Nice Night at Montebello

Peter McKone

Rogelio Andreo, Marek Cichanski, Rob Hawley, Mark Johnston, and a refractor owner, who name I forgot to ask, had a surprisingly good night at Montebello. We were joined by Stanford Astronomer Jack Zirker, and a group of about ten enthusiastic star party observers who signed up at the MROSD web site. The air was still with not even a hint of dew. Temperature was fifty five degrees when Rob and I left at one am. The thin day-old Moon was very pretty. Seeing was poor in some directions, but quite acceptable in others. Polaris looked like a beach ball, while Saturn was reasonably sharp. Galaxies in Virgo were clearly visible, without being so bright as to impact your night vision, as I'm hoping they will be next month at Adin. After several days of twenty knot winds, we were all pleased and relieved to find a calm productive Wednesday night at Montebello.