Sat at Coe State Park was the best observing weather (in terms of personal comfort) for a several months. Didnt even have to put a coat on, just a wind breaker.
I had the NS5 out again as per Fri night. I got more M observing on Fri night even with the wind (the NS5 is extremely stable on my C11 tripod and wedge) than Sat just because there were a lot of people to talk to and a group of boy scouts looking for views. Also I was near the gate (partially because I had intended to leave early but ended up staying until 2:30) and did a lot of traffic directing. The lot had filled up from the middle to the gate and the latecomers couldnt see that there was plenty of room at the far end. That was OK, though, as I wasnt serious about the marathon.
There was an 125ETX at the other end of the lot and we swapped eps and compared views. The comparison that was interesting was my Orion Ultrascopic 10mm vs his Radian 10mm. Looking at M51, it was obvious that the radian had a much larger field of view and more contrast as well. You could imagine the connection between the 2 gal with the radian. I was a little surprised by this (not the field of view, but the contrast). I am still considering a UO ortho 9mm instead of the radian but now would like to do a comparison. Any comments or other suggestions (remember the C11 and the N5 are both f10 scopes)??
Of the M objects I looked for on Friday (about 59) and didnt see was M95 and M84 although I (think I) found all the near neighbors to those which are very similar? Im not sure at this point about M105 because of lousy notes.
Doesn't count anyway because the computer did most of the work (if it didnt get the object in the field of view, it got me within a couple of ep widths)
Anyway it was a good 2 nights, with great company. And I am still enjoying the NS5.