Very fun to read all of the postings about observations. 🙂
I got out tonight for two hours and had every intention of finishing the Herschel 400. However it was windy and I needed a spot other than the Flatin Farm hayfield.
Two wonderful things happened. I called up my favorite nephew Matthew and asked him if I could set up just to the south of a screen of dense arbor vidas that he has on his property. He said "Sure" and although it is right by Hwy 44 (100 yds. to the sourth?) it is very dark and the trees block the light pollution from Caledonia.
Just as I was getting ready to finish the H-400, my great niece Maria came out. She is 11 years old and is a sweetie, so I ended up giving her a two hour lesson in observational astronomy. We saw Saturn and Mars, I showed her Alcor and Mizar and explained the difference between an optical double and a binary, explained that when you look up in the sky you not only are looking up, but also back in time and that although every stars light reaches your eye at the same time, the light has different travel times for each star. Her eyes got real big and she said "That is so weird, but so cool!). She also loved "Arc to Arcturus and spike to Spica."
Then I showed her some more of the Obvious Stuff and the best part of the whole night was when she gave me a hug and said, "I love you, Uncle Dean."
I guess I wanted to finish the Herschel 400 on the Flatin Farm hayfield anyway. I reached the 100 hour mark tonight. See you soon!