This is the first time I wrote a report on observed deep sky objects, the reason being I was not so impressed during my previous 'nth' first lights with my XT10 Intelliscope. Observing from a truly dark site is an experience like no other. In a span of 5 hours or so I was able to capture a wealth of DSO's impossible to observe from my suburban home in Pasig City - a total of 52 Messier objects and a few remarkable NGC objects as well.

For starters everybody loved to view  M42. I have seen better views of this favorite at Buso-buso. But the night was not perfectly clear and a thin haze slightly decreased its tendrils and faint extensions. Using my O-lll improved the contrast a bit.  I didn't have high hopes of capturing the elusive Horsehead, but tried anyway. Guess what? No Horsehead indeed. However I was delighted being able to capture the Flame nebula - its dusty tendrils almost as dim as that of the Triffid's.  It was a very dim object, but despite being so this object is the one that made me satisfied during the entire night. I tried my O-lll filter on the Rosette. The cluster NGC 2244 had a faint shroud of the Rosette but was very large and I had to pan the scope on both axes to see the entire nebula. M44 was very bright and easy to pick up  with the naked eye. Using my standard widefield eyepiece captured both M81 and M82 in the same field with the latter's dusty structure clearly visible. The M65 - M66 complex in Leo and the Virgo cluster was an eye catcher! Galaxies lying side by side somewhat forming a chain is something I never thought could see with my scope. M51 and M101 now showed their classic spirals, and the Owl nebula M97 was a very easy target, but totally invisible in the city. M13 and Omega Centauri globulars burst in rich detail, with M4 resolved using only 50x magnification. The Ring nebula was very bright as well despite being so low in the sky. The Lagoon nebula displayed rich contrast when observed using my O-lll filter, with the central gap prominently shown. The Triffid's emission nebula component was significantly dim during the early morning hours because of the thickening haze and reflection nebula component was even dimmer.

The night was also a showcase of NGC objects. The Ghost of Jupiter NGC 3242 was very very bright, showing a rich bluish-green tint and a faint outer shell. The MIlky Way region in Crux was glowing with rich open clusters and a delight even with the naked eye.   

Not to be outdone was Jupiter and its moon Io transiting the disc. This was the first time I saw a transit and it I realized it was very easy to observe at 300x. Jupiter was so bright and it really helped using Joseph's skyglow/moon filter. The cloud bands popped out using the filter.

I had a chance to see a great extent of the Milky Way - something I sorely miss since my childhood when it was still bright enough to be observed even from the city.

I hope to complete the entire Messier catalog in the coming weeks. A dim prospect it is with the onset of La Nina.