by Jim Ster
Yawwwwwnnnnn! Can you guys keep it down. I'm trying to get a little sleep here.................
Well, as long as I'm up, I'll say that last night was a total blast. I am working on my observing report and will post it to the group when I'm done with it. I'd like to say something to the group real quick about it though. One of the things I noticed last night was that we all work so well together. Yes, VB was grinding away, doing what he does best, which is giving me the opportunity to see tons of stuff, but what was really cool was that during my sprint through the Herschel 400 (I bagged 141 of them!), whenever I'd catch a glimpse of something that was real special, like that little pair of 10th & 11th mag galaxies (NGC4781 or 4866?) that rivaled (exceeded IMHO) M81 & M82 for it's "coolness factor", the entire group was equally enthusiastic about these sights and even "old hands" like Randy and Allan were getting a little giddy. Oh yes, we all had our lists of things to do, but what was most important to us was simply having a good time. And once again we exceeded our already high expectations in this department and had another spectacular TAC-SAC evening to remember. The only thing missing was the rest of you guys.
I was absolutely blown away to find the "Intergalactic Wanderer" in my 12". I owe a big thanks to Allan for his expert advice and help with collimating VB. Without it, I seriously doubt I would have seen half the stuff I did. My first view of the I.W. was at Shneor's Esparto site last January through Gregg's 25". If anyone would have told me I could see this most distant object in my 12", I'd of said "Yeah, right". "NO WAY!" But there it was. Clear as a bell. Fantastic! Thanks again Allan. I owe ya one.
("VB" is short for Von Braun, the name for my 12" SCT LX200. It is named not for the famous rocket scientist, but after my Braun coffee grinder.)