Tuesday June 12 was a primo observing night at Pinos with dark sky meters registering 21.53 which meets or exceeds Floyd Blue specs for dark sky observing 
The limiting visual magnitutde appeared to be 6.5 or greater although it fluctuated a bit during the night. Seeing was especially good during the first three hours after dark and Venus, Saturn and Jupiter held up well under high power. Saturn had a very impressive display of its moons with several forming a cross like pattern.
Conditions were mild with no wind and temps in the mid forties.
Be advised if you are considering going up to Pinos over the weekend, the trees have been pollinating and although it wasn't too bad last night, an amateur from nearby Pine Mountain Club noted he's had to wash his vehicle every day for the past week. I'd hessitate to wash my optics until after a weekend visit as I also noticed quite a bit of pollen on my vehicle in the morning. The stuff can be hard to remove but it's best to do it quickly so it doesn't adhere on the optics.
The limiting visual magnitutde appeared to be 6.5 or greater although it fluctuated a bit during the night. Seeing was especially good during the first three hours after dark and Venus, Saturn and Jupiter held up well under high power. Saturn had a very impressive display of its moons with several forming a cross like pattern.
Conditions were mild with no wind and temps in the mid forties.
Be advised if you are considering going up to Pinos over the weekend, the trees have been pollinating and although it wasn't too bad last night, an amateur from nearby Pine Mountain Club noted he's had to wash his vehicle every day for the past week. I'd hessitate to wash my optics until after a weekend visit as I also noticed quite a bit of pollen on my vehicle in the morning. The stuff can be hard to remove but it's best to do it quickly so it doesn't adhere on the optics.
