Bit of Luck Saturday Might
The Clouds moved away to offer a couple of hours of strangely clear skies. I saw the stars coming out, decided to take the opportunity to tackle some deep sky viewing before the moon made it's appearance. Glad I did. I was rewarded with views of the Butterfly cluster and the Prolemy Cluster. I was amazed to see dark sky with a naked eye, peer into the eyepice and whamo, a beautiful cluster of stars. After that, I decided to squint at Antares red glow, then swung across for my first view of Alpha Centauri (sure that was it). Spliting the binary was my first and I was most impressed. After that, across again back to Jupiter for the most spectacular view for me to date. Found the moons very bright (I swear I had 5 at one point - maybe just a floater) and could make out the large centre band. I wasnt expecting such clarity. I am rather looking forward to attempting Pluto and Uranus, but am struggling a bit with finding them. More time and experience will offer them I am sure. About then, the moon came up and I near blinded myself, but worth it, the moon never ceases to impress does it. Must consider a moon filter though...which in itself was also a shame because I was hoping to attempt Plieades and Mars, but the wash of the moon washed the entire area. Ready for next time! I have always wanted to see Mars with my own eyes. Probably have, just didn't know it. Before long the cloud cover returned and the night's viewing was over, but it was rather spectacular all the same. Great newbie night out.
Stallarium is just great as well, really helping me learn the skies in a good way and makes for an interesting night when the clouds are up. Really getting into that one.