Last Sunday the 12th June i got an invite to go out for a viewing session with John and Anna (xstream) about ten minutes out of Wodonga. As normal, work had to play up with the offer and i couldn`t leave until after 8pm. John and Anna were heading out about 6-6.30pm and i headed out about 8.30pm. With the aid of the cell phone i rang John from the side of the road and we met up a few km down the road then up to the location i followed.
To see the night sky in all of it`s glory in a way i havn`t seen for a number of years i was on cloud nine.
We viewed objects that i have only read about and some that i have seen but no where as good as they are through a Mead Telescope.
M104 was such a treat for myself to view as i have tried with no luck with my little unit, and then there were more Galaxys, the triplets were great although only 2 of them fitted in the field of view. Star clusters were seen as i never have seen before, the Jewel Box, what a sight that was, the Tarantula Nebula, the Swan Nebula and others were just some delights to the night and not forgetting 47Tuc and Omega cent. We had only small amounts of cloud at times but they went as quick as they came. Comet 9p/Temple 1 was a buzz to view (being my first in a scope) and then we turned onto the planets. Jupiter and some of it`s moons were a real treat then we had Neptune and Pluto in the sights. No doubt i have not named all objects that we looked at as i can`t remember them all and didn`t take pen and paper as i was in a rush to get going. In between viewing and just looking into the Milky Way we had a good 1/2 dozen shooting stars but no satelites. A very good night of viewing indeed was had and many thanks to John and Anna for a night of looking into the sky in a way i have not done before, thanks to Ben for a good veiwing location.
Peter.
John and Anna are a friendly bunch, are they not? Great report Peter, always nice to read these types of reports when people see new objects for the first time, or old objects in bigger aperture! It's something you'll never forget.
Always a pleasure to read reports where IceInSpace members have gotten together, helping each other out, sharing their gear and sharing experiences. That's what this is all about.
