To build on what Les just said, I find now that I see all sorts of things in the vicinity of the object I am observing. For examplle, have you ever noticed the beautiful tight double star near the Pavo Globular? I would have looked at that globular 100 times before dictating, and I never noticed the double. The first time I dictated my observations, the double jumped out at me.
In many cases, I start with the target object, then as I rove around the immediate vicinity, I stumble across objects not listed in Uranometria or Cambridge Double Star Atlas. When I return to this object, I have other friends to visit as well, so the exercise ends up being about visiting familar vistas of the sky, rather than just isolated objects plucked out of nowhere. Context is king - I find that objects are often far more beautiful when contrasted with what is around them. I use my 31T5 Nagler a lot these days - this helps in the process of scouting around. I then ramp up to a higher power EP if I find something of interest that calls for closer inspection.
Les, as for posting my observations, I don't know how interesting these will be to others, but happy to oblige!
|