I wish that I had time for a complete observing report but I don't.  I have barely enough time to read the TAC mail for the past several days.

Wednesday and Saturday nights were clouded out.

We had clear black skies on Thursday and Friday last week howerver.  It was interesting to see the weather patterns split and go north or south right around me. Rain in Mariposa, snow in  Yosemite, and absolutely clear at Plettstone.

I spent a great deal of time chasing galaxies in Canes Venatici, star clusters east of Orion, and the seasonal meandering through the virgo cluster.  I wanted to see just how faint galaxies I could see with my C11 so I set my sights on a group near M5.  Everything down to 14 was fairly clear. 14 to 15 are sometimes visible and easy but usually hard to find.  15 to 16 are extremely challenging and in most cases, I could not see them. I tried using my HB atlas and  The Sky software to help me pinpoint where these things should be but the reference star fields are just too weak.  And in many cases, the faint galaxies are not in the paper atlas.

I think that I love the winter months the best. It's probably because I like to look at distant galaxies so much.  There's lots to think about as I stroll through the heavens on a winter's night.