If it weren't for the wind, it would have been a great night at Beaver Creek. It was dark enough that the zodiacal light was actually a nuisance. Comet C/2005 E2 McNaught was hiding right in the heart of that luminous pyramid, but it was still mildly visible. Despite the gusts, it was nice to get a couple good observations in before getting blown back up to Flag. We noticed a layer of cirrus lit up by the warm LP from Phoenix, that looked like it hazed out areas to the south pretty early on. The Horsehead observation in the 6" newtonian was a great improvement last night, compared to my first attempt about a year ago at Cinder Hills Overlook. It was nice having Bill there to corroborate the observation. I've updated the sketch and report here: http://www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus/archives/000379.html Clear skies & no wind, Jeremy Perez www.perezmedia.net/beltofvenus On Jan 22, 2006, at 10:01 PM, BillFerris@xxxxxxx wrote: > Managed to catch some photons from Anderson Mesa (Friday) and > Beaver Creek > (Saturday), this weekend. Both nights, I observed the Horsehead > Nebula with my > 18-inch Obsession. Although obvious without filtration, the best > views were > with an H-beta in place. David Sanders was at Anderson Mesa on > Friday and we > enjoyed an unfiltered view of the Horsehead in his 8-inch, f/8 > Discovery > Dobsonian. I suspect a 4-inch may have been up to the task that > night. Jeremy > Perez was at Beaver Creek on Saturday and the Horsehead was > visible in his 6-inch > equatorial Newtonian. Though detectable without filtration--the > back of the > neck stood out against IC 434--the best view through the 6-inch > was with the > aid of an UltraBlock filter. > > We were buffeted by gusts at Beaver Creek. This was an unsuspected > surprise > as conditions were calm in Flag and the forecast was for wind > speeds in the 3 > to 6 mph range. I suspect the gusts we encountered may have been > cool air > draining off the Mogollon Rim. Despite the wind, I did manage one > sketch. The > target was IC 2003, a tiny planetary nebula in Perseus: > _http://members.aol.com/billferris/ic2003.html_ (http:// > members.aol.com/billferris/ic2003.html) -- See message header for info on list archives or unsubscribing, and please send personal replies to the author, not the list.