by Richard Crisp
the seeing was good and my scope was tracking well despite 10+ MPH winds all night with gusts.
We had a lot of dew early on but it settled down about two hours after dark. I heard hair dryers running several times but I was using dew straps.
At midnight JT, Marek and I began what may become a new tradition: roasting steak on a portable gas grill! JT brought the "WORLD'S BEST STEAK" and it really hit the spot. It was the thing that permitted us to make it through the night.The grill makes a good hand warmer too, but the light from it is a little bit of a problem.
I imaged NGC7293, The Helix Nebula. This was first "serious light" for the new IMG6303E camera. It seems to be working fine. Now I just need more time under the stars.
Despite this strong northwest wind with the even stronger gusts (to maybe 15-20MPH), I was able have that AP1200 mount run rock-solid. The stars were nice and steady. The skies were clear and dark with good transparency. There was not a lot of marine layer but there was enough to help the darkness to the south.
Temperatures were in the high 50's most of the night. We had a good night up there.
Here's a link to the Helix:
http://www.narrowbandimaging.com/ngc7293_helix_hao3b_page.htm
Posted on sf-bay-tac Aug 15, 2004 18:09:44 PT
Converted by report.pm 1.2 Jan 07, 2005 21:02:27 PT