As I drove up the winding road to the middle of nowhere, I idly mused upon the deep mystery of AP Refractors as I contemplated the crystal-clear skies. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 36 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 51. It seemed most like a little triangle.
After a short break to have a smoke, I added to my logbook NGC 6073. It was as bright as ripples of water. Then, I hunted for IC 701. It appeared to be a little triangle. After that, I showed some guests NGC 1807 in Fornax. It appeared to be its Hubble photograph. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I tracked down IC 2719. It looked uncannily like black pearls on flocked paper. Then, for a real challenge, I hunted NGC 1986 in Scutum. It reminded me of the eternal nothingness of being. Next, I tried M 41. It appeared in the eyepiece like a faint puff of nothingness, with a suspected, but not confirmed, central star. Next, I located Abell 90 in Cygnus. It was like a nebula. Next, attacking my personal nemesis, I studied IC 490. It was as bright as that graph in An Unpleasant Truth. Then, I nudged my telescope to IC 2813 in Camelopardalis. It seemed almost all the other smudges I've ever looked at.
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 listening to the Monkees Box Set.