Spending cold nights out in the garden setting up telescopes, mounts and cameras has its charms and the results of a good session by far justify the discomfort. Winter in the UK is a better time for clear crisp skies and a good length of darkness (see the annual darkness chart) but as I’ve said it’s not the most comfortable of conditions, so wrapping up warm and setting as much of the equipment for remote control is absolutely essential. For long exposure work on the best cold nights, even with special heating bands on the equipment, by the end off the night most of the camera and scope rig will be coated in frost. Careful defrosting and drying off all the equipment is usually the main job the next day.