Hello astronomy fans! Steve, David Coset (the guy from France) and I got out there for 3 hours tonight. While we were setting up, I put David on my binocs and had him look at Albebaran, the Hyades and the Pleadies star clusters, plus Jupiter. That kept him busy until me and Steve could start rocking once we were set up.
Steve cruised through Auriga and showed David M37, M36 and M38, then dropped down to Gemini and showcased M35. We had a good disscusion on open star clusters, then turned our attention back to Jupiter. Callisto was closing with the planet and we kept a close eye on that. The Orion Nebula was also a big treat for him. I also pointed out Orion's belt and Collinder 70, the beautiful stars that surround the belt.
I also showed David M1 the Crab Nebula in Taurus and, while I had a little tussle with my star chart for Cetus, found NGC 253 the "Silver Coin Galaxy". I was suprised at how easy it was to see in my finder. We also showed David the Andromeda Galxay. (Pronounced "Andromed" in Francais).
David watched Callisto disappear behind Jupiter, and we taught him what a "Coconut Cover" is in English. (It is a stocking cap) and also loaned him a pair of gloves. He assured us that he would be "bettar preparred next tyme" and was really amazed at everything that he saw tonight. I hope all of you get to meet him sometime. He is really fun and gave me some genuine French mustard that I'm bringing to the RAC Christmas party. AGNFA!