'Wow' is pretty much the only word I can think of that can accurately sum up tonight's session.
I stepped outside at 8:30pm and looked skyward and was greeted by the clearest sky I have ever seen in the four years I have lived in Australia. The Milky Way wasn't just visible. It was practically
glowing. I waited until my eyes had fully adapted to the dark and I could
clearly see dark areas of the Milky Way. It shocked me how clear everything was. The stars weren't scintillating. It was perfect seeing.
I then started aligning the scope using Ascella (ζ Sgr), Atria (α TrA) and Algorab (δ Crv) as my three stars. Just aligning these three stars was a learning experience to me as although I have loved astronomy for years I haven't really had much experience outside and using star-hopping to find my stars I could make out the shapes of the constellations in the sky. It was far, far easier than I thought it would be. Sagittarius really does look like a teapot!
The first thing I looked at was Jupiter. It was very, very high and at -2.09 magnitude. I used a 10mm Plossl and the view didn't dissapoint. The bands were very clear and I swear I could see great detail in momentary glances. The Great Red spot was very nice indeed.
Then my dad came outside to have a look, We both looked at Omega Centauri and he was keen on seeing a galaxy so we then looked at Centaurus A which was just astounding. The thick dust lane was clearly defined and it was brighter than what I had anticipated.
Then onwards to the Wild Duck Cluster which filled the FOV with the 10mm and was ideal in the 15. While he was looking through the scope I looked North and noticed a bright star which I immediatly knew was Vega. I've always had a soft spot for Lyra and I've always wanted to see the Ring Nebula and tonight was my chance. I pointed Vega out to him and after 20 minutes or so I had an unobstructed view of the entire constellation. The scope slewed to the Ring and I looked through the eyepiece.
'Incredible' is good word to describe the Ring Nebula. It was
much bigger and brighter than I had expected it to be, it is certainly the best planetary neb I have seen yet. Clouds started to move in from the West so I decided it was time to go inside.
So there's the first
real observing session I have ever had in my life and I'm stoked.
Thanks for reading.