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Geocaching And Astronomy


marep

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I am trying to prepare cache where location is determined by drawing lines between stars at specific time of the night and year. Standing point would be some kind of multi. I am wondering if anyone will ever visit the cache which can be found only few weeks during the year?

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I am wondering if anyone will ever visit the cache which can be found only few weeks during the year?

I don't know if that would be approved. A cache should be available more than just two or three weeks a year. We have one in my state that requires some knowledge of astronomy and you have to go home to research part of the answers (it cannot be done in one day). Still, it can be found year round. This is almost a temporary cache. Caches need to be available for cachers to find.

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My Celestial Navigation cache is similar to what you are suggesting, but is available almost all year (hard to get to and find in the snow).

 

I have a virtual cache (Tidal Cache) that would have been accessable about twice a year if it were an traditional cache. Read the logs and you will see that some people will wait!

 

A lot of finds is fun, but Geochaching really needs some hard caches.

 

Good luck on your puzzle, can't wait to see it!

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I am trying to prepare cache where location is determined by drawing lines between stars at specific time of the night and year. Standing point would be some kind of multi. I am wondering if anyone will ever visit the cache which can be found only few weeks during the year?

I would love an astronomically-based cache, but agree with other comments that it should probably be done in such a way that it would be accessible for more of the year. Perhaps it would be possible to use different star groups depending on the season/time of night?

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Another option to make it more accessible year round would be to make it solvable with more general info about the night sky at that time of year. For example "Go to these coordinates, and the cache is 100 feet N, S ,E or W. Follow the line from Altair to Deneb at midnight on the winter solstice." That way your potential amateur astronomer could use a program like "Starry night" (I think there are websites too) to view a representation of the sky on that night at your Lat/Lon without waiting an entire year. You'd still need to learn/know some astronomy to solve it, but it wouldn't be date dependent.

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Or, you could make a cache that led someone to a good place for viewing the night sky, far from city lights. In the container place instructioms for finding a bonus cache using the stars as a guide. This way, the cache would be available year round, and you can still offer a neat reward for those who are there at the right date and time. Take a look at a solar puzzle cache I haven't placed yet. Perhaps a mini sky model could be made to work in a similar fashion.

 

The Rise of Huitzilopoctli

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Thank you for all good and useful suggestions. I think placing a multi with bonus cache would be worthy. I remember one winter night with fresh powder. It was "fat" moon. That's how we call it here. It's rare ocasion when full moon is at minimum distance from earth. It was really unforgettable. We were out all night in the mountains and it was like during the day.

 

Similar cases can be calculated in advance and set as "bonus" in multi cache.

 

Anyway I would probably add this astronomy jumble really as a bonus.

 

Happy caching in 2004!

 

MarE

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What's next?? The Millenium Cache??

Only available on Dec 31, 2999, but don't worry, there is alot of calcuating and puzzle solving before you can search for it...

 

The first stage is solving the puzzle of how to live 1000 years after that its easy!! ;)

Done.

 

Can you send me a link to the second puzzle so I can get started on that one?

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