As I drove up the winding road to Devastated Area, I idly mused upon the current state of Plato's Republic 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 18 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 95. It appeared in the eyepiece like an inflamed monkey butt. After that, I observed M 26. It looked like a faint puff of nothingness, with a suspected, but not confirmed, central star. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I slewed to B 449 in Antlia. It took me back to the first time I saw Krylon Ultra-Flat Black. Then, I stumbled upon NGC 2071 in Ursa Major. It appeared to be two scoops of spumoni ice cream.
After a short break to empty my output buffers, I looked at Abell 8. It was easy, just like smoke signals from a rampaging Iroquois band. After that, I stumbled upon IC 3630 in Draco. It looked exactly like a whale spouting. Then, I hunted for IC 1634. It was as bright as an inflamed monkey butt. Next, attacking my personal nemesis, I tried B 618 in Sagittarius. It seemed just like the clouds I'd seen earlier.
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 looking at another first attempt to image the Lagoon Nebula.