Montebello Wednesday 7/14/2004

by Peter McKone

The temperature was 67 degrees when I arrived. Not a cloud in the sky. I set up my telescope and sat down to review my list of target objects. A young coyote must not have noticed me, because he passed no more than 15 feet from where I was sitting. I spoke but he just continued walking, tail down, looking straight ahead. Of course my camera was safe in my glove box.

Dennis Steele arrived just after sunset. Four other people, new to the hobby, set up telescopes too. There was a little dew early, but it didn't last. Everything was dry after around 10 pm. There was no wind, and we never saw a single cloud. Seeing was quite good. We split Marfik (Lambda Ophiuchi) with separation 1.6 arc seconds. It was easy to log a lot of new objects, including some very dim globulars. I had to come back to NGC 6426 several times before I was sure I saw it. NGC6325 is another glob that probably isn't on anyone's list of favorites, but sometimes it's fun to get away from the beaten path.

It was surreal to be at Montebello on a Wednesday night after the 3rd quarter moon, on the best night we've had all summer, with only one other regular observer. Has everyone given up on Montebello? Never mind the dark energy. Where are all the TACOs?

Posted on sf-bay-tac Jul 15, 2004 12:30:58 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.2 Jan 03, 2005 19:23:21 PT