by Bud Wittlin
Craig Colvin wrote:
I had a great time doing my 1st Messier Marathon at Henry Coe last night. There was a good crowd at the beginning of the evening and a fairly large exodus in the early morning hours. At dawn there were 9 cars left but only 6 of us still observing.
Great report, Craig. We had a good crowd at Coe last nite, about 20 scopes, hosted by Bob Havner and the SJAA. Bob greeted everyone and handed out Messier lists (complete, half nite, and bright object only lists). Don Macholtz' book was available for purchase. Many SJAA members there, and some Montebello regulars including Dennis Steele and Carl Chin. Nice group. No problems leaving at any time (despite fears to the contrary), car lanes were always available
Skies cleared early but the background brightness never allowed for dimmer objects to be seen easily. As previously mentioned the sky conditions and haze (and occasional tree) made it difficult to do a full MM. In fact I was using my UHC filter for the last 2 hours until I left about 2am. Nevertheless, a very social and fun group for a casual observing evening.
Thanks Bob and SJAA for a fine event.