Public Night Log
Last night we had a fantastic night of observation. We stayed at the observatory immersed in the breath taking views of the dark Charlestown skies. We started our night with a 40% waning crescent Venus. We then skipped Mars in favor of viewing Saturn and 4-5 visible moons (Titan, Rhea, Tethys, Dione, Enceladus). Saturn was lost to us last year at Frosty Drew due to excessive cloud cover during the season Saturn is visible, so this year we have been getting our fix on. After many gasps that Saturn rightfully earned, we moved our telescope towards the Virgo Galaxy Cluster and got our first mesmerizing view this year of this galaxy rich region. As the night progressed we danced with all the fascinating galaxy's, star clusters, and nebulae that are so visible on coveted, clear - Moonless nights. We closed up as the half Moon rose above the Eastern treeline at 3:00 a.m.Last night was a great night and hopefully a primer of nights yet to come. I counted 55 entries in our guestbook, though I would say we had double that present. We also had the company of many regulars, some that drive quite the distance to experience the breath taking skies Charlestown has (Mike, Brian, Derek, Gavin, and so on).Our observing session last night included the following; Planets: Venus, Saturn, Mars. Galaxy's: M104, M90, M95, NGC 4438, M86, M84, NGC 4387, NGC 4388. Globular Clusters: M53, M5, M13, M92. Nebulae: M57, M27, NGC 3242, NGC 6888, IC 5070, NGC 7000-Scott MacNeill
