Once again we have a full moon. We can pretty much forget about visual deepsky observing. But hey, a clear sky is a clear sky . . .

Last night I took out Little Red Riding Scope (an 80mm f/5 achromat) for a quick look at our friendly, neighborhood moon - and to show another individual a "real" blue moon. For this special occasion I used a #38A blue filter that transmits about 17 percent of the incident light. Not only does the filter knock down the blazing brightness of a full moon, but it does so while providing a pleasing blue color to the nearby orb. At 40x the moon looked like a beautiful, blue, crystal marble suspended in the night sky.

I was a little surprised at the sky's transparency. Despite the full moon, Scorpius was easily recognizable (with Saturn 'parked' nearby). All seven stars of the Big Dipper were readily visible. The Little Dipper was recognizable, though only three of its stars were easy to see. If I had so desired, I 'could have' done 'some' deepsky observing - but moonless nights are *so* much better . . .

Sketcher,
To sketch is to see.