Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Location:        Tierra Del Sol (Boulevard), CA

Weather:        Cold (45); clear, no wind

People:          Scott

Equipment:    17.5" Truss, XT12g

Goals going in:

Just get out there to a dark sky (it's been a while).  Fire up the XT12g (it's been a while).

Summary

Really good to hang with Scott (it's been a while).  Among other things, he has the decency to actually own some equipment (unlike my other slacker mooching guests) (tongue in cheek).	Note to self: Must learn to verify photo before deciding that one is enough.

Highlights:

Stephan's Quintet (one bright, one clear, one faint, two not visible).  NGC 253 (Sculptor Galaxy?) was very bright and large.  Veil Nebula not a bright as last time out, but cool panning from west piece to east piece.    Jupiter Great Red Spot very pronounced (sharp edges).  Orion Nebula.

Other Observations:

Andromeda, Pinwheel, Saturn Nebula, Little Dumbbell, Crab Nebula.  Double Cluster. My OIII filter (Celestron) sucks (dramatically darker than the club's). 

Oh yeah:  put the cage on 180 degrees backwards.  Finders below instead of above the focuser.  Not a major inconvenience in observing, but it looks dumb in pictures....