#140: May, June, July Observations

I was able to get out for six nights in May between last and first quarter moon.  While some of the nights earlier in the month were great, things became gradually ruined by wildfire smoke reaching our area.  Daytime skies were milky, while night skies showed stars about 2 magnitudes fainter than normal.  So that really put the brakes on deep sky observing.  Double stars were mostly okay, though again much fainter than normal.  June brought me three nights, two of them with lighter smoke.  July brought only two clear nights, but they were both great nights for observing.  Dampness was a problem on a few nights, and I eventually shut down when everything became too wet, including me.  Our summer dew points can be very high sometimes.

 

Summer work continued in Hercules (mostly double stars left) and Ophiuchus, while spring saw me continue working with Serpens Caput and the virtually endless Coma Berenices.  There were plenty of fine galaxies to review in Coma.  I had seen all the big ones in earlier years with my Edmund 8" reflector, but I have to go and see them with the 12", of course.  eg 4014 was new to me, easily located at low power and remaining bright even at 333x.  Another fairly small but bright one is eg 4489,also new to me.  previously seen ones (8") included eg 4498, eg 4450, and eg 4595.  4450 has the appearance of a bright, large comet.  eg 4515 was new to me, and also worth a stop.

 

Moving up to really impressive now, eg 4689 is a fantastic sight in an 8", and quite breathtaking in the 12".  It's size is 4'.3 x 3'.5, and has a visual mag. of 10.9.  Wear your sunglasses!.

 

Eg 4689 is a grand sight in a 8" and 12" scope, and probably in a 6" as well.  In Coma. 

 

Another new galaxy for me worth mentioning is 3g 4659.  The envelope is tricky on this one, as the central area is so bright.  But patience, high power, and averted vision will reward patient observers.

 

Eg 4651 is another monster sized galaxy, looking super in an 8" scope, and truly wonderful in a 12".  It's size is 4' x 2'.6, with a visual mag. of 10.8.  The center appears barred, and the envelope is large.  Definitely worth the trip to see it.

eg 4651 in Coma. 

 

Eg 4710 is a fine edge-on sight in a 12", and it points SP towards smaller and fainter eg I. 3806.  4710 is a terrific object at 86x and 120x.  It is bright and beautiful, with a notable star F.  The view at 333x on a clear, moonless dark night is quite unforgettable.  The extensive envelope eventually fades away into nothingness.  The Ic galaxy is a bit more than two lengths away from the NGC one, and aims at a right angle to it.  A mag. 12.5 star is just S of the IC object.

 

eg 4710 in Coma. 

 

Most of the objects in Serpens Caput were quite challenging to locate.  Here is a challenge for you if you want one.  Eg 5954:  4'.2 x 3'.2:  Vis. mag. 11.9; SB 14.6.  If that surface brightness/dimness doesn't scare you off, a little path of 5 faint stars SP the galaxy can be a big help in locating it.  I spotted it at 107x first, then 120x.  It is actually fading already at 166x.  The central area is oval, faint, but not too small.  nearly impossible to find without the little guide stars. 

Eg 5964 in Serpens Caput is a challenge object for 12" scopes.  A few of the helpful guide stars are shown, SP. 

 

Back in Coma Berenices, eg 4150 and eg 4203 both offer bright views in a 12" mirror.  Both are easy catches for an 8".  eg 4414 is large, oval, and very bright even at low power.  Views remain impressive all the way up to 333x.

 

Eg 4414 in Coma looks fine in a 12"scope. 

 

Back in Serpens Caput, two galaxies are worth noting.  Eg 5980 becomes more impressive at higher powers, using averted vision.  And eg 5984 is a lovely edge-on galaxy, looking its best at 166x.  None of these galaxies are super showpieces, but are easy objects and fun to view.  And the longer you look, the more you can see.

Eg 5984 in Serpens Caput. 

 

Moving into early summer, the many globular clusters of Ophiuchus found their way into my viewfinder.  However, conditions were so poor in June due to wild fire smoke that I had to redo all my globular observations in July.  Even major Messier objects were poorly seen in June's terrible skies.  My month was dominated by the three Messier objects lying fairly close to one another:  M 9, M 19, and M 62.  M 9, on the good night, offered sharp, clear views.  There is modest resolution of this bright and very large object at 221x.  Getting that ultra sharp focus makes all the difference!  M 19 is tough to resolve, as it lies low in my northern sky.  It appears very bright at 86x, and quite compact.  166x and 221x resolve a few stars, as things begin to wink in and out.  I wish this one was right overhead.  Messier 62 appears unresolved but mottled at low power.  166x gives some resolution, but not much.  221x shows core detail, including a few stars within it.  333x gives fair resolution overall, with a few dozen very faint stars showing.

