Finally, a clear night, and what a night it was. I winterized my Casita this afternoon and the sun barely stuck its nose out from behind the clouds that have been with us for the last two weeks or more. It was a prelude to a clear night sky! I listened to Astronomy's podcast earlier in the day and decided to try for NGC7789 in Cassiopeia. I was able to barely make it out with my 9x50's as a foggy patch between Sig Cas and Rho Cas above Bet Cas high in the north above my wife's new pergola. I hauled out the 8" dob for one last look before we head south for the winter and snagged it easily. It seemed a bit brighter in my 9x50 finder and was spectacular in my 25mm ep. It even reminded me a bit of our old high school mascot, the Trojan. It looked like a laughing skull facing down and to the left with a fancy headgear like a Roman legionaire (or a Trojan) might wear. It appeared as a foggy white patch against a black background with lots of faint stars highlighting the mouth, eyes, etc of the skull. A very nice view just before Halloween or Dia de los Muertos in the Valley.
Jupiter was shining bright to my rear so I swung the scope around for a quick peek. It was bright enough to hurt my eyes so I just glanced at the moons: all four were lined up on one side of Jupiter in a southerly direction.
Tonight was also the inagural appearance of my new Denver Observer's Chair. I finished it a few weeks ago but had not had an opportunity to use it. Since I had the scope pointed at a high angle, it came in handy. It worked well at both high and low settings as advertised. I need to add the stair tread and hose in order to make the seat adjustment a bit more stable though. It had a tendency to fall all the way down with the least provocation. It didn't try to dump me though and worked out just fine.
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