A Clear night !!

By arun; Published 21 Oct 2007

We were really not expecting a great sky when we were driving to Mahabalipuram in Dr.Suresh`s car. Armed with a Lightbridge 10'' and an LX-200R we thought we would be happy even if we get glimpses of few objects. But after a failed Yelagiri trip (due to bad weather) it finally looked as if luck was on our side.The observing session started at 7 PM and with Akarsh by our side we were able to view a number of objects including the M22,M28,Ring,Swan and Dumbell nebulae. After this we got glimpses of M31 and M32. The transparent skies lasted till 10 PM after which clouds started setting in. Soon windows started appearing and we were able to have an excellent view of the Orion nebula which was the star of the day.Other objects included NGC 1851, NGC 869 and NGC 884. Was a worthwhile trip considering the fact that we get clear nights like these twice or thrice in a month.