finished with carbons

Last night had very good conditions, and I finished off the Carbon Star list using the 8-inch.  I hate to say but this one seemed like a chore -- perhaps because its documentation requirements were more stringent than others?  But the stars are very pretty, and I hope I'll remain sensitive to seeing them:

S Scuti: Beautiful orange, brightest in the field, but some in field are nearly as bright.  Close double to SE.  Rich field. 

UX Draconis: Bright orange, brightest in a poor field; forms a triangle with other stars.

I needed to use the Vixen wide field binoculars to find both stars -- it helps reveal all a constellation's brighter stars so it looks closer to an atlas view for better orientation.  UX Draconis by first finding Polaris, then Ursa Minor, then finding the odd trapezoid pattern of stars in the curve of the Dragon; from there it was an easy Quickfinder find to the correct field.

S Scuti was a little more effort.  I knew it was nearby to M11 the Wild Duck Cluster, and I was going to wait until it had risen above the neighbor's tree.  But then I saw Altair rising above the roof and I used the binoculars to follow Aquila's stars down to its lower three stars which form a swooping pattern toward M11.  I moved the scope to the right spot in the yard to view and again, M11 was an easy find.  It was a profusion of faint stars separated by gaps.  A bright star in the eastern portion of the spray, with stars raining down from it toward the west.  It looked like the tip of an arc welder with sparks spraying out and down from it, scattering and extinguishing in the sky.  This was the first I've seen of M11 in a couple years and it was magnificent.

I had the usual views of Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn, all very satisfying.  A good evening.