I have been waiting for a chance to try the new 20x80 Oberwerk binoculars and the UA mini mount I recently picked up used. Last night was clear and of course dark due to the new moon, so I went up to Stratham field with Samantha our chocolate lab.
I could see all the stars in the Little Dipper, so it was about as dark as it gets here in the Seacoast area. With the binos and a new beach chair from Wally World ($9.97 special!) I was able to lie down and view in several directions. M81 and M82 were easy targets, and I navigated to see M51 and M101 as well (all from Ursa Major, easy targets). M13 was an impressive ball of light, but no stars were resolvable except as tiny points on the outer edges. Saturn showed faint evidence of rings, and Albireo was glorious and colorful with the stars widely separated.
Finally I spent a few minutes just scanning the Milky Way in Cygnus and saw several faint objects which I would have loved to identify but without better star charts, no luck. So Sam and I packed up and headed for home.
Of course, when I woke up about 3am and saw Jupiter out the window I just had to get out the new 80mm refractor. Belts were obvious, and four moons were easily spotted. M13 was a bit of a disappointment in the 3" scope, so I grabbed the 8" XT from the car. Wow, what a difference. Now the globular was spangled with individual stars. What a beautiful sight!
Finally, back to bed for a few hours, work awaits...
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