Ok... so I'm nuts. It's 2am and I just got done setting up. I'm in Kentfield under a very dark sky. The Milky Way is perfect. Slight breeze, but nice. No fog or dew yet, but I'm ready for it with my phase warp induced heater system. Bring it on.

M56 - clear, faint; M15 sharp; Uranus was popping in and out of focus but the image was stunning. The scope is working fine. Again, I'm experiencing some misses on the goto system. Maybe it's the software again. I think I'm going to have to come up with a checklist before connecting the scope to the laptop.

Over to the Pleiades for a fun tour, ....and over to tonight's target: a better photo of Saturn. It's up but it's a bit fuzzy...uh oh... the dew monster has arrived. I quickly activate the phase warp induced dew reduction system at impulse power. I also activate the dew shield. 10 minutes later the dew has gotten worse. Full power to heat shield! Five minutes later: dew all gone. I win. Saturn's clearing up, but still too low for a good shot.

The software has been fun to play with. It's got an engineers perspective, but a little trial and error yields some quick learning. Luckily all settings are saved. I've finally gotten the picture database to show up. So now I can see a mini picture of the target before going to the scope. This does help. There is a ton-o-information in the databases and you can add your own coordinates and pictures. Point and click...it's almost too easy. Once again though the scope and the software a tad out of sync. I've finally figured out how to keep them fairly close together in alignment: just resync after matching coordinates with the scopes computer. I know what the problem is, but I'm going to live with it for tonight.

The Dumbbell Nebula was STUNNING. It came in great focus for a few seconds so I could make out the bubble formations. I have never seen a nebula through a telescope with such clarity before. That's really not true. Orion's nebula is quite detailed. ...Oh... looky there. ...there's the Orion Nebula now. ...Let's go look. I can't wait to get my full CCD set up, so you could see the detail live. ...soon.

Jupiter and Saturn are up now (4am) and looking sharp as ever. Of course the winter months will be better, but I'm impatient. Nothing much to report on them. See pictures below. The scope was at f/6.3 with a 15mm eyepiece. The camera was set to a 1/30 second exposure at full optical zoom plus 1.6 digital zoom for Jupiter and the Saturn shot #2. A 1/15 second exposure was used on Saturn photo #1.

Jupitor-no filter

Saturn #1-no filter

Saturn #2-no filter

5am. Time to go home. This is a wonderful spot. The eastern lights are mostly blocked (more than on Mt Tam). And the west ridge is only 10 degrees above level. There's room here for about 6 cars to park and about 6 scope setups equal in size to mine. The house right across from me is close, but I keep quiet and no one says anything. A couple walked by, but didn't take the invite to look through the scope. Their loss.

Until next time...