Hello folks, I got out for two hours tonight. Not the best conditions, breezy, damp, but warmer thank God.
I got naked eye, binocular and telescopic observations on Mars which now shows a gibbous phase as the Earth pulls ahead of the Red Planet. I saw the most surface markings on the planet in both the northern and southern hemispheres than at any other time this opposition.
I got an observation on Asteroid 4 Vesta, now about halfway between Gamma and Epsilon Leonis.
I even got a Herschel 400, NGC 3992 (also known as M109). That galaxy, normally very noticable, was barely visible tonight.
Better luck Wednesday. Hope for the best this weekend, but I think a Messier Marathon will probably have to wait until next year unless Rick stays up all Wednesday night to beat last years RAC record of 75!