Steve and I got out, well, I got out for four and a half hours. Stup made 2 and a half. He found M107 in Ophiuchus all by his lonesome. Well done with that one, but had a tough time with M69 and M70 in eastern Sagittarius. They are much smaller.
I had fun comparing the Celestron 4.5" Newtonian and the 4.5" Meade Newtonian that Steve bought from "Lucky" Volkenant who runs the local laundromat. He got it for $35, but of course it has a crappy finderscope and those stupid .936 Sirius eyepieces. Both the finderscope and the eyepieces could have come out of a box of cereal. I jury rigged a way to put a proper inch and a quarter eyepiece in there and it is a very fine telescope w/pinpoint stars. I am going to figure out how to get an inch and a quarter adapter for the scope and a proper FINDERSCOPE, not a RED DOT FINDER! Then it would be the envy of the RAC.
I stuck it out till Moonrise at 10:54. It had been a long time since I have had a night like that at the Flatin Farm.
Stup is doing good, he's got a hard fight ahead of him. He started chemo and radiation today. Pray for him. Semper Fi.