[AZ-Observing] Eagle Eye this past Sat.

Hey All, 

Well, Telrad, myself, Steve (Telrad's friend), Jack Jones, Chuck Akers, and 
Lynn Blackburn managed to make it out to Eagle Eye.  We had the site all to 
ourselves, with only 2 cars going past us as they left that area.  We had no 
run-in's with Rangers of any sort.  We were treated to a -8 Iridium flare 
around 8:20. The nite was a tad bit warm at first, but did cool off enough to 
stop sweating.  Once in a while, there was a breeze, but fairly still 
otherwise.  The transparency was good, but not perfect,and the seeing was up 
around 7 or 8 out of 10.  It was a quiet peaceful night that was just the 
perfect balance of being with other observers, comparing notes, seeking out 
favorites and actually making progress on observing lists.  Chuck and I were 
determined to spot M51's central star, and I was able to declare a victory 
after Jack prodded us to bump up to "stupid" power around 780x.  I declared 
victory as the thing kept blinking in and out in the same spot several times.  
I imagine that this one will be a bit easier higher up, so I'll keep trying.  
Rick, Steve, Chuck and I spent some time observing the "Tom Thumb" cluster.  We 
are stumped to why this is called that, but did manage to rename this grouping 
with what we felt was more appropriate.  You'll have to ask us in person if 
you're curious enough..... I managed to deal with my first 8 Herscel 400's, 
(only 392 more to go!!) as Jack was finishing the last 2 of his.  Around 2:30 
am, Chuck packed and headed for home, as the rest of us crashed out til the sun 
would let us sleep no more.  It was a great night with great friends at a place 
that I've always felt to be just a bit more special than most.  I am definately 
going to be heading out the Eagle Eye more often.

Thad




--
This message is from the AZ-Observing mailing list.  See this message's
header if you want info about unsubscribing or the list's archive.

This is a discussion list.  Please send personal inquiries directly to
the message author.  In other words, do not use "reply" for personal
messages.  Thanks.

Other related posts: