Coyote 1/4/03

by David Crabtree

After ready a bunch of postings on Coe and FP I don't feel as deprived as I did last night when dew cut the evening short at about 10:30. Only two scopes, and a young lady with small binos the Ranger had tipped off to our viewing. The evening looked questionable at best when I got there at 4:45 just as the last two boat owners were pulling out, and telling their "I know that one that got away was 2 lbs easy", stories. I took my time setting up as the high clouds lingered. But I don't shy away easily and was set, sighted, and cooled with the 10" Dob by the time the light dome from Gilroy/San Jose was bright enough to make an IDS member cry. Saturn was the big show but did not see the "Crab" above the "trees" (sorry couldn't help the name ref.). Late in the viewing the sky were very clear between bands of high clouds. M42 was very nice and got a wow from the other two viewers. Got quick looks at M36 and M38. New 40mm was crisp and took my 3x barlow well. B! y the time I got to trying the new filter set, they were covered in dew so I looked at Jupiter and 4 moons for a while. All in all a bit disappointing but productive. Everything still damp this morning.

There are some picnic benches and BBQ stands just off the lot. Maybe when we have those star parties that we do in exchange for free viewing we can arrive early. Ummm