are a couple reasons for that. First of all, it's not freezing cold. Second, the nights are SHORT. In the winter, your working at least 12 hours a night (sometimes 13 or 14). In the summer, it amounts to around 8 hours per night.
The shortness of the nights means that there's time to do other things during the day. A winter schedule typically goes something like this: observe, sleep, wake up, eat dinner, hurry to the telescope to observe again. No time to do much else. But here's what my day was like today:
5:15am: Go to sleep after a full night of observing.
1:30pm: Wake up, check email, chat online with people.
2:15pm: Head out for a long hike around the mountain. Lots of time today!
5:15pm: Return from hike. Note, this is longer than I normally go. But I had time today, so why not!
5:20pm: Go straight to dinner. Run into 2 people I used to know at Texas. Eat and chat leisurely for awhile.
6:15pm: Go back to dorm. Check internet again. Stretch out (long hike and I don't want to be sore!)
7:00pm: Take a shower.
7:30pm: Head up to the telescope.
8:00pm: Point, focus telescope etc.
8:30pm: Actually start observing. According to sunrise times, we'll be closing up shop around 4:00am.
It's so nice to not be rushed!
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