DSC_0056, originally uploaded by david parmet.
We came, was saw, we observed. Perfect weather – a clear calm sky and mild temperatures – made for perfect observing last night, the final night of Stellafane 2010.
I only made the decision to go around Noon on Saturday – a friend phoned me from the camping field and told me I better get up there, the weather was perfect. I got there barely in time to set up my tent before sunset but somehow managed to get a perfect spot to set up – right next to where I parked and with an unobstructed view of the Northern and Eastern skies.
My own personal list of things I can finally cross off of my bucket list (Astronomy edition) included seeing the shadow of Io crossing Jupiter, finding M51 in my finder scope (!); seeing clearly the intertwining limbs of the two galaxies and seeing the barest hint of a spiral structure in Andromeda.
But the highlight was the Milky Way, clear as spilt milk spread across the sky.
These pictures are rather rough and need some processing, but for now they will do.
