Sunday AM, June 14, 1998

I had three scopes out on my back deck Saturday night/Sunday morning, which has a 180 degree view facing West. A new 6 inch, 12.5 inch and my homemade 10 inch reflectors. Switched eyepieces for a range of 80 to 300 power. Seeing was not good for galaxies, but good for stars. Corvus was right there across the freeway so I aimed where the Sombrero galaxy should be. Danged if that nice triangle within a triangle asterism (The Starship Asterism, S&T 5/98) wasn't right there in the eyepiece! A nudge and danged if that nice arrow that points the way to M104 wasn't right there.

I started to go thru the Virgo hop in the three scopes, but when 59 and 60 didn't look so hot, I quit. Decided to do a double star in every constellation I could find a double star in. I bagged 20 doubles, started with Gamma Leonis, Gamma Virginis (Porrima), Zuben Algenabi (plus 4 other doubles and one new Herschel object, globular cluster NGC 5897 - very difficult for me at mag 11) in Libra. Ras Algethi (Alpha in Hercules) was a very nice orange and blue-green pair, as was M-13 - not orange and green, just very nice. The colors of these doubles are really fantastic and contrasty next to each other! 4 in Bootes (Xi bootis was a cute yellow and red couple), Cor Caroli, in Canes Venatici, Zeta Corona Borealis, and on to Lyra for a eyeful at the double stars Epsilon, Beta and Zeta - and of course the Ring nebula, M57. Was it wishful seeing? I thought I spied the central star, but it was late and I was running out of malted milk balls, my star fuelof choice. The E Lyre "double double" I think I split it in the smaller scope, the 12.5 and 10 incher views just looked ovalish. Cygnus flew over the roof finally, and I ended my double project with Albireo. For those of you counting, 19 and 20 were Alcor/Mizar, and Gamma Leonis.

This was a "dobson's hole" night at this point. My nice dark west view is courtesy of a darned house which happens to be attached to my observing deck, and blocks the eastern sky. Did each double in all three scopes for comparison, a tubular chorus line, swinging to the left, and then to the right in unison, almost. At about 2:00 AM as moonshine blotted out the stars, I moved to the street side, which is well lit courtesy of the local power company. Took the little 6 incher to the front deck, and enjoyed the 17 day old moon. In particular, the rugged walled craters Ptolemaeus, Alphonsis and Arzachel - not on the terminator tonight, but big with interesting walls, Arzachel in particular, had a floor with a long and snakey valley and terraces and craterlets, just fantastic shadows on the floor of the crater as well as on the walls. Tipped my cap to Herschel while I was in the neighborhood. I don't usually stay up this late for the moon, except when I spend a whole month sketching every night. I really enjoyed the lunar features tonight. I sketched Arzachel at 133 power. Tonight I'll make a graphite rendition of it on sketching paper. And maybe try a charcoal version, too, later.

It was about 2:30 and time to pack up and go home. Oh, I was home! Went in and made my observing log notes - I'm just the teensiest bit retentive. Then, after such a great night of starstuff, I was in the mood for...Piano! Started with a rousing, yet slightly erratic Golliwog's Cakewalk. Debussy had a much smoother cakewalk dancing style in mind when he wrote it. Then out of the 20th to the 17th century with my new lesson piece, Pachelbel's Canon in D. Now that's nice for solo piano. Then just barely out of the 17th to the 18th century and the mantra for all Messier marathoner's J.S.Bach's Sleepers, Wake!, nice segue don't you think? ...on to the 19th century for a sleepytime song, Schumann's Traumerei.