Sounds like a winner, gloat away. The air was particularly steady out
here in W Colorady last Sunday, and we had some of the best views of
Saturn I've enjoyed since a trip to Chiefland FL many years ago.


wrote:
I have had a new house built, primarily for my wife (who is tired of
suburbia)--but the upside is that it is under a sixth magnitude sky.
We had a brief break in the weather Saturday night, so I drove up to
the new house to roll out Big Bertha from the garage. Big Bertha is a
17.5" Dobsonian that reminds you that brute aperture is SOMETIMES an
adequate substitute for quality optics. (I have it stopped down to 15"
because the Coulter mirror has a turned edge.)

The Milky Way was oppressively bright--and it was almost impossible to
find most of the constellations because there were suddenly so many
other stars distracting me.

I have always relied on the "twinkle test" for distinguishing planets
from stars. Stars twinkle; planets (except under really awful
turbulence) do not. But I could not identify Saturn--because NOTHING
was twinkling.

I also discovered that I don't have an adequate stepladder to reach the
eyepiece for objects more than 45 degrees above the horizon. But M42
was visible--and it was so gloriously bright!

I think I will get used to this.