... and we got a bit of hazy open sky tonight. High level haze and some cloud cover. I was so desperate for some viewing I took the scope out in the garden. Trying out the wooden legged AZ tripod I want to use on our trip down south next February. Works ok but will need to make a few adjustments to make it smoother.
Viewing was poor as I mentioned before. A thin layer of ice haze very high up but zenith wasn't too bad.
Had a look at Venus in the west at about 40 degrees. First time I've actually had a good look and seen the crescent. 20 mm Wideview and then 2 x Barlow was the seeing limit. the 12mm barlowed turned it into a boiling wobbling blur.
Tried to find Omega and Eagle but this setup has no setting circles or reference markings and the haze was obscuring the dim recognition stars in that area. I think I found Eagle in the end but not sure because the clouds finally slid across and killed it all. Managed M7, Butterfly and Lagoon prior but any nebulosity or dim stars were lost.
At least I got a sky fix for the month, about the only one so far. Don't expect any drawings.
