Observing session May 2, 2021

There were a lot of clouds and there was even some rain during the whole day.  However, all weather sites predicted a clear evening.  And indeed, in the evening, the clouds parted and it became clear.  I started observing around 23:30 and I stopped at 0:50.  The temperature dropped from 2.6 (82%) to 0.7 (89%).  The SQM value was quite good for our garden and varied between 20.07 and 20.15.  My hands were really cold!

I observed using my 18" Obsession, but I had some new stuff to test this evening:

- I could use my Howie Glatter laser collimator for the first time.  It is very easy to do the collimation myself now, thanks to the TuBLUG.  

- For my birthday, I got a R-Sky Hooded Observing Vest.  The vest itself is very useful with a lot of pockets.  Very easy to put some eyepieces (and the SQM-meter) there.  The hood itself is also very nice.  It is possible to remove all the background light.  This was very relaxing and helped me to see the faintest details in the objects.

I mainly observed bright and spectacular objects.  I started with M 3.  After that, I could see the nice comet C/2020 R4 (ATLAS).  Some more detailed observations were made of M 99, M 104 and M 64.  I ended my observations with M 81, M 82, and M 13.  M 82 was really spectacular this night!

The observations can be seen in DeepskyLog