After the funfest of M53 and friends, the rest of my night with the 6-inch Astro-Tele visiting northern old pals was a bit of a wheeze. M13 at an elevation of 16° was glorious—not a whole lot less thrilling than it is for you lucky denizens beneath northern skies. At 163x and all-too rare sub-arcsec seeing here, some 30 to 50 stars more lazed than twinkled from this beautiful cruise ship of the north, being tugged through the skies by its two guard stars, with the faint spiral NGC 6207 a pilot boat leading the way to the Herculean harbour. It is spine-tingling to see your glory of the north on my right and our southern grandee NGC 104 or 47 Tucanae on my left.
Then to M92 celebrating its 13.1st billionth birthday, along with coeval M53. At my sky elevation of 8°, M92’s birthday cake to you was a crumb to me, a pallid 10 or 12 trembles at times looking like stars.
Finally a nightcap with M57 at barely 4° elevation, more luminous than any gas ring we have in the south. Its faithful little 13 mag watchdog star guarding M57's heels from a few arcmins away. M57 at 3 a.m. is the perfect accompaniment to our roosters crowing at the false dawn, which here brightens at 2:30 am this time of year. If they only knew, poor things, they’d be chagrined: it’s no Sun that awakens them at that hour, but the Zodiacal light. Explain that one to a rooster.
Dana, I presume everybody is too busy imaging & staring at computer screens around here hence no replies yet , but I enjoyed your reports. There is no sub(stitute) for real starlight reaching your retina is there.
Glad you liked the observations, Mirko. Not to worry about the lack of replies. Judging from some of the posts over on the Astronomy Science forum, I'm sorta glad for the silence. I'd rather have folks outside looking than inside arguing!
, but I enjoyed your reports. There is no sub(stitute) for real starlight reaching your retina is there.
