(as usual)
Special thanks to John R for bringing out the grill - what a treat. One of
the best star parties in a fantastic season of star parties. I counted
about 15 people, and about half were newcomers....impressive for October
1st!
I put away my observing list this time around and focused on the fun of
it. I set up the club's 12" cave and got it collimated with some help
(thanks Michael from "north of Colville"!). After that I set up my modest
astrophotography rig. I had a horrible time getting polar aligned until I
realized my EQ motor hemisphere was set to "southern". Oooops.
The sky was clear and the seeing about average. We had good views of
Saturn, M31 (dust lanes visible), M13, and the last view this year of M8
and Sagittarius. I looked for the 'knot' in M33 (NGC 604) but came up
empty. Lots of outreach, lots of fun.
And to the new folks who showed up (on the off chance you're on the mailing
list...)...you are awesome! You did a great job with being considerate with
your headlights - most new people don't. Thank you!
And I got a few decent pics too, better than I expected for my bargain
refractor and DSLR. I've attached a few of the ones that came out okay.
Nick
DSCF3119.jpg
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByeXihx6yaXCdXA2SUNsN211T00/view?usp=drive_web>
andromeda.jpg
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByeXihx6yaXCbUd3ZWdmRkdBYjQ/view?usp=drive_web>
north_american_nebula2.jpg
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByeXihx6yaXCaVZaZ2ZJMjRXOUU/view?usp=drive_web>
plaeides.jpg
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByeXihx6yaXCMGFkYS1TanBQVjQ/view?usp=drive_web>
DSCF3121.jpg
<https://drive.google.com/file/d/0ByeXihx6yaXCUXUzczNlZ1FlQUk/view?usp=drive_web>
