My observatory is already giving me a lot of pleasure. I bought a second-hand pier and an adapter plate over the summer so, now the nights are getting longer, my observatory is up and running at a moment’s notice.
![](http://www.refreshingviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/C11-portrait-683x1024.jpg)
As night falls and I roll the roof back, the bats are visible, flittering against the dark blue sky. The children call them flutter mice which I think has a lovely ring to it. Once darkness has fallen, I look out of the observatory to the Milky Way rising over the treeline with a smile on my face. The neighbourly tawny owls are often heard calling to each other while the stars turn slowly overhead.
I can see Mars laughing at me through the trees. It is so low I cannot observe it and miss the views we had from the Mons Observatory in Tenerife. Instead, I am working my way through the Herschel 400 my on-off project for the past few years.
September’s clear night have seen me tick off 9 deep sky objects (some not in the H400) including 2 sketches. That’s Aquila and Delphinus complete – and the beautiful sights of the beautiful Veil Nebula (with the UHC filter), M27 the Dumbbell Nebula and M11 the Wild Duck open cluster.
![](http://www.refreshingviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_6110-e1537631498251-768x1024.jpg)
![](http://www.refreshingviews.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_6112-e1537631625964-768x1024.jpg)
NGC 6751 Planetary Nebula Aquila
NGC 6741 Planetary Nebula Aquila
NGC 6760 Globular Cluster Aquila
NGC 6781 Planetary Nebula Aquila ~ The Ghost of the Moon
NGC 6755 Open Cluster Aquila
NGC 6756 Open Cluster Aquila
NGC 6834 Globular Cluster Delphinus
NGC 7006 Globular Cluster Delphinus
NGC 6905 Planetary Nebula Delphinus ~ The Blue Flash Nebula