by Paul LeFevre
I said I would go to Coe last night come hell or high water...I think we got both.
You all would have chuckled at the small, hardy band of optimists lined up on the ridge at Coe, scopes all set up, staring at a completely clouded sky. We stood around and talked, and joked about the possibility of one of the distant cloud breaks floating over us and giving us some observing time.
Then, it happened. Someone yelled, "Hey, I see a star!" Then another, then another...then the Pleiades, and suddenly we had a sky full of stars, horizon to horizon. Hurried polar alignment for those who needed it, with everyone jumping to their scopes and getting down to business.
Jason N. was there with his new TV-101. Peter S. was there with his Celestron C-11 on a Losmandy mount. Tom was there with his Meade Apo. Jamie D. was there with his 11" Celestron dob. And I got first-night-out with "Papa Joe" (my homebuilt 12.5" dob) and "Stella," a new Meade 8" SCT.
We made the best of the conditions, with the very cold wind blowing and shaking scopes and causing stars to flicker...still, good views were had of M42, M31, the Double Cluster, M82, M1, and a few other showpiece objects. Lots of views were traded, and a good time was had by all.
We got about 2 hours of observing in, then the clouds rolled back in almost as fast as they had cleared out -- talk about a sucker hole! We all packed up, and headed down the mountain to discuss our brief good fortune over burgers & coffee at Lyons.
Thanks for a great night, guys. I can't think of a better way to freeze my butt off, and there isn't better company.