Send in the Clouds

New Year's Day was another clouded-out session, the third of my Xmas break. Bugger. During the day it had been bright and clear, so I had high hopes when I set up in the back garden. I saw the thick clouds low in the West with concern, but in Devizes it was clear in the twighlight. At around 1620 UTC the wafer-thin Moon was visible to my SW between the neighbours' roofs. Venus was shining.

The first sat on my list was due to pass over around 1700 UTC. Inevitably though, the clouds started to roll in, leaving gaps which were filled in before I could start. Hoping this was only temporary, I waited...and waited...and waited some more before I went in to the house. Half-an-hour later, I looked out of the window and it was clear again, so I went out again. The trouble was, I had not planned my session well enough so I missed a couple of easy passes including the NOSS 2-3 (96-029D, C and E) trio. Then it was too late; the cloud was building up again and I missed the KH9-18 Elint (83-060C/ 14139) pass near Capella (alpha Aurigae) as I was trying to observe through some thin, low cloud. At this point I packed up the equipment and went indoors for the night.

Strangely though, despite the frustrations of making no observations, I did not feel it was wasted. It is always nice to sit under the stars and look up. To me it is like fishing; the chance to get some peace and quiet even if I don't catch anything.