What happened at Montebello

by Paul Sterngold


David Kingsley and I were the two who stayed [at Montebello on the evening of February 19/20] after 12:30am. Conditions got better and better - the wind died completely, the clouds all but dispersed, and a great deal of the moisture in the air seemed to subside, greatly reducing the light dome over the bay area. I was able to find in my 13.1" Dob about a dozen galaxies in Leo that I hadn't seen before, including:

When my eyes refused to focus any longer at 2:00am, I decided to pack up. I looked up from the eyepiece to see the sky quickly being swallowed entirely by clouds. David and I chatted while I packed up, and by the time I was ready to drive out of there, it was clearing again! David stayed.