 

There were also any number of fainter NGC globular clusters, and even a decent planetary nebula.  Pn 6369 is also called the "Little Ghost," and provided a nice break from all the globulars.  Easily located at 86x my best views were at 221x and 333x using my Orion Skyglow filter.  The central hole is very prominent, but no central star could be seen (it is mag. 15.9).  It resembles a smaller version of M 57.  A recommended stopover.

 

Of the remaining globulars:  gc 6356 is large and bright, and glowing strongly at 120x.  At higher powers a few outliers resolve, and a very few stars are seen close to the core;  gc 6342 is small and pretty faint.  The core breaks up at high power, and a very few stars are glimpsed; gc 6401 has a faint but notable star over top, and a bright stellar triangle lies NP  It seems to resemble a reflection or emission nebula more than a globular cluster; gc 6355 shows a few stars at 221x, though not near the core; gc 6304 shows impressive size and brightness at low power.  A faint star is NP, which becomes a double at 221x.  No resolution was seen on my observing night; gc 6316 looks like a planetary nebula or small galaxy at low power.  It glows nicely at 221x, with no stars showing; gc 6293 is very bright and quite compact.  166x and 221x resolved a few stars, with things really beginning to wink in and out; gc 6287 has a lovely inner glow to it, with a few outer stars resolved; gc 6325 shows no stars, and is one of the fainter clusters in this nearly endless series; gc 6284 is nice and bright at 86x, and a good size.  The core is very bright.  Outer resolution is good at 221x.

 

Clear skies, and hopefully I'll report back on a successful August session! 

 

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

#139: April Observing Highlights

First the bad weather news.  My last observing outing was Sat. April 15th.  New moon was Wed. the 19th.  It has been cloudy since the night of the 15th, and will continue to be cloudy until the end of time, apparently.  Now the good news.  The early part of the lunar cycle provided me with 5 clear nights.  While one of those was windy and frustrating, the others were near perfect nights!  So I managed 15 hours and 45 minutes of telescope time in April.  So far, 2023 is behaving not too badly.  Last month I tried observing much lower in the sky than usual, and had some decent success in the southern regions of Canis Major and Puppis.  Which led me to prepare a list of deep sky objects and double stars in Pyxis, taking in the region of -37 Degrees up to around -18 degrees.  My latitude is 42 N, so my scope is nearly horizontal for some of these objects.  Previously my lower limit for finding NGC objects was -25 degrees, but I see that on some very good nights I can push that much lower.  Faint galaxies become too difficult, but the brighter ones are no problem.  Same with clusters and double stars.

Uranometria Chart 171

And so I spent the early part of four nights in April searching out objects in Pyxis (a compass), with some good success.  My first NGC object was tiny oc 2635, at -35 degrees.  Not an eye catcher at all, just finding it and trying to see it was the challenge here.  I managed to see about 8 of its faint stars, confirming my sighting the next night.

oc 2635 in Pyxis.  At my latitude this likely takes a 12" to find. 

Next night I added two more NGC clusters in Pyxis to my life list.  Oc 2658 sits at a slightly more comfortable -33 Degrees, my best view here was at 221x.  At 10' it is considerably larger than 2635, it also has slightly brighter stars.  I was able to resolve at least a dozen of them.  Oc 2627 was actually a decent prize, making me glad I included Pyxis in my travels through the sky.  It sits near -30 degrees.  It was located at 86x, and at 120x about 15 stars are resolved.  They appear to be between mag. 11 and 12, with unresolved haze in behind.  166x begins to resolve some of that haze, and my best view was at 221x.  Even there, though, there is still some unresolved haze.  Faint stars are popping out everywhere, somewhat like a resolving globular.  A pretty fine cluster!

oc 2658 in Pyxis.

 

oc 2627 in Pyxis appears quite fine in the 12". 

