Stunt astronomy.

So last night, I brought my wee telescope out to the nearby schoolyard so that I could have access to more of the sky, especially things in the far south like the Eagle Nebula (and although I'd never see the nebula in this thing, I would be able to see its associated star cluster) and a whole host of Messier objects in that neighbourhood.

So I do my polar alignment and make sure my setting circles are right, and then I set my sights on that first target. Right then my palm pilot dies. It's been doing ok as a palm pilot-sized star atlas for a couple nights already. But it had forsaken me right when I was getting started.

Bah.

So I think, well geez, what can I see that I know how to find already? How about Andromeda? I've never seen Andromeda in this telescope. Heck, I've even tried numerous times, and I knew generally where to look too, even then. I figured I wouldn't be able to find it.

And yet I did. I was shocked. I found it after only about 10 minutes of searching for it too. Of course, all I could see was a very dim view of the fuzzy core, and neither of its satellite galaxies, but I'll be damned.

And so I take a look at the sky without the telescope and see what constellations I can find. Well, there's Pegasus of course (by which you can find Andromeda). And the big dipper. And Cassiopeia. And Hercules, if you look hard and you know what to see. Hey, the big dipper. There's a double star just over the last star in the handle at the cup, maybe I can find *that*. No luck though. I couldn't actually find my guide star either, it's just barely bright enough to be seen in the murk and light pollution anyway and I couldn't pick it out in the finder.

So maybe I can find the Great Hercules Cluster. That's relatively easy to find. I think I might have seen it in this scope before too.

And fuck me, there it is. I astound myself. I probably could have taken on the Ring Nebula, but I had misjudged the weather again and I was getting cold. It was so warm out when I started!

And people say that these wee telescopes are crap. Bah. I just revel in the fact that I can find anything at all, especially under these conditions. Bad light pollution, small telescope, no map. Bah, I say! Bah!