| This was a family outing, my husband and daughter joined me and we camped in a tent (I usually just sleep in the back of my Tahoe) We met Margie and her husband as well as her friends, Raoul and John at this site. This was Raoul's first time coming here. Severe thunderstorms had moved through the region in the hours before nightfall, and in fact my family had driven through them on our way to the Preserve. Upon nightfall, there were plenty of clouds in the sky and the storm was still going on to our southeast. The skies were lacking in contrast and after a couple of hours we all agreed that "this was not a galaxy night". However, we stuck it out and the skies certainly improved.
The sky to the south and southeast was milky. Omega Centauri was never found. The southern tip of Corvus was really all we could get. I called it a night around 2am.
Leo Trio - Fairly low in the sky and somewhat lacking in contrast, this was one of the first objects I observed. They lacked a certain "punch", yet were still quite pretty to look at. They all held up to the 9mm, but were not at their best.
R Leporis - A subtle change in magnitude, however poor skies cannot be ruled out as the cause. It is still one of the most beautiful carbon stars out there! It was low in the sky and seeing was not very good.
Saturn - Not a very good night to observe the planets, but Saturn has yet to disappoint me. The skies simply weren't steady enough, but some detail on the surface was seen.
NGC 4038,39 in Corvus - Dim and diffuse, did not hold up for the 9mm. Very little structure detail could be seen.
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NGC 4102 in UMa - It has been a while since I have observed this galaxy. It held up well in my 9mm, and in moments of excellent seeing, a faint "ring" could be made out.
M109 (NGC3992) in Uma - This galaxy suprised me tonight. While it did not hold up so well in the 9mm, it was beautiful in my 17mm. The detail in the spiral arms was readily apparent, though not particularly bright.
M68 in Hydra - Beautiful in my 9mm, the outer stars formed a "pinwheel" shape almost as if there were large, airy spiral arms.
Y CVN - No change in this carbon stars' magnitude; it continues to glow a bright yellow.
The skies clouded over on Saturday evening and never cleared. I got up several times through the night, but no openings available! Satellite images showed that the clouds were developing over us and "training" off to the northeast.
Special thanks to Raoul for sharing his observing logs and spectacular drawings with me!
On a positive note, bugs were at a minimum Friday night.
Unfortunately, on Saturday, the love bugs swarmed in and the high temperature hit somewhere near 92! Night temperatures were a comfortable 65.
The Preserve is beautiful and is Florida at its' purest. We went on a few hikes and Nicole found a barred owls' feather and then we saw the owl itself. We will be back................when it cools off and the weather is stable.
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