Excellent Seeing and Transparency

I just had to comment on what I saw on the evening of Monday February 15th in Castaic. Despite the high light pollution from nearby Santa Clarita and the moderate light pollution of Castaic itself, excellent seeing and transparency combined to astound me with the night time splendor of the winter skies. I didn't have a chance to take the scope as I was busy in the early evening but when I took the dogs out for the last walk of the evening, I marveled on how steady the starlight was and I could see some of the milky way around Orion. There was a slight and gentle breeze, the kind that Steve Kennedy once mentioned up at Mt Pinos that serves to hold the boundary layer at the primary at bay. Mars was virtually at the zenith and rock solid. Capella was visually stunning and full of color. The seven sisters were adorned with their fellow stars and I wished I had the time to pull the scope out and let it cool and go deep sky. I haven't seen a night like this one in Castaic for a long time but I won't forget it, ever...

Rod,

We had that here in NM on Tuesday the 16th. My friend came over and we spent a couple of hours looking at open clusters, mostly. Very steady seeing - the best in memory. Great to have those, even if only every once in a while.