nebulae hunting (Richmond Hill)

Went to the (new format) Members Night at the David Dunlap Observatory. Social, quick dinner, short talks, and then observing. I was looking forward to it.

Met Guy N. at the York Mills station. A good number of members showed up, despite the chilly weather. Initially I mistook Venus and Jupiter. Viewed the shadow of Europa on Jupiter.

Pizza and pop was good. Many seemed to enjoy the coffee as well. Thanks, Bill.

Phil delivered a great talk on filters. A good sales pitch. There were two other presentations. Chatted briefly with Jason and Ed.

Sparked up the butane handwarmer.

And then we were back outside in the parking lot. When I saw her struggling with her Skywatcher 10" SynScan in manual mode, I helped Katrina find Clown Face Nebula (NGC 2392) by starhopping using her Pocket Sky Atlas. Later I helped Stu starhop as well (he was aimed at Auriga) with his Obsession 12½" Dob. We also looked at Jupiter. Took in the Great Orion Nebula. Helped Guy S. and family with the Orion constellation.

I popped into the big dome hoping to look through the eyepiece. But there was a huge queue. Good thing/bad thing. Late in the evening, I took a peek through the refractor professor Laframboise had set up.

We had surprisingly good skies.