I've got my super nice mount, but no AC Adapter. I've got gear on the way, but it was clear tonight and not too cold. It's been since December w/o any observing and I wanted to just spend some time under the stars.This image shows the Hyades (lower left) and Pleiads (upper right) both in Taurus. I spent some time admiring the Hyades and enjoying the view through the 70mm refractor. I don't normally like observing with anything less than my 10", but this was easy to grab and I didn't anticipate spending long out there (an hour at the most). Using a 40mm EP to get a wide view was optimum.
We often spend so much time hunting faint fuzzies that we forget how beautiful individual stars are. Sirius is a blue diamond floating in the sky that just gets brighter and brighter the longer you look at it. Below I looked at M41 and the stars in it were pin-prick sharp.
Regulus in Leo was another very nice star to observe tonight. I enjoyed myself and for a school night that's about as much as I can ask for. I'm sure my camera and AC adapter will herald the coming clouds. Hope not, since I've got a star party to attend Saturday. I promise not to bring any new equipment as long as I can go and enjoy the sky.
I'm impressed. You seem like someone who certainly knows what they are doing astronomy-wise. Last night I spent a cold hour watching a total eclipse of the moon, from start to completely covered in shadow. A spooky wonderful sight. All the best.
ReplyDeleteDennis
Thanks - I still feel like a newbie, but I'm having fun.
ReplyDelete