Observation Log

I started the evening out by observing my first daytime Iridium flare high overhead right at sunset and the -8 magnitude flare was surprisingly easy to see. I setup the 25x100 binoculars and observed for about three hours before the clouds put an end to the session.

Finally it came, a clear night—albeit not on a weekend night as I preferred, but this year I will take any clear night when I can get it. I setup the 25x100 binoculars on the deck in the backyard just after sunset. I hopped and skipped around grabbing a few bright Messier objects and some additional open clusters. I finished the night with a few double stars and a peek at the king of the planets Jupiter and even got fooled by a faux moon Io.

Tonight, I assembled my new Universal Astronomics UniMount and setup the 25x100 binoculars to observe some double stars and the Moon. I started with a few targets from the Spirit of 33 Binocular Double Stars observing list but quickly became frustrated with the washed out sky (from the full moon) making star hopping extremely difficult. After observing a few doubles, I spent some time examining the Moon and its lunar rays.

Despite the tripod shaking in the stiff breeze, and my having to occasionally adjust it to compensate for the Earth’s rotation, I captured both the disappearance and reappearance of Antares on video as it slid behind the Moon and back out again.

It was Day 2 of the Two Rivers Spring Star Party, and despite the windy conditions, I managed to chase down several objects high overhead in the constellation Draco. However, around 10:30 p.m. the clouds moved in and covered the sky. I waited until 2:00 a.m. to see if the clouds would clear, but they never did, so I called in a night. I only managed to observe six objects during the session with five objects being observed for the first time.

It is hard to believe that it is April already and my first star party event of the year has come and gone—the inaugural Two Rivers Spring Star Party held at the Heavens Gate Farm outside Barry, IL. During the first night of the star party, I observed twenty-two objects with ten objects being observed for the first time.

I set the alarm for 4:45 a.m. this morning so I could get up and try to get a glimpse of Comet Lulin.

The first observing session of the year shattered the record for the coldest temperature recorded during an observing session. At -13°F the binoculars were froze, but I still managed to observe a baker’s dozen objects in Orion, Taurus, and Gemini.

Here in the Midwest, it is not often we experience a Halloween night with temperatures in the 60’s, low humidity, and clear skies. While my plan to setup in the front yard to show Jupiter to the Halloween visitors did not work out as I expected, I did manage to view several Messier objects during the evening.

My third day at the Twin Lakes Star Party was as perfect a day as one could wish. I observed until 4:00 a.m. even managing a celestial sightseeing tour in the middle of the night.

The second night of the Twin Lakes Star Party brought with it some of the best seeing conditions this year. I took advantage of the skies and logged seven hours worth of observations.

I filled the first night of the 19th annual Twin Lakes Star Party with a little observing and lots of visiting with old friends. I managed a peek at the Andromeda galaxy with its companion galaxies and some double stars in Cassiopeia in between the visiting.

It was an enjoyable evening with temperatures in the sixties and beautiful clear skies. I started the evening hunting some open clusters in Lacerta and jumped over to galaxy chasing in Triangulum and Andromeda until around around 2:00 a.m.

The second night of the Illinois Dark Skies Star Party 2008 and the seeing this evening is amazing and the skies are rock steady. As a result, I managed to resolve detail and view fainter stars than I have this season.

The first night of the Illinois Dark Skies Star Party brought plenty of clear skies and lots of observing. I logged thirty-one objects over approximately six hours. Sleep deprivation never felt so good.

The second night of the Earth, Wind, and Sky Star Party found me observing objects in the constellations over the northern horizon including Cassiopeia and Perseus.

Despite the extremely heavy dew and high humidity, the first night of the inaugural Earth, Wind, and Sky Star Party was a success. Under excellent skies, I managed several hours of observing before running out of gas late in the morning.

The third and final day of the Indiana Family Star Party came with plenty of sunshine, beautifully clear skies and lots of observing. With another steady sky, I managed to chase down and observe several objects than I had never observed before.

Night two of the IFSP 2008 proved to be better than the first night. With steady and transparent skies, I boosted the magnification and toured the summer Milky Way looking for globular clusters above the southern horizon.

The first evening of IFSP 2008 started the weekend off great, sans the heavy dew, and I logged several globular clusters and planetary nebulae, as well as many other objects.

