"Observing Report for 12 December 2023 - swimming with a sea monster"

With a 3.5 hour trip to his dark sky respite KT4HX (Alan) planned an evening given the expectation of good weather conditions. After a year of smoke, fires, and general cloudiness it was gratifying for him to get out there under the stars.

Making the most of the opportunity he nabbed a comet in Lyra with his 17.5 inch Dob and then poured over the constellation Cetus (sea monster or whale?) which some mythologists liken to the Kraken, pulling in an almost amazing quantity of faint galaxies from the NGC, PCG, and IC catalogs.

What a session observing these 'island universes' - a term coined by Ormsby MacKnight Mitchel, a Civil war general turned astronomer. Congratulations Alan on a well-deserved VROD and here's hoping 2024 offers more observing opportunities for us all.

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