Once in a lifetime 6/8/18

[domstar]

I can't believe how well it went last night. It was like something out of a dream although my dreams aren't usually this good. Everything I looked for just fell into the eyepiece from the comet in Cassiopeia to Ptolemy's cluster. I picked up M54 M69 and M70 (the globular clusters at the bottom of Sagittarius) for the first time. I'm at 50 degrees here but low south is difficult from my location. Higher in Sagittarius was wonderful. M22 had been weak and washed-out on Friday but I could resolve stars directly at 90x last night. 

Just as astrodark started, I looked up at Cygnus with a UHC and to my astonishment I found the veil. First the east and then, with averted vision, the west. I even broke the silence and made myself start by the sound of my own 'Oh Yes'. 

Well, I continued looking and everything looked great. M33 was directly in the finder- after 4 nights of trying to find it last year. The Andromeda galaxy caused my second out loud exclamation of the night stretching across the eyepiece. I'd forgotten about M110 and M32 until I saw the former. It took a few seconds to see the latter as it was in the glow of M31.

I could go on. I Cass was just 3 pinpricks and just when I thought I'd been beaten, I saw Mirach's ghost at 150x.

The sky was the star of the show. Dark and so transparent. Andromeda, the double cluster and the small Sagittarius star cloud all naked eye objects. 

When Anthony Minghella won 9 Oscars for the the English Patient, he said it was fantastic but the downside was that he knew he would never top that. I can't imagine having another night like last night.

@leo82 wrote about a frustrating night yesterday and we've all been there, but sometimes it can be so good.

Thanks for reading,

A thrilled, surprised, disbelieving Dominic

 

[Knighty2112]

You may not think you’ll top it now, but at some point you will in the future. Sounds like a great night. Well done!  

[Paz]

Great report, I bet you will match or beat it sometime, the more you know is possible the more possibilities open up for you.

[scarp15]

Sounds like a great night and the type of occasion that will last in your memory. 

[Stu]

 

I could go on.

Please do

Its great when everything goes right, including the sky playing ball.

Great report, thanks