Paul Cézanne's Astronomy Observing Reports

In preparation for the Messier Marathon at Larry’s house, I wanted to run a practice one, too see what setup is like, to see how long it takes to get align from when the first stars come out until you get your first slew.
I setup on the 3rd floor deck at the apartment in Provincetown. [...]

Wow, it is dark out here.
I mean, wow, really, freaking dark.
I went to Pilgrim Heights around 8:30 tonight. I’m driving down the access road with my high beams on, having just got off Route 6 with other car’s shining their headlights in my eyes. I park the car. I’m not dark adapted at all and [...]

Steve and Rags cajoled me into heading over to New Boston to have one lest viewing session with them before the move. I knew I shouldn’t, I was way too tired and the boxes were calling my name. But, I did anyway. I really wanted to get a dark site view of the recent M-objects [...]

So after checking out the Comet Chasing website I decide to grab Comet Holmes tonight from Manchester and then after that easy grab, I’d enjoy 46P/Wirtanen passing by NGC 1893. I knew that that would be dim but I’m getting so good at this it would be a piece of cake.
I went outside right around [...]

Here’s a quick shot of the moon setting. Probably one of the last Manchester moon shot’s I’ll take.
I never really did like this apartment but I must say, the photographic opportunities have been great. There used to be 4 or 5 huge trees which all were dying or dead. The town cut those down a [...]

So I’m sitting, you know where, reading the Feb 2008 issue of Astronomy. Wanting to see if there is something I grab tonight before getting back to my boxes.
Observe Winter’s Forgotten Star Clusters it says and I say sure, lets read. First one up is NGC 1502 in Camelopardalis, which has got to be one [...]

Yeah yeah yeah. I’m packing boxes, but I’ll certainly take a bit of clear moonless time out, not that there will be all that much, I’m writing this at 8:22 and the moon official rose 4 minutes ago.
Anyway, I wanted to see if I could grab M46 from Manchester. No such luck. I had hoped [...]

So I’ve been trying for a few days now to get M38 from Manchester with the binoculars. Not being dark adapted and having a very bright moon certainly hasn’t helped. I’ve also waited until it was a bit lower toward the horizon so I didn’t have to crane my neck so, but that put it [...]

The sky is very clear tonight so I try for M38 again. I find M36 quite easily, don’t even need my charts, I still remember from last night. But M38 prove elusive.

Manchester with lots of moon is just not the hot ticket I guess.

So we’re driving back from the Cape and the skies are pretty nasty, snowing actually. But for some reason I check the Clear Sky Clock and it shows nice skies that night at YFOS. I’m pretty happy, it as been a dreadful winter. I check online to see who else might be going and frankly [...]