The time span between observations was on the order of years.
We could actually sleep on the camp bed between the midnight and 6am observations.
She paused a little as was her habit between observations.
There is not a sharp distinction between theory and observation.
Marks are no longer considered data once the link between the mark and observation is broken.
Any gap between the predictions and observations would mean that the theory is wrong.
But somehow he had to learn how to distinguish between true observations and what his envy told him.
For over a decade, one aspect of the climate change story seemed to show a significant difference between models and observations.
This does not mean, however, that all remaining differences between models and observations have been resolved.
In most cases the connection is one between observation (of structure) and response (your interpretation).