[Placidus (Mike and Trish)]

Logan, Greg, Colin, Tim,

Thanks muchly, colleagues.

Open clusters can be surprisingly pretty despite requiring almost negligible effort to capture; a bit like tossing a good steak on a hot barbie for a few minutes a side.

Although the moon was full, it was only just rising, and the beastie was close to the meridian. The very short exposures reduced the chance of gremlins. There are pairs 2 sec arc apart in the distant milky way background that you could drive a truck through, so we were pretty happy.

After close to 6 weeks of idleness, the only troubles we had were stale petrol in the generator carbie so it didn't want to do a remote start, and a big hairy huntsman seeking warmth, that landed on Mike in the dark. So good to be back in Oz.

Best,
MnT