THE SKY JUST BECAME BETTER
Isn't the sky supposed to become worse when you order a new telescope? I've monitored the sky every night and at 4:30 am the following was visible in a very clear sky: Venus, Moon, 16 stars, Orion Nebula and the sky was just beginning to brighten. An hour earlier, Mars was additionally visible. This means the Bortle 10 skies have improved, changing temporarily to Bortle 8 and represents the least light pollution (as bad as it is) seen in a very long time from this balcony location. This is a good weather pattern, with rain storms in the daytime and the sky clearing at night - just what the doctor ordered. If it keeps up, this will be the time to gather up a lot of very good deep sky imaging with the new telescope to test its ability to shoot through light pollution as claimed.