I observed for a couple of hours through the light dome that extends over the southern horizon logging mostly globular clusters, finishing up the session by logging a few open clusters in the constellation Vulpecula.

I managed a couple of hours of observing in between the clouds on a crisp Saturday night logging several Herschel galaxies in Ursa Major.

I spent a couple of hours observing double stars in the back yard on a hot and humid summer night.

For a couple of hours, I enjoyed working my way through Ursa Major observing a host of Herschel galaxies.

This evening I played a great game of "sucker hole" observing while trying to observe some objects in the Astronomical League Herschel 400 list.

I setup the 12x60 binoculars on my parallelogram mount and grabbed a Telrad chart for the Messier objects. I toured around the eastern sky for about an hour hunting Messier objects.

It is Friday night and the lights are in the sky instead of on the football field. The weather cooperated during the weekend for a change and I took the opportunity to setup the 14.5" scope in the backyard.

This evening was not a particularly great one for observing, but compared to the poor conditions of the past few months, it would do. I was desperate enough to ignore the stiff breeze, the somewhat chilly temperatures, and some pesky clouds just to get a look at anything.

A break in the weather—more like a break between snow storms—could not have come at a more opportune time. A scarce few high, thin clouds blew across the sky, but nothing that would hamper the watching of the lunar eclipse.

I seized the opportunity to view the extraordinary comet 17P/Holmes this evening.

Comet 17P/Holmes shocked astronomers today with a spectacular eruption. I could not pass up the opportunity to view the comet this evening.

It was the last night of the star party and we did not expect to get any observing time in this evening. Eventually, the clouds thinned to the point where it was possible to observe for extended periods as the clouds moved across the sky.

The second night of the TLSP—or at least my second night at the star party—kept the long running string of great observing nights alive. It is not often that I spend eight continuous hours observing.

When I arrived at the Twin Lakes Star Party this year, I found a field full of folks weary from sleep deprivation caused by the previous five nights of great observing weather. To my delight, the great weather held for at least one more night.

I was fooled by the deep blue color of the sky into thinking tonight might be a nice opportunity to observe from the backyard. Nevertheless, I optimistically setup my 120mm refractor (Frankenstein) and started scanning along the terminator of the Moon.

This was my first time to attend the Illinois Dark Skies Star Party, which is a short two-hour drive from my home. I arrived on Friday afternoon, setup the tent and the scope, and worked the sky until 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning.

For the second night of the Indiana Star Party, Io started the show as it transited the planet Jupiter. The rest of the night found me skimming around a short list of targets I developed for the star party.

My son Ryan and I packed up the truck and drove to the Indiana Family Star Party at Camp Cullom, Indiana. I spent the first part of the evening logging several globular clusters and Messier objects that I had not seen in the big scope.

Steve Porter and I took advantage of the excellent weather to setup our scopes at a nearby rest area. This site offers better viewing conditions than those found in my back yard and although I had visited this site before, this is the first time the big reflector has been setup at the site.

No maps, no charts, no plans, only myself, a pair of binoculars, and the night sky. That is how an impromptu observing session is supposed to shape up. I spent about an hour and a half touring the constellations to the south and east, locating objects from memory, and scanning along the deep star fields of the Milky Way.

As the phrase says, "the best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray". This evening epitomized that phrase. After rolling the scope out and letting it cool down, I managed to get a peek at Venus and Saturn and then watched a large cloudbank move in from the west.

Bill had driven to Texas and met us at McDonald observatory with his and Dave's 16" scopes in tow. As dusk approached, we began to setup the scopes beside the 36" dome—one of the McDonald Observatory operated scopes on the mountaintop.

No one could have wished for a more perfect day to observe the transit of Mercury. The weather for November was unseasonably warm, allowing for some very comfortable viewing conditions.

Everyone on the field spent the morning with their fingers crossed, hoping the skies would clear in the afternoon as predicted. It took a little longer than expected, but the clouds began moving out and the blue sky was a welcome sight as it emerged from behind the clouds.

None of the weather services predicted the skies clearing this afternoon. To my surprise, and everyone else's, the skies began to clear and as dark approached, the field began to buzz with activity as everyone started frantically setting up their scopes to take advantage of the clear skies.

