The return of sociable hours Astro?

[Special K]

If you can start observing at 9:30pm then I'd say we are getting back to some sociable hours for Astro again!  School nights are back in season and one can reasonably get in 2-3 good hours without being devastated for the next morning.

2 1/2 hours was enough time to cover some important highlights and get back in the swing of things.  With the quick grab and go 80mm:

Saturn was looking quite steady tonight and afforded some crisp views. Mars is a lovely umber disc but much lower. 

Despite a strong advancing Moon, the Ring Nebula was glowing!  I thought it looked a bit fluorescent or electric. Contrast this with a poor showing from nearby M13 which was a surprise.  It's amazing how well the Ring and the Dumbell perform on moonlit nights. 

The Andromeda core was looking particularly interesting too. Companion M32 seemed to do well too if I wasn't mistaking it for something else. 

Double stars were in fashion: Albireo's amber primary and blue secondary, the Daytime Double, and the Double Double were pleasing sights I've not enjoyed for a while. Delta Cepheus is an interesting array of stars with a nice color contrast. Between this and Caph, I was able to find the delicate M52 again. With a little averted vision this grew in complexity. 

Gettng darker earlier is a nice ticket; and surviving the session in just shorts and t-shirt only is a nice treat. 

Hope others enjoyed this clear spell!  Despite a strong moon it was transparent enough to glimpse the MW and the seeing seemed pretty good too  

[rockystar]

nice report, it's definitely getting easier to get out for a reasonable hour finish on a school night. Though I was buzzing when I got into bed and took nearly an hour to get to sleep.

[cotterless45]

It was good to hear folk got out there, who ordered the Moon ?

Nick.

[laudropb]

Very nice report. Still no clear skies here, but it is getting noticeably darker.