As I drove up the winding road to the middle of nowhere, I idly mused upon the inner workings of the internet as I contemplated the ominous thunderheads on the horizon. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 2 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 5 in that confusing part of Virgo. It was a dead ringer for a whale spouting. Then, I slewed to NGC 5995. It was like the eternal nothingness of being. Then, for a real challenge, I nudged my telescope to IC 266. It was not quite as bright as Krylon Ultra-Flat Black.
After a short break to grab a cheese snack, I tracked down Abell 15. It looked a bit like Santa Claus. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I had a chance to see IC 2016. It reminded me of that graph in An Unpleasant Truth. Then, I logged NGC 3889 in Septans. It would be easy to confuse with spent coals, faintly glowing. After that, I located IC 868 in Lynx. It was better than a Black Rider hunting for Frodo. With that checked off my list, I identified B 480. It glowed, rather like Gollum. Then, for a real challenge, I located M 60 in Corvus. It appeared as an edge-on barred spiral with a sharp dust lane. Next, attacking my personal nemesis, I sketched IC 911. It seemed just like an inflamed monkey butt.
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 day out under the hot sun with bitter enemies.