The hunt for M4

The last few nights have been very overcast and rainy, but this morning we got a break. The rain stopped and the clouds broke, so I went out and had a peek at the sky.

Saturn was quite visible around 2:30, and I got a nice look. There were still some wispy clouds moving through, but I'm almost sure that I saw Titan as well. It was just a flickering spec of light, but it was just where Titan should be. Since I was pointed that way, I took a peek at Arcturus as well.

The clouds in the west were starting to thicken again and I was unable to see much, so I  figured I'd try hunting for the globular cluster M4. It is in the southern sky which was relatively cloud free. I located Alniyat and Antares, as well as HR 6141 (22 Scorpii) and HR 6165 just to make sure I had my bearings, then started looking for M4.

I knew where it was supposed to be, but I couldn't see it at all. It may have been the humidity, it may have been the clouds, and it may have been the light pollution. Maybe my 100mm aperture isn't enough. It certainly didn't appear for me today, but I will continue my search.

Next up for the night is Jupiter. It should rise just before 5am, and I intend to take another peek at it this morning, hopefully I"ll get to see the 4 big moons this morning.  (Last week I only got to see 3 of them, as one was behind Jupiter.)

Anyway, the hunt for M4 will continue if the weather allows for it.