Thanks for the great company everyone (and chocolate courtesy of Campbell, and pizza and beer courtesy of Rocket Boy).
It was great to meet Helmut, Jacob's friend, who came observing for the first time in "a long time" (read decades). Shame about the clouds, Helmut, but I am sure you will agree that the company made up for it. Also good to meet David, for whom it was the second Saturday night in a row. It may be getting close to an addiction, David.
Scott was gracious enough to let me have a play with his Discovery Truss Dob (thanks Scott), we took in some nice nebulae in Sagittarius before the Milky Way became the Milky Fog (M8, M16, M17, M20). It was good Scott to spend some time learning about your scope and EP selection. That scope gives some very nice views, and is certainly a very convenient size.
H, I hope things cleared sufficiently for you to do some imaging. I noticed on the drive home that the cloud cover seemed to have suddenly cleared...not sure if it was my paranoia, or whether it actually did clear.
As always, great to share a laugh with Mike and RB, and Geoff's optimism is always enjoyed ("C'mon fellas, I know that it is hailing, but any moment now we are going to have pristine skies! "[I may have slightly misquoted Geoff, there]).
Jack, Noah and Eva had a great time with Campbell. At one point I overheard Jack and Campbell chatting. Bearing in mind they are both 8 years old, they were chatting about their interests. Jack said to Campbell, "Yeah, I am more interested in chemistry than astronomy." I am pretty happy they were talking about the sciences, and Jack has plenty of time to realize he is really interested in astro-chemistry.
The kids showed some interest in observing through the ED80 I had set up, as well as testing the effects of shining a red-light torch down the telescope, both ways. No Noah, it does not lead to instant blindness, but I am glad you are wary of such dangers!
Unfortunately I left before Cahullian's arrival. I did manage to catch a few minutes chatting with Froggy, who seemed in good spirits for someone, like me, without a decent scope at the moment.
Look forward to seeing all of you next month. Only two months until Hubble arrives!!!!
