Productive impromptu observing
May
8
Written by:
5/8/2012 9:39 PM
I didn't plan on going out tonight - I do have to work tomorrow. But it was clear, and it hasn't been that way for a while, so my wife encouraged me to take advantage of the opportunity.
So I did.
A quick rundown of the objects I viewed: Venus (nice crescent - and huge!), Saturn (had that "etched on" look again), M68 (WAY faint), M104 (small but bright - for a galaxy), M92, M13, M57, and a few binocular doubles as I had the 7x50's out with me.
Glad I spent the time out - I haven't tended to use my backyard for observing, as there used to be light coming from my neighbor's "always on" post lamp. But since he bought a trailer to use for work, it blocks it now. Voila! Darker backyard. Of course, I still have a lot of tall trees back there, but I get to see parts of the sky I can't see from my front yard. So it was a good session.