"A short session, first light for a new mount"

Well, recently I purchased the Celestron Heavy Duty Alt-Azimuth mount from B&H in NYC. Designed for binoculars and small telescopes about the biggest scope it can hold is in the 12 pound range. Mine with eyepiece, an f/9.8 XLT Achromat, is around 14 pounds so a bit on the high side. For a total price of $98 including Fed Ex shipping it seemed like too good a deal to pass up and not much downside as if it was inadequate, I'd mount binos on it.

After a couple of weeks we finally had a break in the clouds yesterday between 4:00 and 4:30 AM. I happened to be up at that time and quickly rushed the scope out bearing the XLT. Although after about 20 minutes a fog arose but I managed to see the Flaming Star Nebula and various agglomerations of stars in the vicinity of Auriga, Taurus, and Gemini. Without the pressure of say, hunting for a faint galaxy I just enjoyed the star fields, knowing that I didn't have time for a formal object search based on an observing list.

So here I am as the VROD award winner of the day based on the nominations of the membership, who twisted my arm! Let's hope everyone enjoys 2024's sights as we bring in the New Year with hopes and expectations of better conditions....Thanks for the nomination all!

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