To All:

Sol Invictus will be appearing at a local dark sight somewhere tonight, DS2, DS4 or SGL-251. Let me know if any one is interested in observing with me through a 22" f/3.6 BIG DOB!

BTW, it finally cleared locally on Sunday Night, as you stragglers at home were aware, so we took Sol Invictus to DS-2 for a shakedown cruise. SUCCESS! All worked well mechanically and optically.

Peter was treated to POLARIS, Ursa Major, Ursa Minor, Cas, Per, Aur, Cyg, Gem, Ori, and Tau.

First Light was NGC 7789 the north's best OC.

Other objects included the Veil Nebula (Eastern and Western plus Pickering's Triangular Wisp), NGC 891, M15, NGC 457 (The owl cluster) the "famous" Double Cluster with nearby Stock 2 (the Muscleman). The NGC 7331 group of galaxies in Peg, M31/M32/M110, The "Ghost of Mirach" (NGC 404), the Perseus galaxy cluster about NGC 1275, M35 with NGC 2158 in Gem, the nifty bipolar PN NGC 2371/2372 as well as the "Eskimo Nebula", NGC 2392 @ 700x! We also had less than spectacular views of the North American Nebula (NGC 7000) in Cyg and the California Nebula NGC 1499 in Per.

Peter showed me a new one in my own backyard: "Nigel" Rigel's double companion! We finished with M42 and the Trapezium with the E & F stars seen.

Those two unexpected, back to back Noreaster's struck! It rained from the day he arrived until the day before Peter left!

We obviously didn't go to West Virginia for that reason as well as a family emergency.

Peter was treated to Washington D.C. and the Smithsonian and the Capitol plus everything else on the Mall, then Philadelphia with Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, Lancaster, Bird in Hand, Intercourse, Gettysburg, Nazareth and Bethlehem, PA.

A disappointing week weather-wise for observing, but Peter was fed Cheese Steaks in Philly after visiting Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, Yacco's Hot Dogs, Pierogies, Shoefly Pie, doughnuts, Sticky Buns, saw Revolutionary War Graves in Hummelstown and Bethlehem, PA, learned about the Moravian settlers and visited a local cabinet shop, Snitz Creek, in Lebanon, PA, and the famous Martin Guitar Factory in Nazareth PA.

And Sunday we climbed Little Round Top at Gettysburg, stood were Gen. Lee watched Picket's Charge fail, and amazed ourselves at the "Copse of Trees, The Angle and Stone Wall" the "Highwater Mark" of the Confederacy. Peter decided he had rebel leanings!!

And More!

Like singing the US National Anthem in unison to my wife's embarrassment!

As I told his wife Kim by e-mail, Peter was sent home whole, in one piece, but now there is more of him for her to love!

Turns out he had an interesting flight home from LAX to Melbourne, with an UNanticipated stop for 6HRs in Suva, Fiji! More on that one later!

Gastronaut