[AZ-Observing] Cherry Rd last night

Well David Fredericksen, Joe Goss and I decided against all odds to make
an observing run last night.  After sunset we were joined by Rich Walker
- at least we weren't the only crazy ones to try such a stunt.

We didn't expect a great observing run as we have had in the past; for
us it was a chance to get out of the desert heat and into 76 deg F
weather and we weren't disappointed.  The skies were mostly partly
cloudy although at times it was mostly cloudy.  But we could always see
stars somewhere in the sky.

Instead of using his 13 inch, Rich pulled out and set-up his 6 inch
DOB.  Amongst it, Joe's 10 inch and my 14 we had a nice time just
looking at and comparing bright objects in each telescope.  But the cool
air was the treat - it was most enjoyable!

I also wanted to test some changes made to my telescope that made
altitude movement easier, to ensure there wasn't a balance, tracking or
pointing problem.  Technically the scope passed all tests.  There were
no balance problems but it can easily be felt that the scope moves up
easier than down, a condition that should easily be remedied.

The Sky Commander wasn't off by more the 0.3 deg in both axes except for
one occasion and that was when it went from M92 to M51, which was well
into the test session.  It was realigned only this time and continued to
perform successfully until about 11:45pm when we decided to pack up and
head home.  In all I looked at approximately two dozen objects with only
the one realign mentioned above.

A special thanks to Joe Goss . . . when the Sky Commander was first
turned on, the LCD wouldn't light up.  An extra battery from my
flashlight didn't help but one from Joe - that had never been used -
worked!  Guess this is another reason for observing in groups, if there
is a problem that you can't solve, then someone with you may just have
what you need to remedy the situation and save an observing run!

All in all this was an enjoyable session.  Not a big observing session,
but just a chance to get out of the heat!

aj

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