The Fall Moonlight Madness Party was a great success. Preston Starr set up his H-alpha telescope and we watched prominences, talked, drank, ate Bar B Q, talked, drank, ate, ate some more, and talked, and finally conked out. The auction was more of a swap meet, but that too was quite successful, as everyone that brought something went home with less than they brought. Preston got the award for the having the most unusual stuff for sale, and I think he sold it all. (Either that or he paid someone to haul it off.) I was more cautious, or less brave, fearing embarrassment at displaying all the junk I've collected over the years. I promise that next year, I'll open that closet door and dig more stuff out.

NGC7331 is approx. 46000KLY from earth. This is one of the brighter galaxies not included in Messier's catalog. Notice the fine spirals in the structure. This image is composed of 12- 30 second images taken with a CB245. All images taken at the club's Dark Site.

NGC7293 (Helix Nebula) is the closest planetary nebula to the sun and the largest. It is about half the diameter of the moon. And can be seen as a very dim object in binoculars. It is located NW of Fomalhaut. NGC7293 is about 400 light years from earth.