I set up my equipment Saturday evening under a wide cerulean sky that was dotted with a scattering of small clouds like the hesitant brush strokes of a nervous painter. After two weeks of mostly cloudy skies my faithful observing companion, Jessie and I were looking forward to several hours of serious observing. We did, however, disagree on which objects to target. She suggested that we concentrate our efforts to the southeast toward the place where the archer is beginning to rise above the swollen Mississippi. I, on the other hand, wanted to focus on the less congested northern skies and attempt to pluck a few of the fruits hidden in the coils of the Dragon. As the night unfolded we were forced into a compromise we hadn’t anticipated.
When it came time to begin our observations, Jessie and I went outside only to find that my neighbor next door had left his deck light on after cooking out earlier. Not a problem. This is a fine neighbor who, with his wife and daughter, has spent several hours stargazing with me, and understands my need for darkness. His wife was very understanding – almost apologetic – and quickly turned off the light. By way of thanks I offered up a few of the early summer sights. I was surprised by her enthusiastic response. Soon, she, her daughter and her daughter’s boy friend were peeking into my 10” dob and enjoying the views (as seeing impaired as they were) of Oh Wow! (Jupiter), Oh Wow! II (Saturn), and Oh Wow! III (M4), while Jessie mingled happily with some of her favorite people.
Apparently they had seen my scopes before dark and the stargazer next door had become a topic of conversation over dinner. While neither Jessie or I were able to do the observing we had planned, we did have a good time at our short, impromptu starparty. The party was short lived, however, as the wind began to pick up and heavy clouds rolled in from the northwest. The freshening breeze chilled the air to the point where my neighbors decided to leave my FOC and I to our nocturnal devices – with our nocturnal devices. There were scattered breaks in the clouds which I tried to observe through for a while, but eventually I decided to pack it in.
Into the shed went the dob and my frankenchair, into the house went my eyepiece cases. But, by the time I had all the appropriate caps in place on the focuser and the finder, and after I had snuggled my new scope cover over the XT’s tube, I stepped out of the shed and saw large gaps in the clouds to the west and an even broader expanse of clear sky beyond that. “What do you think, girl,” I asked Jessie “should we give it a bit longer?” her response was to trot over to my 120mm Orion short tube refractor (which I had yet to carry into the house) and lay down at the base of the tripod. “Okay,” I said, “We can do that.”
The sky cleared quickly, but another bank of clouds lurked on the western horizon, so I didn’t waste time rolling the dob back out. We spent the next hour and a half casually cruising the sky with my 15 X 70 binoculars and the refractor. It was actually a wonderful binocular session. I visited M81 & M82, M101, M51 (NGC 5195 was visible with averted vision as small lobe), M97, M22, M19, M4, and the plethora of great binocular objects in the Sagittarius Milky Way. I enjoyed many of the same objects with the refractor as well as The Veil Nebula and M108.
By the time the clouds began to encroach again Jessie and I were ready to call it a night.