Observing Site Courtesy and Safety

These guidelines are intended to promote enjoyable, safe observing for all present.

• If the session is in the New Forest, please use a designated parking area and DO NOT PARK ON FOREST VERGES.
• Please only use dim red light in or near the observing area. Night vision takes about 20 minutes to develop, but white light obliterates it in an instant.
• It is a condition of attendance at our observing events that members of the public DO NOT USE LASER POINTERS for any purpose.
• Observing areas are necessarily dark. Please be careful when moving around.
• Always dress for about 5° colder than you think it will be. Pay special attention to insulating heads and feet.
• Optics do not combine well with food and drink; please keep them well separated.
• If you breathe on optics, they fog up. Instantly. This could mean the end of somebody's observing for the evening, so please be careful.
• Never touch any optical surface.
• Please remember that observing kit is usually expensive and often "quirky". Please only use or adjust somebody else's kit with his/her permission.
• If you do inadvertently touch or breathe on somebody's optics, or if something appears not to be functioning properly, please do not try to remedy it yourself: you could easily cause more damage. Always tell the owner of the kit.
• Always stand well back from the person at the eyepiece: you don't want to be trodden on when they step back!
• Pets and observing don't mix well; please don't bring them.