It continues to be a long, drawn out winter of misery, unless you happen to like very cold air and plenty of snow. There hasn't been much in the way of astronomy observations to report on until now. I had a session on Nov. 30th and another on Dec. 27th that needs mentioning. So far in 2014 I have managed three sessions, all of them very cold ones. There were none in January, two in February, and one to date in March.
In late 2013 I inched along in Cetus and Cassiopeia. I only have about 9 objects remaining in Cassiopeia. Cetus continues to prove difficult due to poor south skies, but I may have recently come across a solution for this (a somewhat distant site looks promising).
Winter 2014 brings me back to Lepus (another poor sky area for me) and Monoceros (somewhat better, as it is higher). I am hoping to try my new dark sky site after next full moon to locate some Lepus galaxies. I will now report on progress within each constellation. All observations were with the 12" Orion Intelliscope.
IC Catalogue
oc 1805 Fine cluster with some nebulosity (using filter). Large, with many bright members.
Other Catalogues
oc Cz 9: 2 brighter stars involved with small cloud of fainter ones.
oc Cz 10: 8 stars at 200x. More impressive asterism almost adjacent.
oc King 4: Decent group showing about 20 stars between 100x and 200x.
oc Mrk 6: Bright stars, okay for smaller scopes, too.
oc Tom 4: Not many stars, and all very faint. 12" resolves well at 150x.
Cetus
NGC Catalogue
eg 64: Glimpsed at 125x. Ghostly, oval, and requires a very good sky.
eg 102: Very faint oval patch at 125x, though less faint than eg 64.
eg 191: Easily seen, big and round. IC eg 1563 attached.
eg 7821: A "slash" galaxy, seen clearly at 125x and 150x. Possible stellar core.
Lepus
NGC Catalogue
gc 1904 (M 79): The official sighting of this object, which I have viewed informally many times, was the best view I've had of it from my light-polluted back deck. It was an outstanding night with low humidity, and I could actually see the stars in Lepus with naked eye. Wonderful globular! Very bright at 60x. More stars resolved with each increase in power. I used up to 200x to steadily resolve about 20 stars, with many more winking in and out. I also had my best view ever of Jupiter that night, watching the red spot transit. It was Sunday, Feb. 23rd. It was 21 F (-9 C).
Monoceros
NGC Catalogue
oc 2251: Attached on the north end to oc Bas 8 (see below). Elongated, perhaps crescent-shaped cluster, seen well up to 125x. Medium large, with brightest star a lovely and close double.
gn 2261: Variable R was seen easily tonight. "Hubble's Variable Nebulae" is an outstanding sight in a 12" mirror. I saw it best with no filter. High magnifications work well here.
IC Catalogue
gn 448: A poor object, seen best with sky-glow filter (though it is reflection-type). Oval haze surrounding bright star 13 Monoceros. Nearby is 14, a good double star. It's in a line of three, pointing towards oc Bas 8 and oc 2251.
Other Catalogues
oc Bas 7: Immediately following oc 2251. A faint, curving line of stars leads to the main body. Reminds me of a mini Hydra. Not noticed in my milky sky until 100x.
oc Bas 8: Lovely orange and blue double near the center, the brightest one in this large group. I counted 35 stars at 60x. Easy to hop between it and oc 2251, which are attached on maps. Obviously 2251 is much further away.
oc Tr 5: Hopelessly faint stars (below mag. 17); all that can be glimpsed here is a very faint, large patch. Even 18" telescopes will have trouble resolving this group, which is reportedly quite rich in stars.
Mapman Mike
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