| Observer | Dave Staples |
|---|---|
| Date | 21 May 2001 |
| Time | 2130-2215 PDT 0430-0515 UTC |
| Location | Santa Rosa, Ca 38°16'N 122°40'W |
| Weather | Chilly as the fog rolled in |
| Equip. | C8, 40mm, 26mm plossls |
| Seeing | 7/10 |
| Trans. | 5/10 |
The weather gods must be angry. Monday night I set up the scope and attached my new Telrad...first mistake, it only took 45 minutes for the weather demons to notice the new equipment.
While the fog rolled in quickly I did get a few observations in.
M68 - First time for this one and I wasn't that impressed. I needed averted vision to pick it out and then it was just a blob with no individual stars resolved. It was low in the sky and from my light polluted backyard (fog starting to roll in also). Must revisit this one from a darker locale. I don't think I would have found this one with out the Telrad.
I also tried NGC 4361 (P/N) and NGC 4462 in Corvus with no luck. I think I'll just give up on these from the backyard. 4361 has an apparent mag. of 10 and 4462 a mag. of 12, I have no idea of surface brightness.
Since I now have the Telrad I raced around the sky while the fog moved in enjoying the ability to get an object right in the center of the FOV every time. Now I know why everyone likes them so much.