Crumby and the Impossible Messiers

These are the Messiers that turned out impossible at the CB.

M33 - Triangulum
M74 - Pisces
M88, M91, M98 and M100 - Coma Berenices
M90 - Virgo
M101, M108, and M109 - Ursa Major
M110 - Andromeda

One might assume that given all the time I have wasted fixing to espy these at the CB, I would have immediately set up to epsy them all on my visit to darker skies. Maybe next time. Yet during the hour 4-5AM when the sky was almost completely clear, I was so in awe of the Milky Way under darker skies that I almost forgot about mere Messiers. Yes. The Milky Way is unbelievable. Forget about Upup the Bisexed Deity of Gravity. Why don’t we worship the Milky Way? A case can be made!

Well, I did manage to espy two of the Messiers that night under darker skies. M101 has been particularly irksome for this amateur average astronomer. When the clouds parted below the Big Dipper, I looked for M101 first. Then, I had to espy M33.

Next time I head out to darker skies, I shall most certainly be way better organized. That’s right. Anon, a padded bag for the Great Red Tube may arrive. When I get that padded bag, I shall tote the Great Red Tube to darker skies, not merely tote the Bushnell Voyager Family Table Top Model. Then I shall easily and eventually epsy all those Messiers. Hmm. It may be too late this year for all those Virgo type galaxies. That’s because Moon is bright and up all night as Virgo sinks slowly in the west.

OK. To summarize I need my padded bag to arrive. I also need a totally clear moonless night. Jeez Louise! Hold it! Shit me a river! Turns out the Beelzebub Solstice and the next New Moon occur on June 21 and 22 of the Julian. My padded bag surely ought to arrive by then!!!!