 

Uranometria Chart 153

I was observing a lot of double stars in between deep sky objects, but next up was eg 2613.  Located at -25 degrees, the galaxy appeared in my 86x field of view.  120x shows the oval centre of a very elongated galaxy (6'.5 x 1'.4) at its widest and brightest.  166x and 221x give glimpses of its longer extensions.  3 very faint stars are on the south side, and a brighter one is just preceding.  Though the galaxy is not a showstopper, it does reward the careful observer with its impressive size and moderate brightness.

2613 is a nice find down in Pyxis.  Note the 3 stars south of it, the first in line almost touching the galaxy.  Also the bright star at its preceding end. 

 

The final two deep sky objects in Pyxis for this year were oc Ru 62, and oc Ru 157.  Both are located between -19 and -20 degrees, and were in decent skies for me.  They were close enough together that I could shuttle between them at low power for comparison.  for 62, a tiny pair of stars north points directly to the cluster.  A mag. 8.5 star sits on its preceding edge.  About 15 stars can be counted here, some of them very faint.  157 is nestled amidst a group of brighter stars.  At its south end is a nearly complete circle of stars.  The cluster is pretty small (7'), and the stars are much fainter than the surrounding field.  It has a few more stars resolved than 62.

 

Finally is cluster E432-3.  Located at 86x.  120x shows two short intersecting lines of stars.  Higher power shows a dozen stars, the brightest one about 10.5 mag.   Nothing to write home about, but it is what it is, and likely seldom viewed.

 

Uranometria Chart 113

Turning now to Sextans (a sextant), I have been working here for several years now.  In addition to trying to locate all of the NGC and IC objects, I have also amassed a large list of double stars to check out, as well as deep sky objects from other catalogues.  These are mostly fainter galaxies from the UGC and MCG catalogues.  My success with these latter objects is scattered, so I do focus more on the NGC.

 

The first decent find of the first night was eg 2156, a bright galaxy that appears very elongated at 120x (1'9 x 0'.9).  I was able to see it with my 8" stop placed over the secondary mirror supports.  It is pretty large and bright using 12".  A 9.4 mag. star is located 2' south following, but the galaxy is still easy to see.  At 221x the centre is very bright and oval, showing a fainter outer envelope.  My best view was at 333x, showing a long extended nebula with a classic central dome of brightness.

3156 in Sextans.  After observing several very faint galaxies, it's always rewarding to come across a bright one! 

 

Next came a a pair of galaxies, one of them a showpiece!  3165 and 3166 lie very close together in a field of view.  66 is very large and bright, seen well at 8", being oval.  Full aperture at 166x shows its blazing core.  The surrounding envelope is easier to view at 221x, being somewhat washed away by the central brightness.  3165 was located at 166x, being quite large itself, and also oval, but it begins to fade rapidly at 221x.  Now, for added enjoyment and wonder, comes eg 3169, which can be viewed in the same field with 3166!  Both can be seen at 86x using 8" of aperture.  69 has a mag. 10.8 star near the following edge.  At full aperture and 120x the galaxy is bright and oval.  166x gives it a slightly less bright appearance than 66.  Even so, it's still tricky trying to see the extended envelope.  Views remain good all the way up to 333x.  A fun area to explore!

From r to l:  eg 3165, 3166, and 3169.  All are in Sextans. 

 

Eg I. 600 was located at 120x, being quite large, slightly oval, and showing a bright center.  Though ghostly in appearance, I enjoyed a decent view at 166x.  At least compared to some of the fainter discoveries of the night.

 

MCG +0-27-2 represents a type of galaxy I enjoy hunting down.  Very, very small, round, and at first appearing stellar.  This is one time when surface brightness overrules visual magnitude.  Here are the stats:  0'.4 x 0'.4: Vis. 13.8; SB 11.9.  This tiny galaxy was an easy catch at 120x, though it did appear stellar.  116x and averted vision shows a pretty decent envelope, but very small.  Best views were at 221x and 333x, where the galaxy is now bright, but still small.  It shows a stellar core.  At the very end I also observed it at 86x, as a faint and tiny star.

Eg 3243 was located at 120x, but the galaxy is somewhat dimmed by a nearby 10.5 mag. star.  Viewed at 166x and 231x, it is quite large and round, showing a stellar core.  Beyond the core lies a bright envelope of haze, then a fainter layer beyond that.  At 333x the full size can be appreciated.

