by Rich Neuschaefer
The west had lots of high clouds. High clouds were also overhead but not as thick. I was working on Messier objects, a mini Messier Marathon. I didn't try the first half dozen objects listed because it was too late in the year and the all clouds in the west. I was hitting every object on the list (after the first page), doing well until about half way through Virgo. Then the clouds were just thick enough I was not seeing the guide stars well. Even the bright Messier galaxies were difficult to see in my 6" scope.
I took a break and showed some of the brighter objects to a couple of visitors. Then, I went back to Virgo but the transparency was even worse. Other people were leaving so I gave up for the night.
Earlier in the evening we had nice views of Jupiter. We watched one of its moons move behind the planet. There were one or two red barges in the NEB.