After months of frustration due to constantly blocked skies, with exceptions lasting only minutes, a clear sky has been predicted. So I try to stock up on sleep, so I can spend a proper night out in the fields. Of course, I oversleep, so it is 9 pm before I am on my way out. On site, I am surprised to find a group of astronomers, none of whom I know: it turns out that one of them actually is a member of the Lübeck observatory, but rarely to be seen there. A bit like I, then.

While I set up, the others pack up and leave. The Milky Way is not visible, so the predicted seeing of 6 seems to be pure theory, but I don’t let that put me off. One of the Unknowns remains behind while I am finally polar aligned. At first, I go for Jupiter. Nice, some atmospheric detail is visible. An attempt to talk my webcam into taking good pictures ends without result, most likely due to the webcam. The atmosphere is still rather turbulent, so the pictures probably wouldn’t have amounted to much anyway. The remaining colleague leaves while I attempt to do some Deep Space; I go for M42. Not too bad through the eyepiece, so I try a few exposures through the 40mm Superview.

Working with a Bahtinov mask is something I have since mastered. Unlike the Great Orion Nebula; indeed the atmosphere is not very accommodating. All I get is optical mud: see picture. A little like Hubble before they fixed the optics. I hope for better opportunities in a different qudrant of the sky and switch to the Pleiades. Not better. I then go for an object near the zenith, M49. Again, nothing usable, and I throw in the towel. A short view shows that the Crab Nebula is already as good as below the horizon, as are several other targets I had originally planned for today. It is around 1 am, and I sadly slouch home.

Despite the bad tally of pictures taken (effectively, 0) it was nice to be out again. That had been long overdue, and so I hope that the weather will improve…