We had a great turn out for the May 11th RACOBS. At one point we counted over 28 cars and at least 45 attendees, many were new members and visitors. There was lots of activity with many people floating back and forth between telescopes sharing views, equipment and stories.
The evening was mostly clear with the occasional high cirrus clouds. Transparency was not as good as it was forecasted and the seeing was soft resulting in views that were not as sharp as we hoped. The temperature dipped into low 50s by midnight but in general was comfortable.
We had some great views of a setting crescent Venus, Saturn, the globular cluster M13, the Double Double, the Whirlpool Galaxy M51, the Sombrero Galaxy M104, the Leo Triple (galaxies) and much, much more. There were just a few of us left after 1am and we decided to pack up as a 57% illuminated moonrise was eminent at 1:28am.
Below are a few shots taken by RAC member Greg Bradburn of folks setting up just before sunset. Also, a special thanks to RAC’s own Joe Pedit for posting this time-lapse video!
