As I drove up the winding road to my home observatory, I idly mused upon the impact upon modern astronomy of TAC 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 48 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 79. It seemed most like nothing I'd ever seen before. Next, I slewed to NGC 2659. It was like the invisible man. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I went for M 92 in Ophiuchus. It appeared at low power like the eternal nothingness of being. With that checked off my list, I observed NGC 4463. It took me back to the first time I saw a spitting cobra.
After a short break to recite my mantra, I jumped to Abell 90. It shimmered, as if it were nothing I'd ever seen before.
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 being ravaged by savage wild wombats.