 

NGC 3243 is in Sextans. 

 

Another small but bright galaxy in Sextans is I. 651.  Located easily at 120x, it appears pretty bright, and quite large (0'.8 x 0'.8).  166x, 231, and 333x all give decent views, with the round nebula exuding a pleasingly ghostly luminescence.

Coma Berenices: Uranometria Chart 91

 

My major spring constellation has been Coma Berenices for several years now, as I slowly and painstakingly make my way through hundreds of NGC and IC objects, mostly galaxies.  This area, lying just above Virgo and immediately following Leo, is filled with some major treasures.  And there are dozens of mid-bright galaxies which I won't even mention here, unless they are in the same field of view as a biggie.

One of my first conquests this year was Messier 98, or NGC 4192.  Seen quite well in earlier days with the Edmund 8", the galaxy is a major sight to behold in a 12"!  Though perhaps not as bright as one could wish, it certainly held my interest for a long time anyway.  It's already a showpiece at 86x (even at 8").  120x shows a tiny, bright stellar core, with elongated extensions heading out from there and going quite far.   This is not an edge-on galaxy, but is tilted slightly towards us.  There is a breathtaking Hubble image of this on the internet.  All magnifications give fabulous views up to 333, with the size expanding with each increase.  Not to be missed, even with a 6" scope!  M98 points directly south towards tiny eg 4186, which is pretty faint and tiny by comparison.  It shows up at the very bottom of the following image.

M 98 in Coma.  These images are all relative in size.  By comparing the images you are also comparing their size to one another.  This is a biggie! 

 

eg 4212 is another galaxy previously seen with the 8".  Located at 86x, it is large, bright, and oval.  At 120x it shows even more of its mass, also becoming quite bright and eye-catching.  166x shows its full size, with a bright centre.  Worth a look.

 

4212 is an impressive sight in a 12" Dob. 

 

Eg 4237 is also worth a stopover.  It's a easy star hop from M 98, thanks to some nearby bright stars.  This is a pretty fine galaxy, even at 86x.  At 166x it becomes on obvious face on (nearly so) spiral, showing a bright stellar core.  There is a bright envelope, but it fades unevenly.  Best view was at 221x.  A recommended stop if in the area.

 

4237 isn't far from M 98 in Coma. 

 

There are two interesting things about eg 4222.  First, this faint edge-on galaxy straddles two constellations.  It's upper half is in Coma, and its lower half is in Virgo.  It's pretty faint, but at higher power glimpses can be had of its full extent.  Best view is 221x with averted vision, as it fades out at 333x.  Secondly, just south preceding it is a real showstopper in Virgo, eg 4216.  This is a breathtaking sight on a good night with a 12" scope.  I had an opportunity to view it over several nights, though I did not officially log it.

4222 in the north straddles Coma and Virgo.  But have a peek south at wonderful 4216 in Virgo!! 

 

A little north preceding 4222 is eg 4189, another large and bright object easily seen at 86x.  At 120x the shape becomes slightly oval, and it is a bit brighter.  166x shows its full size with averted vision.  Lighter and darker areas can be noted within the envelope.  It begins to dim at 221x.

 

4189 in Coma.  Watch for lighter and darker areas in a 12". 

 

I'll finish up with two final bright galaxies, seen together at most magnifications.  eg 4340 and eg 4350 make an outstanding pair of galaxies, with some contrasting detail to make things even more fun.  Both are large and bright, and unmistakable in an 8" mirror. At 120x and 12" both show very bright cores and large envelopes.  50 seems to be a bit brighter overall.  50 becomes very elongated, and starts to resemble a mini M 31, especially at 166x.  In this range 40 appears slightly oval.  The envelope on that one is tricky due to the brightness of the centre.  

 

4350 is in the centre, preceded by 4340, both in Coma.

Also worth checking out in this vicinity are  4239, 4383, and 4405.

