From: Collin Smith [mailto:CollinofAlabama@cox.net]
Sent: Monday, April 04, 2005 5:47 PM
Subject: Friday night lights
Team,
I got to the game at Emma very late in the 3rd Quarter, around 10:45. I got put in immediately and started scoring right then and there. Veteran players Jerry and Don were tired, since they'd been there since just after sunset, but with me there, they were somehow inspired to stay till the end. I am surprised they were motivated by my presence, cause I was dead tired when I arrived from my long week. I had a LOT of trouble driving home, given my sleepy state, but we all made it okay.
Don and Jerry had already scored countless Leo galaxies, etc. But I didn't waste time, catching M81/82, followed by the Whirlpool, M51. Nabbed M1, M38/NGC 1907, spidery M36, brightly centered M37 before they set. Jerry and Don had already got M35/NGC 2158. Saturn and Jupiter were excellent, too! ¡Aaayá! picked up the Sombrero Galaxy, M104, and followed this with M13 and M3.
It was nice picking off M44, while looking for the Eskimo, NGC 2392. Jerry guided Don and me there, though. Meanwhile, Jerry urged us on to tackle M83, while going deep and snatching the enormous Omega Centauri globular, NGC 5139, just above the horizon, and climbing above a distant telephone pole. The spiral galaxy Centaurus A, NGC 5128, was an easy jump up from Jerry's prize, Omega Centauri.
Again, at Jerry's retro urging, I grabbed the spiral galaxy NGC 2903 in Leo.
Toward the end, we caught M80 in the rising Scorpius, and our old friend, the Ring Nebula, M57.
Don had out his latest equipment - a StellarVue 102mm achromat he picked up off AstroMart. He startled me with a fantastic image of Saturn at 160X with a lot less chromatic aberration than I've ever seen in an achromat at that kind of power. A winner of a scope! Jerry and I had our good ole standard dobsonians.
Had a good time, and victory was ours as we wearily drove back west to Lubbock around 1:15AM.
High five!
CDS

-----Original Message-----
From: Collin Smith [mailto:CollinofAlabama@cox.net]
Sent: Thursday, March 31, 2005 5:11 PM
Subject: Friday night
Astroamigos,
Tomorrow night is SUPPOSED to be very clear. It'll be cooler, but this is one of the best nights we're forecast for the next several days. The tentative plan is... north if water, east if dry. That is, if it rains, we'll go to SkyView, given the better roads, but if it does NOT rain tonight, let's go to Emma. I'll probably get there later, around 9:15. Anyone needing a ride, additional info, etc., get back to me.
Hasta mañana night, babies!
CDS