As I drove up the winding road to the Peak, I idly mused upon the study of Dilbert as I contemplated the night's aurora display. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 30 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 9. It looked like cream being swirled into hot coffee. With that checked off my list, I checked out Abell 96 in Ophiuchus. It somewhat resembled fleecy wool. Then, I had a chance to see Abell 47 in Septans. It appeared as a cantilever bra. Next, I glimpsed IC 16. It reminded me of an edge-on barred spiral with a sharp dust lane. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I jumped to IC 1068. It glowed, rather like a far-away cloud. Then, I observed NGC 2219 in Gemini. It looked uncannily like a whale spouting. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I helped a beginner find M 7. It looked like R2-D2. With that checked off my list, I slewed to NGC 5144. It was like 60 grit carborundum on asphalt.
After a short break to empty my output buffers, I looked for and suspected M 57 in an unknown constellation that looked like a toaster. It was even more difficult than that graph in An Unpleasant Truth. Then, I observed M 95 in Corvus. It was easy, just like Gollum.
After a short break to chat, I checked off B 620. It gave the appearance of nothing I'd ever seen before. With that checked off my list, I tracked down NGC 2637. It gave the appearance of a faint puff of nothingness, with a suspected, but not confirmed, central star. After that, I found by accident B 185 in Canis Major. It somewhat resembled its Hubble photograph.
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.