July 25, 2009: Bonny Doon Airfield

Peter McKone

I visited the Santa Cruz astronomers at Bonny Doon Airfield for the first time on Saturday, 25 July 09. Conditions could not have been better. The air was completely dry except for a brief time right around sunset. There was a temperature inversion. I suppose that must also have been true at Coe and FP. At 1:45 the temperature was 68 degrees at the airfield, and 55 degrees down in Scott's Valley. We never saw a single cloud. I was particularly impressed with the absence of light domes. Santa Cruz was evidently covered in fog. I was able to see several galaxies that normally require a darker site. As an aside, I still can't see NGC 6118. Not sure what's up with that.