Andromeda Galaxy
Yesterday was a beautiful day; sunny, no bugs. It's been hot but it cooled off considerably after sunset, temperature was about 45 degrees this morning. The sky was clear last night, and I took my new binoculars out to see what I could see. The Great Square of Pegasus and Cassiopeia prominent in the east. Those are fall constellations. Between them is the Andromeda Galaxy. I remember when I first started star gazing on my own, I could look and look for it, and never find it no matter how much time I took. Last night I was shocked that I was able to find it with the binoculars in less than a second. Was also able to get a look at the Hercules Star cluster, the Double Cluster, the Lagoon and Trifid Nebulas in Sagittarius, Albireo in the Northern Cross, and the Wild Duck Cluster. I think I might have even seen the Swan Nebula.
The real highlight of the evening was that the Milky Way was blazing across the sky. It's been years since I've seen it so clearly.
Because of light pollution, only about 1% of Americans are still able to view the Milky Way. What a loss! We definitely live in a backwater here on the Other Side of the Creek, but there are some advantages.
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