3-17 at Fremont Peak

by Denis Lefebvre

To add to Mark Johnston's report... There was certainly a good turnout at the peak. In the SW lot were: Monterey Pete, Mark Wagner & His Daughter, Mimi. Tony H, Mark Johnston and several others whose names I cannot recall. There were several big Dobs, a couple of big Celestron SCT's, Mimi had her Messier Monster and I had my Orion XT10. Jamie D. was down below at Ranger Row along with several others. The view to the West as the sun was setting was simply breathtaking. The marine layer covered the Salinas Valley below us like a big fluffy comforter. Venus was shining brightly long before dusk. Even just past dusk, some folks were getting views of M42! It was a night of 'firsts' for me. The sky was the clearest I'd ever seen at the peak (Since I've logged less than 1/2 dozen outings at FP, that wasn't a big deal!) I was just hopping around without any real plan. None the less, it was the first time I was able to pick out all six stars in M42's trapezium at 200X in my 10inch. A huge WOW factor for me. I was just scannig the sky naked eye when I saw something that looked interesting in the NE sky. I pulled my scope around to view it and found, with Tony's help, that I has stumbled upon M44, the Beehive Cluster in Cancer! It was simply spectacular. It looked to me like a cluster of doubles. Had a peek at the double cluster in Perseus. Sweet. While chatting with Tony, I asked if he'd ever been able to resolve the horsehead. He hadn't, but showed me where to look for the flame nebula. Another WOW! I'd never before been able to discern the flame in the midst of the nearby bright stars, but Saturday was different. I found it without much difficulty. I took a close look at NGC2264, the Christmas Tree Cluster. With the excellent conditions the nebulosity was easy to discern. I think... that maybe, just maybe, unless my eyes were playing tricks on me, that I could pick out the outline of the Cone. It was fun thinking I had! I found M81 and M82 in Ursa Major. I still haven't formed the habit of taking notes and logging my observations... Something that I clearly need to do. Because I know there were several other objects that came into my view, but another time... And of course, the night wouldn't be complete without a good look at Saturn. At 200X the Cassini Division was easily discernable. Saturn is always a treat! Being the early riser that I am, I packed it in around 10:30. A really exciting few hours of observing. Denis Lefebvre Salinas

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