[Lismore Bloke (Paul)]

I looked out the back window and grumbled at the moon, then thought, what sort of amateur astronomer are you? Get your butt out there!! So I did!! Wind had dropped to nearly calm. Moon waxing crescent 34%. No dew, air very dry, transparency 3 out of 5, dust mostly gone, seeing about the same. Scope: 12" Dobsonian.

I wanted to concentrate on objects with a high surface brightness, rather than get frustrated trying to find things too faint for the conditions.

SCULPTOR:
NGC 253 GX MAG 7.10 This popular target was easily spotted, but some of the fainter outlying regions were not as bright as on a dark night. This one, like many brighter DSO's, can be spotted in the 8x50 viewfinder.

NGC 288 GC mag 8.1 This globular always seems fainter than its magnitude suggests, not exactly jumping out of the eyepiece.

NGC 55 GX mag 8 This great galaxy seemed brighter than 253. All these ojects had suffered somewhat in their fainter regions because of the effects of the moon. I was pleased just to see them, just to prove that you don't have to stay inside just because the moon is up.

GRUS:
NGC 7213 GX MAG 10.5 In spite of its proximity to Alpha this little round compact glow always seems easy to see.

GRUS QUARTET: I thought I would have trouble with this group, but not so. Obviously they were harder to see, particularly the fainter ones, but definitely there!!

CAPRICORN:
NGC 7099 GC MAG 7.5 The brighter globulars seem to be little affected by moonlight, and this one was very nice.

NEPTUNE was a greenish dot just off the bottom of Capricorn, its colour making it easier to pick out.

JUPITER of course, not quite as clear as a week ago, but still impressive in the Nagler 12.

AQUARIUS:
My northern sky is pretty restricted, but I could see these two beauties:
NGC 7009 PN mag 8.0 Again, seeing was not as steady as my last viewing session and the shape not as clearly defined. When I have a high grade 8mm eyepiece and a filter things may improve!!

NGC 7089 GC AG 6.5 (M2). A beautiful bright globular. Rich and concentrated.

TUCANA:
NGC 104 GC MAG 4. What can one say about this beautiful object, probably only rivalled by Omega for the title of best globular in the sky. I pity the northern hemisphere observers who can't see objects like this.
While near this, I also scoured around the SMC, although it is a bit low just yet for me.

SAGITTARIUS:
NGC6514 CLUSTER AND NEBULA MAG 6.3 (Trifid) This well known object was a lot closer to the moon's glow, but the nebulosity and dark lanes were still evident.

NGC 6618 CLUSTER AND NEBULA MAG 6 (M17) This one also was not swamped by the moon.

NGC 6723 GC MAG 7.3 Quite a bright, large globular, core rather looser than some. I always think this one should belong to Corona Australis, it's so close to it!!

NGC 6809 GC MAG 7 (M55) This globular was quite bright, large and roughly circular, not concentrated in the centre like 47 Tuc.

All in all, a very pleasant couple of hours at the eyepiece. Cheers, Paul.