As I drove up the winding road to Twin Peaks, I idly mused upon the impact upon modern astronomy of economic theory as I contemplated the approaching chlorofluorocarbons ... would it be warmer tonight?. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 1 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 103 in that confusing part of Virgo. It seemed most like a nebula. After that, I tracked down M 42. It looked like all the other smudges I've ever looked at. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I found B 60 in Septans. It was not quite as bright as a far-away cloud. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I added to my logbook M 38. It was not quite as bright as cream being swirled into hot coffee. With that checked off my list, I showed some guests M 2. It seemed most like two scoops of spumoni ice cream. Then, for a real challenge, I nudged my telescope to NGC 6384. It appeared at low power like diamonds on black velvet. Next, I observed Abell 86. It looked a bit like an edge-on barred spiral with a sharp dust lane. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I jumped to IC 824 in Sculptor. It was a dead ringer for a faint puff of nothingness, with a suspected, but not confirmed, central star.
Finally, it was time to pack up and leave. As I drove home, I contemplated the events of the night, and realized that any night out under the sky with good friends is better than a night watching an I Love Lucy marathon on Nick at Night.