Observation Session – 19 July 2008

Location: Auvergne volcanic plateau, France

Session duration: 2 nights

Sky conditions: Very dark sky (Bortle 2–3), light wind

Instruments:

  • 200mm Newtonian reflector
  • 250mm Dobsonian telescope
  • 7×50 binoculars

Targets:

  • Saturn
  • Mars
  • Betelgeuse
  • M13 (Hercules Cluster)

Observation notes:

Planetary and deep-sky observation proceeded under calm conditions, with most of the session devoted to visual comparison between the larger reflector and the refractor.

Several members made sketches in the field notebook and compared the apparent brightness of bright stars against previous entries.

Members present: Maxime Dallois, Adama Traoré, Paul Garnier

Observation Session – 05 July 2008

Location: Plateau de Valensole, France

Session duration: 2 nights

Sky conditions: Cold and stable atmosphere, seeing ~8/10

Instruments:

  • 300mm Dobsonian reflector
  • 100mm apochromatic refractor
  • 7×50 binoculars

Targets:

  • NGC 7000 (North America Nebula)
  • Double Cluster (NGC 869/884)
  • Perseus star field
  • Albireo

Observation notes:

Planetary and deep-sky observation proceeded under calm conditions, with most of the session devoted to visual comparison between the larger reflector and the refractor.

Several members made sketches in the field notebook and compared the apparent brightness of bright stars against previous entries.

Members present: Ayoub Berrabeh, Lucille Godefert, Paul Garnier, Antoine Delorme