Mapman Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#138: Winter Observing Highlights 2023

January through March is a grim time for deep sky work, even in Canada's most southern latitude (I am at 42 N)  If it is clear between last quarter moon and first quarter, it is often too cold and/or too windy to be out in an open farm field setting up a telescope, observing, and then breaking down again.  So January, as usual, was a write off, despite this being our 7th warmest winter on record.  However, in February came three clear nights I was able to use.  There were actually six clear nights this time, but two of them were far too windy, and another was simply too cold.  I have been able to push my lower temperature limit down somewhat for extended observing, but many nights are still far too cold.  It's mostly the fingers; gloves have to be worn, not mittens, and even with hand warmers inside, things can still get brutal.  One of the best things about winter observing (and late autumn), is that one can put in three hours at the eyepiece and still be home by bedtime. 

 

So I was able to continue a years' long project in Perseus, and another in Canis Major.  I had observed Perseus in some detail years ago with my Edmund 8" scope.  But it is always worth having another look at objects with the 12"!  And of course back in the day I did not have the detail of a Uranometria atlas.  Some previously seen objects that I revisited in Perseus included gn 1579, a large reflection nebula last seen in 2004.  Even larger is gn 1491, an emission nebula greatly improved with my Orion Skyglow nebula filter.  Two open clusters, oc 1548 and 1528, also wowed me.  1528 is large and the stars are quite scattered, but the sheer number of bright stars makes a pleasant surprise.  At 120x there are at least 100 stars.  A lovely cluster and a minor showpiece.

 

A fine cluster in Perseus, oc 1528. *

 

On a second night I re-observed oc 1342.  At 86x a curving line of bright stars is seen, in a rough "S" shape.  Involved with it is a close and bright double star at the preceding end.  107x and 120x bring out fainter members.  Again, though scattered, the cluster is pretty rich.  I counted about 60 stars.  I also observed a gorgeous triple star, Epsilon (Stf 471).  The main pair is mag. 3 and 8, separated by 9".  To me it appeared white and emerald at 43x and 86x  A real beauty!  There is also a mag. 14 star at 78".  It was seen at 166x, but I had to put the main star just out of the field of view.

oc 1342 in Perseus. 

 

Though actually in Taurus, pn 1514 is easily accessed from Perseus.  Located at 43x, the planetary nebula was bluish-gray in colour.  Up to 120x without a filter I could see bright spots north of the main star, and also south following it.  At 166x with a Skyglow filter, views are bright and quite impressive.  The O III filter also worked well here, darkening the background even more.  221x shows several areas of varying brightness.  This is an impressive object worth seeking. 

 

pn 1514 in Taurus, easily accessed from Perseus. 

 

On a third February night I finished up work in Perseus until next year.  Oc 1545 shows many faint stars at 86x, with a bright double over top (S 445), being an orange and blue pair.  At 107x about 30 stars show up, including a central curving line.  Another bright star, a triple, sits at the north end.  Worth a look.  Also noteworthy was oc 1513.  At 120x and 166x the group is moderately rich.  About 20 brighter stars are noted, and about the same number of faint ones.  There are several pairs, and the brightest clump is in the southern section.  A mag. 9.5 star is in the north end.

Oc 1513 in Perseus. 

 

During those three February nights I observed Perseus early on, turning to Canis Major later in the evening.  Canis Major is mostly new territory for me, with only M 41 being previously studied in depth.  This constellation is loaded with open clusters, though many of them are small, faint, and non NGC objects.  But there are a few galaxies, too.  An example is eg I. 456, which sits just below -30 degrees declination.  It is a bright galaxy that is just separated from a 9.5 mag. star south following it.  At 120x it is oval; 166x shows a distinct bright center.  At 221x it isn't half bad, being fairly large and bright.  Another pretty fine galaxy is eg 2325.  333x gives the best view of this somewhat bright, large object, and shows a very faint star involved.  Most of these galaxies are considerably further south than I usually travel for such objects (my limit is usually -25 degrees for galaxies, and around -39 degrees for clusters and doubles).

 

Eg 2325 in Canis Major. 

 

 Oc 2354 in Canis Major is a very large group at 86x, with my best view of it at 107x.  There are curving lines of brighter stars, along with many fainter ones.  A quick count got me to around 60 stars.

Oc 2354 in Canis Major. 

 

Another beauty is oc 2362, a lovely sight at 86x.  120x resolves all members, looking like little bees swarming around a bright hive.  The central star 30, or Tau, is also a very pretty sight.  Best view was at 166x, where about 60 stars can be counted.  The main pair of the triple is yellow and blue, at mag. 4.5 and 10, separated by 8" of arc.  The other member is mag. 11 at 15".

