Despite the great heat, a clear sky is prognosed. The seeing prediction is 5/5, it is a new moon, my telescope has been feeling neglected by me since the beginning of the year, and my back is more or less back in commission. So, while a short phone call established that Hippo is busy, I still feel like going out. I put my stuff into the car, throw in a camping grill and a cooler box with a few sausages and steaks, and drive off to Utecht around 9 pm.

As expected, there is nobody there except me. Given the current air temperature (70° F), a truly sharp image of anything is not going to be possible anyway. Does not matter. I set up and enjoy the very weak wind; at least my view is not going to be jostled by gusts. I am a little out of practise, so I need an extra attempt at polar alignment, but once that is done, everything works as it should. On the field south of me a lone harvester drives around in circles, and I try to get NGC 7009 (the Saturn Nebula) into view. A very nebulous object indeed, given the current conditions, meaning it is impossible to get a sharp image because of the turbulent atmosphere.

Time for something to eat; I fire up the BBQ and set the telescope to NGC 884 and 869 — h and chi Persei. With the wide-angle Superviews just simply gorgeous. Meanwhile, it is 10:30 pm, the steaks are done, and off to the south somebody is having major fireworks. Probably in Ratzeburg or Mechow. I eat sausages and steaks, enjoy the beautiful Milky Way against a practically black sky, and take a look at NGC 457, later on also M2 and M15. As could be expected, a brilliant general impression, but because of the overheated atmosphere, details remain a matter of wishful thinking. Accordingly, my attempts at photography result in optical mud. After a final go at the Saturn Nebula, which is a little higher in the sky by now (but still no details visible), I put my gear into my car, put my car into gear, and drive home.