We spent a night under the stars at the war relict site in Honsem, which is a fine observation spot. Almost 360° horizon, with an SQM around 20,45 last night, some moisture in the air.
Light domes from mainly Leuven & Brussels (North, Northwest), Tienen (East) and surprisingly also Hoegaarden (SouthEast). But a large dark area almost to the horizon in the South.
With my Zeiss Conquest HD 8×42 it was easy to locate many Messier objects, like M101, M51, M15, M13, M93, M16, M8, M11, M27. the western Veil was difficult but noticeable.
With the 20″ Dobsonian we observed sprial arms of M101, M51, a nice little globular in Virgo, a planetary in Hercules and the showcase objects in the Sagittarius cloud: Pillars of Creation, Swan, Lagoon, Trifid. The amount of detail and dark lanes was amazing.
More pictures to come !
(Click for a larger view)