It was a cold, frosty morning as I left my house headed toward the 2006 Twin Lakes Star Party. "Suzy", my 14.5" Telekit scope was packed in the back of the truck for her first road trip. The weather was picture perfect and except for the seven hours of drive time, the trip was enjoyable.

It always seems to be clear when the Moon is high above and tonight was no exception. I scanned along the terminator and near the limb of the Moon just observing all of the magnificent detail in the shadows and bright areas.

I have been spending too much time doing virtual astronomy on the Internet and not enough time doing real astronomy. The skies finally cleared today about 3:00 p.m. I created a list of objects in Delphinus, which was well placed overhead early in the evening and fired up the coffee pot.

A perfect day lead easily into a perfect night for observing. As the scope cooled, I spent some time gazing across the sky and caught a few stray bright Perseid meteors as they streaked overhead.

The dog days of summer had arrived in the Midwest and with them came plenty of heat and humidity. I started the evening with a glimpse of Jupiter and moved on to double stars in Aquila.

A beautiful day quickly gave way to heavy clouds and a threat of rain in the late afternoon. Just as quickly as the front moved in, it began to move out as dusk approached. I set my sights on the last doubles left on the S33 list in Cygnus.

The Sun shone brightly in a clear deep blue sky the entire day. I rolled the scope out a little before dark to let it cool after baking in the garage all day and spent the evening continuing my work in Cygnus and Aquila looking for double stars and open clusters.

The 70% chance of rain never materialized and the morning and early afternoon clouds departed leaving bright blue skies in the late evening. I setup the scope with only a hodge podge list of objects to chase down.

A 13-day-old moon and bands of clouds moving across the sky—does not sound like the best night for observing. Despite the bleak conditions, it was a great evening for observing some double stars in Cygnus.

What a perfect evening for observing, calm winds, warm temperatures, and clear skies. I did not get in any rush setting up the scope, as astronomical twilight does not start until approximately 10:30 p.m. this time of year. I started the evening by hopping around Ursa Major chasing down some galaxies on the Herschel 400 list.

This was an exciting evening as it was the official "first light" for my new 14.5" TeleKit telescope. The weather was perfect with warm temperatures, calm winds, and not a cloud in the sky as dark approached.

I eagerly waited for the Moon to drop below the trees to begin my hunt for globular clusters in Sagittarius and Ophiuchus. These constellations would be quickly setting behind the Moon and I wanted to waste no time chasing down the targets I needed for the AL Globular Cluster program.

As darkness fell, the warm temperatures of the day began to give way to the coolness of the night air. This quickly became the breeding ground for even another night of the annoying ground fog.

My friend Dave Paessler had to return to town for personal business and his 16" Starmaster scope was setting in the middle of the observing field all alone. Being the conscientious friend that I am, I offered to keep his scope company through the evening.

It was the second night of the Twin Lakes Star Party and just as the previous night, it was a battle with the high humidity, the fog, and the dew.

The evening started well, with Dave Paessler and me pointing out some of the showpiece objects in the sky to a group of interested visitors. Fog quickly started forming over the field as the night air cooled and combined with some high thin clouds, and the observing conditions started to deteriorate quickly.

The night was fantastic with none of the dew issues from the previous night. The air was dry and a light breeze kept everything dry. I worked until 3:00 am in the morning and logged 35 of the 50 globulars needed for the AL certificate along with some southern objects that I can’t see from my northern latitude.

Friday night was dew to the nth power. This has to be the first time I ever saw water run down the length of the scope tube and drip off the back of the scope. The seeing was not that great and I spent the three hours of clear sky surfing the bright Spring Messier objects.

The bleak scene out the window Friday morning did not inspire any confidence in the forecast of clear skies for the day and evening. Fortunately, the clouds showed mercy and became partly scattered allowing quick views of the first thirty minutes of the solar eclipse.

Dave Paessler and I drove to Mississippi to attend the Mid-South Star Gaze. Unfortunately, so did some unwanted company including torrential rain, thunderstorms, and tornados. We spent much of our time viewing through sucker holes the first two days.

