Finally, we got a few clear nights to get in a little observing. First target is M4. I choose M4 to observe first as the object was quickly moving behind the tree line. In the 90mm, which, by the way is f/6.9; 621mm fl. Rich Field refractor, at 23x, M4 is a fairly large unresolved disk attended by a 2.9 magnitude star 1.08⁰ NNW and an 8.1 magnitude star less than half a degree almost due East. Increasing the power to 52x M4 appears grainy and a few tiny sparkles pop in and out of view. Next up is M24, the Sagittarius Star Cloud. M24 is a spectacular view with this scope at low power. My 27mm flat field eyepiece gives me a 2.30° FOV with an exit pupil of 3.9mm. M24 nearly fills the FOV and is elongated Northeast to Southwest in position angle 40°. There are many different magnitude stars set against a hazy glowing background. M18 is next with a surface brightness of magnitude 11.4 this open cluster is small but conspicuous at 52x. I counted about 15 stars total set against a faint background glow suggesting many unresolved stars. Next up is M23, a very prominent and beautiful open cluster that you just don’t seem to hear much about. Spanning some 27’ x 27’ this cluster dominated the low power eyepiece. 50+ stars of magnitude 8.0 through 11.0. M25 is another easy target for small telescopes. This open cluster is home to a few bright red giant stars giving it a nice color contrast in a low power eyepiece. There is a nice evenly matched double star (BU 966) on the south edge.

That's a wrap for now. Remember, when you looking at deep sky objects, take your time and study the object at different powers. You may be surprised at the detail your eye can pick up. But I guess you guys already knew that.