It was the best night here in Alameda in a long while. I continued to test my new GPDX mount with SkySensor2000 cheat, with my 4" refractor. The SS2k is working like a champ. I tried the tour function, and it quickly pointed to an object behind my house. So I told it only to find Messier objects brighter than or equal to mag 11 and at least 25 degs above the horizon. I could have specified some azimuth values as well but didn't need to. I also directed it to spend 60 seconds on each object. The SS2k then proceeded to show me about 15 Messiers in the course of about 25 minutes, all within the central 20% of a 16mm Nagler-T2. It was great fun. But more importantly, the accuracy is good enough, and the mount stable enough with the 4" refractor, that I think I've got an excellent sidewalk imaging complement now.
Maybe I can link up the tour function with my imaging software and end up
with a complete album of Messier images in a single night? The CCD'ers
Marathon?