With temperatures in the high 50’s throughout the day and a gorgeous clear blue sky, I had hoped for a chance to get some time under the stars. Fortunately, the clear conditions lasted after dark and I rolled the pier with the 120mm refractor onto the back porch.

Although it was very cold, I set up the small 60mm scope on the porch and projected the Sun's disk onto a drawing board I held in my lap. I sketched the large sunspot group 720 from the images that was projected onto my drawing board.

After an eternity of cloudy skies, I welcomed the opportunity to observe anything regardless of the cold and windy conditions. Comet Machholz was near the zenith and the Orion Nebula was well placed above the eastern horizon early in the evening.

I set up the 120mm refractor and the solar filter on the back porch in hopes of observing a predicted crossing of the International Space Station across the disk of the Sun.

Ryan and I setup camp on the back porch to watch the lunar eclipse. Ryan and I watched as the shadow of the Earth slowly covered the lunar landscape. As the eclipse reached totality, the clouds began to thicken and a short time after totality, the sky was completely covered.

Around midnight, a voice could be heard echoing across the observing field saying "It is clear, it is clear!" Reluctantly, I climbed out of my warm sleeping bag to find a beautifully clear sky but some very cool temperatures.

Using the 55mm eyepiece, I lazily toured through the constellation Sagittarius and the rich star field of the Milky Way stopping occasionally to switch eyepieces for a better view of a few Messier objects. No sooner had I began than the clouds claimed the sky and a blanket of ground fog filled the area.

After many months, I finally had the chance to log an observation session from the backyard of the new house in Dunlap, IL. I setup the 120mm refractor to chase down some Messier objects that I have not logged with that instrument.

Several members of the WKAA and myself gathered at the Golden Pond Observatory for some winter observing. This was the first session with the 120mm short-tube refractor and rebuilt CG5 tripod (Frankenstein).

The second day of the Twin Lakes Star Party brought clear skies early in the day, which allowed me to get some images of the Sun sporting two major sunspots on its surface.

Ryan and I assembled our scopes near the center of the field and we turned the LX200 towards the Sun to view the two large Jupiter-sized sunspots visible on the surface.

I mounted my ETX-90 OTA on the parallelogram binocular mount and managed to view Mars within a few hours of opposition from the balcony of my apartment. The weather and the seeing cooperated giving me an excellent view of Mars at high power.

With the nearly full Moon shining low in the southeast, it was not hard to decide what objects to show the Summer Nights program participants this evening. I stayed till later in the evening to view Mars as it rose above the treetops to the southwest.

This evening was a monthly meeting of the WKAA astronomy club and we were treated to a wonderful evening with cool temperatures and a clear sky. As darkness fell, the WKAA members and I spent a couple of hours showing off our favorite objects in the night sky.

Dave Paessler, Ross Workman, and I decided to take advantage of the weather and schedule some observing at the Pennyrile State Park. I built an observing list to hunt down some Herschel list and surrounding objects that would be at the zenith.

Using a full aperture Thousand Oaks Type II glass solar filter on the 8" SCT, some photos of sunspot region 349 were taken with various filters.

This evening was a monthly meeting of the WKAA astronomy club. After conducting the club business several members and I setup our scopes on the observing field for the Summer Nites programs. Later I chased down some Caldwell objects that I had yet to log.

This evening was a monthly meeting of the WKAA astronomy club. After conducting the club business several members and myself setup our scope on the observing field under the clear skies to log some observing time.

I used a full aperture Thousand Oaks Type II glass solar filter on the 8" SCT to take some photos of the sunspot region 349.

Dave Paessler and I attended the 2003 Mid-South Stargaze in French Camp Mississippi. I worked on the Herschel and Caldwell Astronomical League lists during the star party.

Dave Paessler and myself decided to take advantage of a clear night for some observing at the Golden Pond Planetarium. I had built a list of objects for the Mid-South Stargaze later in the week but decided to start working on the list this evening.

Ryan and I setup our scopes this evening for a leisurely evening of gazing at the moon and the planets. I scanned along the terminator on the lunar surface for quite a while marveling at the relief detail.

A sunrise ray was predicted in the crater Gemma Frisius this evening and I setup the six-inch scope early to catch the event. The asteroid Vesta was six-magnitude in the constellation Virgo, which I chased down early in the evening before observing the sunrise ray on the moon.

