Hooray! I actually got back into the forum — AND DID IT ALL BY MYSELF ON THE COMPUTER!!!!!!! Please pause while I stagger around, clutch my chest and holler "Hold on Elizabeth, this be the BIG one!" ::)
Our computer caught a virus and has been down for a good two weeks. It is a pleasure to report my progress on observing this winter. I have gotten out seven times since October 29th (the start of my new observing year) logged 26.5 hours, and have upped my Herschel 400 total to 225, and Lunar II target list to 20 of the 100 needed.
My latest Herschel 400 objects were NGC's 2232 and 2242, both open clusters in Monoceros, both bright and showy objects. Sinus Amoris (the Bay of Love) was the last Lunar II target aquired. :-*
Venus, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn have made their way into my journaling, but I have not seen Mercury yet. Every time I've gone out I've had persistant low lying clouds to the southwest. Venus has reached its' quarter phase and will become more interestin week by week. I'd love to either get or look through a UV filter at it because I've heard that with that, an observer can actually see cloud stucture on Venus. 😮
Note to Scott – I'd be honored to review your Lunar 100 observations. If they look like they'll pass muster (and I'm sure they will), all you have to do is send them on to Steve Nathan (a Massachuesetts native) and he'll process your certificate very quickly. I got mine in a week! He's a super nice guy. 8)
My $80 winter Air Force parka is making winter observing a very comfortable experience. Warm boots, long johns, insulated coveralls and chemical heat packs for my gloves don't hurt either. I'm going to be out there every chance I get. Even zero degrees isn't a problem now. ;D
Hope to stay in touch and see you all soon. Here's to the January meeting and hopefully a third weekend in January star party at Eagle Bluff. May we all have AGNFA! 🙂