I was all excited about observing last night, with a clear forecast -- even if it was windy and seeing was to be poor. I tried for comet C/2017 T2 (Panstarrs), and while I'm sure SkyTools pointed the scope in the correct spot, I only "think" I made it out -- a hazy patch at 100x which had some stellar spots like a small open cluster -- which made me doubt I had it.
I slewed over to the moon since it was moving through the Hyades and I though there was a good chance it would occult a star. Sure enough there was one bright star about to be occulted by the dark half of the moon. I used the 8-inch mask and watched carefully, not wanting to blink. There was some haze building. Just at the moment the star winked out, the wind gusted and blue my mask off the front of the scope, brightening the whole scene.
I didn't notice any other possible stars to occult so I went inside to get warmer clothes on and have some tea. When I came back out the sky was masked by thin clouds. Skunked!
The forecast continues to be muddled: cold, mostly clear, poor seeing. Hope it settles out soon.
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