Tonight was a regular meeting of the Western Kentucky Amatuer Astronomers at the Golden Pond Planetarium. After the meeting we emerged from the observatory to be greeted with mediocre skies and a light haze lit by the three-day old moon in the eastern sky.

I went out just after sunset to catch the Moon above the horizon with bright Mercury close by.

I wandered outside after sunset to catch a glimpse of the early crescent moon for the Astronomical Lunar Club list requirements.

After the late night, it was difficult to rise early enough to catch the moon just over the horizon before the sun rose. I needed to observe the crescent moon this morning, a part the Astronomical League Lunar club checklist.

Even though afternoon clouds persisted, Dave Paessler and I decided to take a trip to the Golden Pond observatory in hopes that the skies would clear after sunset. I set up the new six-inch Newtonian on a GEM mount for its first light.

I set the alarm to rise early enough to catch the moon just over the horizon before the sun rose.

Now that the full moon has arrived and with a clear night, it was a chance to observe the last crater with binoculars needed to complete the binocular portion of the Astronomical League Lunar club checklist.

It was yet another beautiful evening with clear skies and just a few high-thin cirrus clouds scattered about. I setup the binoculars and the 114mm telescope and continued working on the Astronomical League Lunar club checklist.

Another evening with clear skies and just a few high-thin cirrus clouds scattered about prompted me to setup the binoculars and the 114mm telescope to continue working on the Astronomical League Lunar club checklist.

The high-thin cirrus clouds that provided a spectacular sunset quickly dissipated and left somewhat clear skies with only an occasional thin cloud passing by. I continued working on the Astronomical League Lunar club checklist.

Wanting to continue with some lunar observations from a couple of days ago, I setup the 114mm telescope and put the 20x70 binoculars on the parallelogram mount.

The weather had been horrendous for over a month with clouds, snow, and frigid temperatures keeping even the most dedicated amateur astronomer indoors. The clear skies this evening was all the incentive I needed to pull the scope into the driveway for some planetary and lunar observing.

The afternoon clouds did not inspire any confidence in getting some observing time after the monthly WKAA meeting. After the meeting concluded, we were greeted with somewhat clear skies to the south and clearing skies to the north and west.

David Paessler, Ross Workman, Vince Medlock, Tim Camden and I met at the observatory for the first observation session of the new year. The weather for the past month has not cooperated at all, leaving all of us wanting for some quality time under the stars.

After a couple of weeks of cloudy nights, it was a welcome sight to see the clouds clearing the entire day. Dave Byrd, David Paessler, Vince Medlock, Tim Camden and I made our way to the planetarium for some dark winter skies.

The sky was clear this morning and I decided to do some solar observing.

The bright moon shown high over the tree tops and seemed to beckon me to take a close look. I setup the 203mm SCT in the backyard and loaded the video camera in the eyepiece holder. I managed to take images of a few craters along the terminator.

David Paessler, Vince Medlock, and I met at the Golden Pond observatory for a night of observing under some of the best skies this year. This evening was first light for my new 35mm Panoptic eyepiece and I was excited about seeing how my "birthday present" would perform in the scope.

This evening was spent periodically checking and noting the eclipse of Algol.

Some WKAA members scheduled an observing session this evening at the Golden Pond observatory. I began the session with a list of Herschel objects in Perseus and Auriga. Afterwards, I used the 20x70 binoculars to observe some the deep-sky binocular objects. I followed this with the last double star observations needed to finish the astronomical league certificate requirements.

The Sun finally decided to make an appearance after nearly two weeks of constant cloud cover. When night fell, I took out the 20x70 binoculars and some charts to work on the Deep-Sky binocular requirements.

The weather since the Twin Lakes Star Party had not been very cooperative and I had little opportunity to get any observing done. I started work on completing the Urban Club and Deep-Sky binocular lists this evening. After the moon had risen above the trees, I began working on the Lunar Club list.

Although my work schedule only allowed me to attend the last night of the Twin Lakes Star Party, it was a wonderful evening for observing. I spent the first portion of the evening talking with visitors, giving naked eye tours of the constellations and pointing out interesting sights.

