As I drove up the winding road to the middle of nowhere, I idly mused upon the current implications 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 16 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 86 in Sagittarius. It was better than Santa Claus.
After a short break to chat, I star-hopped to NGC 3066. It looked a bit like diamonds on light grey velvet. After that, I slewed to Abell 61. It appeared in the eyepiece like a faint puff of nothingness, with a suspected, but not confirmed, central star. Then, I checked out IC 70 in Camelopardalis. It looked uncannily like George W. Bush. Next, I found Abell 70. It reminded me of a whale spouting. With that checked off my list, I went for IC 3665 in Ophiuchus. It somewhat resembled Santa Claus. After that, I looked for and suspected Abell 94. It reminded me of a UFO.
After a short break to recite my mantra, I logged M 55. It reminded me of a glimmer of the Big Bang.
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 kick in the pants with a copper toed boot.