by Jeff Crilly
I found it a tad on the windy side, but I was setup on the lee side of the truck giving me ample protection.
Dew was non-existent. Around 4am there was some on the non-dew-sheiled mak corrector, but the autoguider could still see stars so it wasnt an issue. The exposed secondary on the 8" newt was my big concern and it had no problem. (That secondary was dripping when I setup in the backyard a week ago.)
Anyhow, I managed to get some decent film images of M42, M13, M27, and M57. (Scanning still needed.)
Fwiw, I used the webcam autoguider initially with a 300mm lens and then later with the 102mm/f13 maksutov. I think the 300mm lens doesnt cut it. Guiding through 1300mm mak yeilded what appears to be some decent images -- I still need to scan and check the stars' roundness at full resolution.
Btw, the fog rolled in very nicely in gilroy and points north around 3 am or so. This blocked out most light, but for some reason the dome to the northwest was persisting. I was also hampered by a slight brightening in the east just after 5am, but, as suspected, this turned out to be a close star.
I caught some Zzzzs and packed up in the daylight. The drive down the hill in the morning was absolutely fantastic and refreshing.
Btw, when I got the film imaging gear setup and all checked out, I then went to insert the camera -- only to find out that I somehow left at home (or couldnt find) the all important nikon t-adapter. I thought the night was a wash (and wasnt surprised given my lack of thorough preperation) when Michael C. produced the neccessary adapter. This pretty much saved the night.