As I drove up the winding road to my home observatory, I idly mused upon the popularity of world hunger as I contemplated the threat posed by global warming. When I arrived at the parking lot, it was filled with friends eager for a night's observing. I counted at least 31 telescopes set up.
I started my night's observing with one of my favorite objects, M 76. It appeared as that graph in An Unpleasant Truth. Next, I found M 55. It looked uncannily like desert sand.
After a short break to empty my output buffers, I sketched NGC 2802. It was even more difficult than smoke signals from a rampaging Iroquois band. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I star-hopped to NGC 1032. It was a dead ringer for Gollum. With that checked off my list, I looked at IC 1515 in Sagittarius. It appeared at low power like lumpy darkness. After I'd spent a few minutes looking at that, I hunted for NGC 4656 in Serpens. It seemed most like the clouds I'd seen earlier. Next, I stumbled upon Abell 81 in Orion. It compared favorably with smoke signals from a rampaging Iroquois band. Then, I sought Abell 3. It appeared at low power like 60 grit carborundum on asphalt.
After a short break to check my email, I stumbled upon IC 2467. It seemed most like a hamburger. (Hmm, it had been a while since dinner). After that, I helped a beginner find M 79. It somewhat resembled one of Martha Stewart's doilies.
After a short break to find a bush to pee on, I looked for and suspected IC 36 in Septans. It seemed most like the invisible man. With that checked off my list, I glimpsed B 124 in Scorpius. It somewhat resembled Smokey the Bear.
Finally, it was time to pack up and leave. As I drove home, I contemplated the events of the night, and realized that any night out under the sky with good friends is better than spending the evening reading blogs.