About 3 weeks ago I bought a scope, in preparation for Mars' approach. I had been out of amateur astronomy ever since I sold my only scope (8" Dob) about 8 years ago (big mistake!!). I picked up an Orion 100mm f/6 refractor, and was able to take it out to Coyote Lake a fwe times (great meeting the bunch of TACos there! By the way -- did Mercedes deliver yet?) I truly enjoyed the views, but they were a little dim, so I exchanged the scope for the next size up, the 120mm f/8.3 Skyview Pro refractor.
Since I exchanged the scope, the skies in my backyard have been particularly horrendous. Limiting magnitude is probably around 4.3, since I could barely see Zeta Ursa Minor. Yesterday, it was windy (very common here at night), and the seeing suffered. I could barely split Epsilon Bootis at 300x, and I could only get glimpses of the split in between fits of flaring.
But tonight, as I came home from Borders, I noticed that there was very little breeze, so I thought I'd try again. What a difference a day makes! Seeing was much better -- probably the best since I've taken up astronomy again. I could just split Epsilon Bootis at 100x, and the Double Double also! My previous attempts at splitting the Double Double required around 180x before I could confidently say I saw 4 stars. Ras Algethi was beautiful -- the primary a fiery orangish ball, and the secondary a subdued kind of blue(?)
I spent some time observing some of the brighter favorites in the sky. I found the Wild Ducks cluster -- looked like two wide chevrons pointed to the right of my eyepiece. And at 100x, I could start resolving the outer layers of M13. With an OIII filter and averted vision I could make out some dark lanes in the Lagoon Nebula.
Even from my light-flooded backyard, there's something about stargazing that renews my spirit. This weekend, I'll try to make it either to Coyote or Fremont Peak. Hope to see some compadres there!
Clear skies,
Albert