Well, it's rained in the Seattle area for the last ten days or so. Actually, some of the days have been nice, but nights have been socked in with clouds and rain. Tonight, I spied a moment of opportunity and brought 160 pounds of equipment to the ready in hopes of having a few hours of clear skies (and clear mind) to image. I started with Venus but got no good shots as I was using a flimsy tripod. (You can't see Venus from the St. Wiggles Observatory, so I had to mount the Canon EOS 20D on a Celestron 90 and pack it down the road on an ordinary camera tripod. You know that doesn't work and so did I, but I had to try.)
As I was readying the observatory equipment, I noticed some wisps of cloudiness moving across the sky but that did not deter me. Good thing, too, because the night did, eventually, clear up long enough to give me some of the clearest shots of M42 I've been able to get yet. This image is a stack of four frames and is the best focus yet that I've been able to achieve. I'm a beginner, mind you - fumble-fingers Coleman in his St. Wiggles Observatory with a Miller Lite on one hand and Blind Melon tunes on the Ipod my only company. Actually got some good images of M45, M44 and M65 and NGC226-something - but the best I got was this composite of M42.
I waited for Saturn to rise over the trees, but it was a race against the dew - and I knew that going into it. As Saturn ascended, the clouds moved in. I would walk far out on the property to view Saturn since I couldn't see it from the observatory. It would be obscured by clouds (now THERE'S a good song title for you!) one moment, and bright and visible the next. So it became a waiting game with my finger on the bulb and my little heart pitter-pattering an anxious beat as I watched my finder scope fog over.
Too late. Saturn finally came into view, but all was lost. With great regret, I had to power it all down and close the observatory for the night. St. Wiggles gets to sleep for a week or two, as there's not a break in sight for a while. But I did want to share the one good composite that I got about of more than 200 exposed photos tonight.
(Washington State legislators want to build a damn Nascar track down the road from me so they can get some more tax revenue. If that happens, I can kiss my investment here goodbye. If you're a Washingtonian who cherishes clear skies and silent nights, please contact your legislators to help stop this in its tracks.)