It was a club meeting evening and a chance to get the scope out under some dark skies. As everyone busied himself or herself with setting up their equipment, an aurora on the northern horizon provided quite a show to start the night. Later, a slow moving meteor slid from the southwestern sky towards the east.

With a chance to get some observing time in, I decided to work on the constellations near the zenith and try for some planetary nebula and globular clusters from the Herschel list. Unfortunately as midnight approached, the seeing began to deteriorate and a light fog began to permeate the sky.

My sole intention for venturing out this evening with some binoculars was to log the Coma Star cluster before it sank below the western horizon. This was one of the Urban Club targets that I had yet to log. Afterwards, I toured through Cygnus and Sagitta viewing some of my favorite binocular targets.

Although it was very hot and humid, I took my equipment to the planetarium to help with the weekly Summer Nights outreach program. The night turned out to be splendid, with the Milky Way putting on a show for the visitors. It was, by far, the best seeing I have experienced in several months.

Predictions for a superbly clear night and cool, comfortable temperatures seemed to be coming true as evening approached. My target lists for the evening included some double stars along the eastern and northern horizon, some Urban club planetaries, and finally several Messier and Herschel objects in Scorpio and Sagittarius.

I spent the public observing portion of the evening letting people see a couple of the showcase objects in the sky such as M13 and M57. Although it was a night of second-rate seeing, at times, it seemed to clear up and I got some nice views. After the public had left, I began working on some of the Messier objects in Ursa Major.

The 4.5" Newtonian reflector has been sitting idle in the corner since the LX200GPS has arrived. On a whim, I decided to take it out under the stars and do some Messier hunting in Scorpio and Sagittarius.

This was the first time I had the opportunity to participate in the public observing portion of the Summer Nights program sponsored by the Golden Pond Planetarium. I setup the LX200GPS on the concrete pad in front of the observatory and pointed it at Gamma Leonis. After the public has departed, I turned my attention to looking for some Messier and Caldwell objects on the southern horizon.

By dusk, the skies had completely cleared and, although cool, it looked to be a great evening for observing. I wanted to take advantage of the new moon and work on the galaxies in Virgo, mainly concentrating on the Messier objects I have yet to log.

I certainly did not want to waste the first clear night in nearly two weeks, especially when it fell on a weekend. Although the weather forecast predicted rain, Saturday was a beautiful day and as night approached, the clear skies persisted. I setup my equipment in the backyard and began work on the Astronomical League Double Star list.

With the eleven day old moon lying near the meridian, it was a great opportunity to work on some of the telescope objects from the Astronomical League Lunar Club list. This would be the first moon light for the SCT scope.

Ross Workman, John Holland, Dave Paessler and I attended the Mid-South Stargaze 2002 in French Camp, MS. Although the weather was not the best, I did manage to get some observing in Friday night, touring the constellations from Orion to Leo logging mostly Messier objects.

I decided to work on some more double stars when darkness finally arrived. Dave Paessler stopped by to see the new scope and we spent some time hopping around the sky and checking the scopes optics.

It was another wonderful evening with warm temperatures and clear skies. I could not let this opportunity pass without bringing out the scope. I decided to work on the Urban Club observing list and then move over to the Double Star list.

I decided to make use of the clear night and warm temperatures to work on some double stars and some objects in the Urban Club observing list. The 8" scope should help resolve some of the fainter objects previously missed with the 4.5" scope.

I braved the cold and the wind to get a peek at Comet Ikeya-Zhang this evening with binoculars. Even in a slight twilight, with a quarter moon at the zenith the comet was a spectacular sight.

The nine day old moon was prominently placed high above near the meridian. With such a sight, I could not help but setup the scope to work on the Lunar Club list.

Thanks to an e-mail alert, I was able to get the scope set up in time to catch the reappearance of the moon as it slid from behind the bright limb of the moon. After viewing Saturn, I turned my attention to the terminator along the moons surface.

It was another clear night with unseasonably warm temperatures and I could not pass up the opportunity to work with the big binoculars. I grabbed some charts for binocular objects from the Urban and Deepsky Binocular target lists in the area of the constellations of Canis Major and Monoceros.

