I headed out at about 7:10 PM and arrived at Binbrook Alternate site to see John, Jackie, John, and Jim all set up. (maybe I had better change my name to James, or something). It was still light out, so i aligned the Equatorial Platform (EQP) on Kochab, instead of Polaris. I can now say that north is about 4 degrees west of the line of Tyneside road, so no need to wait for the dark if doing visual observing from there anymore.

The moon, well lit, was nearing the zenith. The wind was very slight, perhaps 2 km/h, and the temperature was around -3C. I was alerted to the fact that the GWS would be later requested for a cameo on a certain NGC object, near Spica. Little did I know the target would be large and with low surface brightness. We need no moon for that one. It’s going to be a surprise when we bring it in. At the time, Spica was still below the horizon, so we first slewed to
the double cluster, which came out looking absolutely crystalline in the GWS.

I found a lovely red star in the sky north of the big dipper bowl. Appropriately, it’s name starts with J too, Juza. It’s a fine red star, only slightly variable, near magnitude 3.8

The double cluster was admired in Jim’s scope, while i searched the pocket sky atlas for the best way to find it when not using Goto. I found it under D in the open cluster listing, which also included many other clusters, not just messiers. I now know how to fish up the double cluster without an atlas. I wonder if I will be able to do it next time. If the moon had not been up, it’s practically a naked eye object. I think the moon helped make it better, because it washed out some of the background stars, leaving the brighter ones to be seen more distinctly without distraction, much as a string of streetlights seems to come into view one at a time, out of nowhere as you drive on a foggy night. The other lights are completely hidden.

The trapezium showed 5 stars, but a barlowed 7 mm zoom eyepiece was just too difficult to
keep on target for me to comment on whether there was any chance of more stars. Saturn was showing 5 moons: a bright one, a pair, and 2 slightly more distant moons, one on each side of the planet. I’ll be shopping for some more eyepieces in the near future.

The moon also afforded the most clear and fabulous views this evening. The clarity was almost perfect. There was a slight shimmering to the moon’s surface, but it in no way took away from the very fine white and shadowed nature of the moon. Aperture was giving resolution this fine night, and the scopes were standing up to 150x and 250x magnification without any sign of strain.

John’s excellent Pentax eyepiece brought in Saturn very nicely. The GWS also provided excellent views of Saturn, along with a 26 mm barlowed series 4000 eyepiece, which brought about 70% of the moon’s disk into view in the eyepiece.

A few visitors came by and were treated to positively outstanding views of Saturn, and the moon. The tree line at the alternate site plays a role in target selection, and I am not convinced that it will be a good place to complete a messier marathon.

We decided to pack up a bit before 11 PM, as the moon was so dazzlingly bright that all DSO’s were pale by comparison, literally and figuratively. It took about 20 minutes to pack up the GWS and close the VW so that we were all ready to leave.

The Tim Horton’s was well prepared for our arrival, with nobody at any of the tables, but a few patrons at the drive through. A box of Tim-bits seemed to satisfy everyone at the table and room for a few more guests, had they attended.

We reminisced about many things, including the 70’s the 80’s and the 90’s. Clowns, beards, and blades were considered in all combinations.

The old HAA logo was fondly reconstructed with the help of collective memories. The lineup for new HAA apparel was discussed.

The rims were rolled up and 2 of three of us with coffees won the privilege ‘Please play again’. They were delighted. One free coffee also resulted. I was informed that certain members of our club have unbroken ‘Please play again’ winning streaks, still in play.

A few gems went by, such as discussion about donuts of ‘legendary size’.

Plans for GO#4 were considered, but alas, the kybosh is upon it. Clouds of legendary size are coming our way.