Observation for August 17, 2008. I’ve now learned that to get more enjoyment out of my LXD75 it’s better if I plan my observing sessions. I planned to repeat the previous night’s observing and add a few more globular clusters. I chose the Ophiuchus area. The night’s session started around 9:07 which meant that Arcturus was just out of sight so I had to choose a different star to sync up to. I chose the 2nd magnitude star Rasalhague which was in the general vicinity. My son Bruce was at the controls of the Autostar. The scope slewed pretty close to the target which was then centered in the 5mm reticle.
For tonight’s targets I chose M5, M12, M10 and M14. M5 was clearly visible. M12 at 6.6 magnitude was more difficult to see and was best view using averted vision. M10 which was also a 6.6 magnitude cluster was easier to see then M12. I then revisited M14 and once again found it was a difficult target and required averted vision.
I ended up the night looking atM13 and M92 in Hercules. These are 2 clusters I never get sick of looking at.
Session ended around 9:45