WoW! WoW! I had such a great time at the peak, and I saw a lot of new things!

There were so many great scopes and nice people! It had been about two months since I'd been to the Peak, so it was great to see some people that I have missed! I also met some nice new people.

Certainly the highlight of the session was that I got to see all nine planets on my birthday!! Bill set me on a mission just before sunset when he showed me Venus and Mercury. It was wonderful to see the phases, just like Newton describes in "The Guide to Amateur Astronomy." Of course Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars were easy to find. Peter was trying to show me Uranus naked eye, but I'm not that good. I could easily see it in the binocs. Of course, Bill's scope can zoom right over to Neptune, so that was not a problem. Bill's scope can also zoom to Pluto, but it zoomed over to a (seemingly) blank piece of sky. Pluto was getting close to setting so we had to think of something fast! Then Tom and Jerry saved the night with their computer (was it Tom's computer?) We were able to see exactly were Pluto should be (da, right in the middle of the view). Then using averted vision, I got it! All nine Planets! Kisses on the cheeks for all the people who gave me such a wonder of all nine planets on my birthday! Oh, Mimi did get me by asking, "What is the easiest planet to find?" (Should be Earth, of course!)

But I wasn't finished looking at the planets yet. Saturn was starting to rise higher in the sky. Oh! I think I am going to fall off my chair. I might have a heart attack if I try to describe the awesome beauty of Saturn. The seeing must have been perfect. Peter has a very interesting scope. It's not exactly like the kinds I read about in "The Guide," or the others I've seen at star parties. But WoW!! Saturn was great! Before, Saturn's rings looked like a big white band with a sort of gray Cassini path. But WoW! The rings were totally separate, with a dark, black, clear Cassini division. And before, the Crepe ring was a gray sort of haze at the inside of the rings. But Wow! It was so clear and beautiful and distinct! And the detail on the planet body itself was incredible!

I also really enjoyed looking at Saturn through Rich's bino viewer. I really enjoy it and don't have any problem getting one image as some people have described. Everything was so beautiful!

My new favorite cluster(s) is the Double Cluster of Perseus. I was just gazing and saw a little cloud. It was very beautiful in binocs. So I looked it up on my Star Atlas. Later Glen and Maria showed me in their scope. I was so proud that I had already found it on my own! It is so different but just as beautiful, either naked eye, binocs or scope!

My other favorite cluster is M29. When asked, "What shall we look at next, Sandra?" I suggested M29. So check the star chart, point the scope over there, and "you wanted me to point all this aperture at 4 little stars?" Ya, but M29 is my favorite! Well okay, it IS very beautiful!

We did see a lot of meteors! I only saw a couple in the mag 0 to -1 range. Most were fairly dim. But they are still so beautiful!! Mimi and I were lying out using the binocs, and I almost blew her off my air mattress at a particularly nice one!

After I crashed, I kept staring over at the East watching all the Fall/Winter constellations rise. I really don't know much beyond the summer sky, but that will definitely change this year! I really did try not to cry out at the meteors. Every time I did, someone would say, "Oh, you're still awake, come look at something beautiful, it will be worth it!" And it was worth it! They got me up very late to look through Michelle's scope at M42 and M43 in Orion. Oh! WoW! It was so great! There is nothing like that in the summer sky!! Maybe nothing like it at all! I am very impressed.

Another new one for me was the Crab Nebula, which I had never seen before. It wasn't the amazing swirls and knots of the Orion Nebula, but it was interesting. It seemed to be shaped so perfectly.

I also saw M33 and two galaxies near Triangulum. Thanks to Jeff for showing me all three galaxies in one view!

I wish I could mention everything I saw in all the great scopes, but this message is already too long! Thanks so much to everyone for the use of wonderful scopes and binocs!