Wanderers 16/7/18

[domstar]

A beautifully clear and moonless Sunday night and after a day of swimming and sunbathing I just couldn't be bothered to go outside. With just Jupiter and a little bit of moon for company since May, I wondered if the astronomy fire was dwindling inside me. Luckily, Monday night was unexpectedly clear so I had a chance to give it a stoke. 

I set up still with the discomfort that's been with me for a few weeks and noticed that sky was not sharp enough to resolve much on Jupiter or dark enough to see much else. Saturn was nice to see after a year. Sagittarius was my main target as I had never seen it with a UHC filter and now I had one. The Swan actually looked like an upside down swan and the Eagle had clear (though a lot less) nebulosity. The Dumbbell looked great too. Overall, I feel I'm not much of a filter person yet. My fingers are too clumsy, star-hopping is more difficult and I'm still not up to spending enough time on a target to make all that screwing and unscrewing worthwhile. 

Obviously, the sky had changed since May and I found I was less familiar with it. I tried a few doubles- Izar, Alberio and Iota Cass. Iota Cass is one of my favourites but I could only split it in two last night. I went to 150x and a split was hinted at. I kept my rarely used 6mm in the scope and turned it on Saturn and what a revelation. The best view I've ever had. Clear and beautiful. When I looked up it was astro dark time and the sky was breathtaking with the milky way clear. I looked at Bodes and the Cigar- still probably the most amazing site in the sky.

Oh, and I nearly forgot Mars. I can't believe how much bigger it was. It was too low to be able to observe seated so I wobbled about bent over. I'm starting to see the Mars attraction and I can see how time spent on it will be rewarded.

In the end, as the time went on, I changed from going through the motions to something like excitement. I'm still not back to my old self but I'm definitely on the way back. Darkness rules.

Thanks for reading.