There are too many, and most of them are "best" for reasons that would
make no sense to anyone else. Or just too personal.
But one does stand out as just making sense.
It was a long night at Yosemite, starting with palpable darkness
that let me show bright details in NGC4565. Later, I spent most of my time
hunting exquisite Barnard objects -- the best use I've found for a real
black night. They just don't show up otherwise.
After almost everyone else had drifted away, there were four of us
left digging every last grain possible out of that sky: JVN, Paul Mancuso
and the incomparable party animal Jack Zeiders.
We were tired, but Jupiter came up over halfdome, and you could
see detail in the occulted disk as it rose.
Okay, it was steady that night.
Something in those late moments was a perfect tincture of
observing: just being people out in the universe, exhausted with too much
of a good thing.
Up came the moon, the tired drive back to freeze in the
campground. Yeah, I still remember that too, but who cares.
Runners up would include scamming popcorn off Ed Erbeck, luxuriating in
his camper after a long cold night.
d