I did indeed take a nap at 12:59am, but unfortunately I turned off my wristwatch alarm when it went off two hours later, and slept until nearly dawn! Nonetheless, I managed to bag 69 objects between sunset and 12:59am with my 4" refractor (100mm f/8) - everything up to that point on my list except the five early evening objects that Richard and I missed.
I was very pleased with the refractor's performance, especially when we hit galaxy country in Ursa Major, Canes Venatici, Leo, Virgo and Coma Berenices. Those are my favorite areas of the sky, but I'm used to hunting with my 13" Dob and was concerned that I would have difficulty with the 4" scope. To my delight, the scope's excellent contrast at 50x (I used exclusively a 16mm Nagler) made these objects pop out surprisingly easily. In fact, I was able to detect mag 11.7 NGC4402 near M86. Some of the galaxy groupings in the widefield of this scope and eyepiece combination were stunning, such as M95-M96-M105-NGC3384 and the crowded field of M84-M86.
Despite passing out from exhaustion and missing the second half of the night, I had a splendid time and am thankful for the lovely conditions and good company.
At dusk, I took a few digital photos the parking lot and some shady characters. They can be seen at:
http://members.home.com/jsterngold/mm2000/viewsouth.jpg
http://members.home.com/jsterngold/mm2000/viewnorth.jpg
http://members.home.com/jsterngold/mm2000/myscope.jpg
http://members.home.com/jsterngold/mm2000/policelineup.jpg
