Still just stubborn and off to M67. That one turned out to be somewhat disappointing even by city standards. I really had seen that one better! I could not make out more than a dozen stars and some background glow. Not even with some higher magnifications. Alas. The sketch is proof of it. A larger telescope might have come in handy, were it not for the fact that my mount had been put in a corner of my little garden, to provide space for the construction racks for the painters. So this time I had to make do with my 102mm grab@go scope.
As a result, although I was sheltered under the racks, I could not look toward the zenith. So
Then I switched to an
Somewhat in despair, I hopped over to where to expect NGC2903 according to SkySafari. Nothing. I checked with MeMstar ( a French
No, just open up the whole arsenal. Hood on, no more side light. Leica-zoom eyepiece in, zooming can be helpful sometimes. Let the eyes get used to darkness; takes some time but in the end it pays off. Turn Eyeshield up, no warm air from the eye fogging up on the cold lens. Beware of fogging, keep distance, take the smaller field of view for granted. Drag in all directions, motion is noticeable and use especially peripheral ( averted) vision. With the eye make circles in the image field. Still nothing?
Normally say you doubt you saw it. And then keep it to a "no." A "no" to autosuggestion and wishful thinking. Despite the pitfall of those last two, I dare not say "no." No "no" to that immensely weak glimmer that seemed to appear twice very briefly. Too brief and too little to say "yes." But "no" is also not correct....
I made a sketch of it. The galaxy is actually still shown too brightly in the sketch. But well, otherwise there is nothing left to sketch.... :-)
Click the images for a nicer view.