HI,

I went out last night with my 114mm reflecter, my gto plossls and my 2x Celestron barlow. Temp in the mid 40's with moderately clear skies.

I set up approx 10:00 and after 1/2 hr of cool down I began my night. I have recently replaced the supplied 6 x 26 finder scope with an 8 x 50 I ordered from Hands On Optics. I can't begin to state what a difference the larger finder makes. I started by looking for Andromeda. The galaxy was an easy find with the larger finder scope. Almost directly over head Andromeda was a great sight. I just got a hint of mist surrounding the galaxy core (which I can almost always find.) I spent a long time going from ep to ep looking for the best view and settled on the 32mm.

Next I found Kimbles Cascade which was strickenly clear. A truely beautiful sight. Than on to the Double Cluster. Again very vivid and clear. Just hard to believe. Remarkable contrast in almost all my eps. I than picked up the Pleiades and finally m34.

One of the best things about tonight was the fact that I found all of the clusters and Andromeda in my 8 x 50 finder scope. Admittedly the 114mm scope leaves much to be desired as a deep sky instrument, but the conditions were very good.

All in all a really good night,

Later,

Lenny