It was a fantastically clear night, which usually means a cold night at this time of the year and this night was no exception. Fortunately, the wind was very calm; otherwise, the chill in the air might have been too much. I worked with some charts for binocular objects from the Urban and Deepsky Binocular target lists in the constellations of Orion, Taurus, and Monoceros.

I decided to take the big binoculars to the dark sky site along with some charts to work on the incomplete items in my Messier binocular list. After setting up the binocular mount, Jupiter was just becoming visible and I took the opportunity to get a quick view.

I had purchased some the Plössl eyepieces in intermediate focal lengths to extend the range of magnifications available through my scope. Tonight I hoped to test these eyepieces on some double stars.

Although it was somewhat on the chilly side, the clear, dark skies above made any discomfort from the temperature more than tolerable. I had my copy of The Year-Round Messier Marathon Field Guide and hoped to concentrate on telescope observations of the Messier objects in Taurus, Orion and the surrounding constellations.

Although it was not first light for the ETC-90EC, it was the first trip with it out to a dark sky site. I was anxious to see how the optics in the scope would perform under a dark sky in comparison with the performance in the light-polluted skies around Paducah.

I had made a list of some double stars and looked forward to checking a few off. After work, I rushed home and quickly set up the scope in the backyard. As I worked on my double star list, a bright aurora appeared in the sky and put on quite a show.

Ryan and I set up his new ETX90EC for its first official observing session. We started the observing session using the Autostar to run through a couple of the guided tours. The ETX90EC performed flawlessly during the evening.

Ryan and I were fortunate enough to be able to attend the 12th annual Twin Lakes Star Party at Golden Pond, Kentucky. During the evening, I managed to view several objects through a variety of scopes ranging from six to twenty inches in aperture. The most amazing view was that of Saturn through a 14.5" inch StarMaster scope.

I finally decided to rebuild my 4.5” Newtonian telescope. Of course, after the rebuild I had to wait a few days for the weather to clear. Now that I had a clear sky to view, I was ready to test my new optics and eyepieces.

It is rare that I get the chance to observe for two nights in a row, but this was one of those occasions. The previous night I had been working on some double star lists in Sagatti and Delphinus and I wanted to continue working through the objects I had not found.

To be able to look outside at night and actually see stars was a one hundred percent improvement over the prevailing conditions lately so I headed outside with my binoculars and a few charts that had been collecting dust for the past couple of months. I started to work on some double stars in Sagitta and Delphinus.

Our typical summer haze blanketed the horizon and the high humidity made the seeing awful. When I looked at the street lamp across the street, it seemed to have a bright halo around it. I decided to try for some double stars, hoping the poor conditions would not affect me greatly.

During the day, the sky was as blue as it had ever seen and I hoped the weather conditions would hold throughout the night. Fortunately, I was not disappointed. I printed some charts for items I had missed in earlier sessions; I wanted to do some house cleaning on the binocular checklists concentrating on the south and southeast horizons.

Mars was a glorious sight just above the treetops to the southeast and I wanted to get some time observing with the telescope. I quickly printed out some charts for the eastern horizon. I hoped to log some Messier objects with my binoculars after I finished observing Mars.

Ryan and I started with double stars in the Big Dipper—Alcor and Mizar—and hopped from double to double in the general area, stopping at ones that could easily be found by memory. We even managed to get a look at M 13, the large globular cluster in Hercules. Later, I moved to Scorpio and continued with my observation lists where I had left off before.

Previously, I had built some charts for Messier objects in the constellations of Leo and Cancer hoping for a chance to look for some of the faint galaxies in Leo. The faint stars in the constellation of Cancer were visible with little difficulty in my urban sky, which made this a prime opportunity to try for the faint galaxies in Leo.

Ever since I received my new Oberwerk binoculars, the skies have been full of clouds. The weather finally decided to cooperate as cool, dry air returned. I hoped that I could continue my Messier search through Lyra, Ophiuchus, and Sagittarius and log some new ones.

I looked outside a little late in the evening and noticed the clouds had parted and it was just a bit hazy. I grabbed my big binoculars and decided to look for some of the objects I missed earlier in the week.

The sky was a deep blue color the entire day, that deep blue color that tells you the atmosphere is transparent to the edge of space. This would be the first session in which I intended to record my notes and observations for the objects seen throughout the night.