WOW!!! is right! I got out there for two hours tonight, and even though the astronomy newsmags and websites say that this is "the brightest visitor of the year" and "easily seen through binoculars and will reach naked eye visibility", it took me a solid hour to pin it down.
I spent an hour with my 15X70 Celestron binoculars and could not find it. I knew it was near Lamba Casseopia, but could not definately tell where it was. I searched a wider area and still had no luck.
It was only when I switched to my Celestron G8 and tried likely looking targets around Lambda that I actually found it on my third try. What a feeling of accomplishment that was! To me, it is not a great telescopic object yet, at least, I doubt it would get many "Wow's" at a star party from the uninitiated. Visually through a telescope it looks more like an elliptical galaxy except for the greenish color. It was an extremely satisfying object to finally find. Very glad to get out there tonight.It looks like Randy will get a six pack of Spring Grove Lemon Sour!
Jupiter had a grand display of moons tonight, along with the Moon moving its libration away from Mare Oriental. Lacus Veris and Lacus Autumni are still visible. Dew was a problem tonight, but during the defogging sessions I used the binocs to view all the Fall Favorites. The Flatin Farm was quiet tonight, but I kept thinking about earlier this month. That was really fun.
God bless you all, Dean