Brief OR, FP, 4/9-10/2005 : The Unbearable Wetness of Being

by Marek Cichanski

Okay, so maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. It WAS wet, cold, and windy at the Peak last night, but I don't think anyone regretted going. It actually turned out to be a nice night. The big 'ol northerly that was raking the Bay Area yesterday was a bit obnoxious at the Peak, but it wasn't a dealbreaker. There were enough lulls that it was worth setting up and observing. Yeah, it was cold, and yeah, it was dewy, but again it was not enough to make observing un-worthwhile. I must say, though, that when I woke up this morning after catching a couple of hours of Zs on the pad, my gear and I were as drenched in dew as I can ever recall. Everything was wet. I mean crazy, novelty wet. Drenched in ice-cold dew. It was 42 degrees, according the car thermometer.

The folks who were set up at Coulter Row were in the calmest spot, I think.

I didn't do much organized logging, what with the cold and the wind, but I continued plinking galaxies from the H-B atlas. Did several between Vindemiatrix and Markarian's Chain. Did some in Bootes. Did some in the bowl of the Dipper. I also hunted for quasar APM 08279+5255 in Lynx, the 11-billion-light-year wonder. I had a 15' x 15' chart from the Digitized Sky Survey, but I could never match it up to the stars in the eyepiece. So, no joy. Oh well, need to do more and better homework with the finder charts. I did have a nice view of the Intergalactic Wanderer, though.

Must nap now, brain is oozing out my ears. Hope that y'all had a good night.

Posted on sf-bay-tac Apr 10, 2005 11:08:22 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.2 Apr 10, 2005 19:09:05 PT