 

A regular beehive cluster, this is oc 2362 in Canis Major.
 

I must mention a beautiful double star, h 3495.  Magnitudes 5 and 7 with a separation of 27", the colours are a striking orange and blue, very similar to B Cygni!!  And just to give a (decent) sample of the many non NGC clusters that this constellation contains, let me talk about Ru 10.  This is one of the larger "small" clusters, of which there are literally dozens in this area (and also in Monoceros and Puppis).   At 7' in size, the brightest stars are mag. 12.  North/south lines of stars precede a mag. 9.7 star.  3 somewhat bright stars sit in the central area, with many fainter ones surrounding them.  Best view was at 221x.  Some of these clusters (Ru, Be, Cz, and others) only begin at mag. 15, and even mag. 16, so aren't even worth bothering about with anything less than a 12" scope.

My coldest observation (except when I lived in Sudbury, many moons ago) was the night of February 17th.  Upon arrival to set up it was already down to 18 F!!  By the time I left it was 16 F, and 80% humidity.  That was one chilly night!!  But what a sky it was!!

Now on to March observing, which was mostly in Canis Major, except for two very low objects in Puppis.  While waiting for last quarter to approach in March, I set up detailed worksheets for Puppis, in case I had a run of clear nights and managed to finish work in Canis Major (no need to worry, as it turned out).  I have about 19 pages of work awaiting in Puppis now, perhaps for next year.  But then I went ahead and prepared Pyxis, based on some low latitude successes recently.  and then I prepared Crater as well.  So I am set for the next 100 springs, at least.  Later in the season I will resume work in Sextans, and, of course, in my main spring area, the indomitable and inexhaustible Coma Berenices, which is well up by the time I stop now.

 

I will begin first with two low objects I observed in Puppis.  After all that prep work, I had to at least observe an object or two there.  Besides, I wanted to see how good my lowest sky was.  Things turned out quite well.  My first object was gc 2298, a globular that sits low for me at -36 degrees.  No problem!  I located it easily at 107x, and it appears quite large and reasonably bright.  But as the magnification increased, it quickly grew faint.  I was unable to resolve any but the most outer and brighter stars.  221x did show a brighter core with a fainter envelope surrounding it.

gc 2298 in Puppis is a very low object for me, at -36 degrees declination. 

 

The second and final Puppis object for me this season was Cr 135.  Monstrously sized at 49', it contains a 2.7 mag. orange star in the south end.  Uranometria clocks 13 stars, and that is about what can be seen at 43x and 86x.  Of course there are much fainter stars, too, but they must be background to the cluster.  The bright orange star has a blue companion, making a fine sight.  Wikipedia has a decent image, if interested.

With only two clear nights in March I was unable to complete my work in Canis Major this year.  At least one more (long) night will be required, before I move back to Puppis.  But I still got through an incredible 37 objects this month, a tribute to good planning (very necessary, especially in winter) and excellent skies (not to mention a very trustworthy scope!).  I usually use a hand held computer to find the first object of the night, but due to cold temps I didn't bother.  There are enough bright stars in Canis Major that it is easy to star hop and find one's way.

Here is one those minor, extremely faint clusters I was talking about earlier.  Oc Tom 2 was only 3' in size (a decent size for a galaxy, but not so much for a cluster).  It is supposed to have 50 stars, with the brightest star at mag. 16.  What I actually saw were 4 stars, exceedingly faint, at 221x and 333x, with some faint haze in behind.  A close pair was part of the deal.  Obviously at least an 18" would be needed here, but I went there anyway (because it's there).

Oc 2384 was considerably better, part of a double cluster with nearby 2383.  Both clusters fit into my field of view at all powers up to 221x.  2284 has two brighter stars within it at 86x, but at 120x both of these have their own little collection of stars near them.  And the preceding bright star is now a very close double star (Bu 199: 7.2-8.1 at 1.8" of arc).  At 166x, the following bright star has 6 little stars around it, while the preceding one has 7.  Best view was at 221x, and shows an attractive little group.  Oc 2383 is a moderately rich group at 120x and 166x, and it immediately follows a mag. 9.8 star.  At 221x and 333x there appears to be a distinct north group and a south one, relative to this star.  The richer of the pair is south; the north group is sparse by comparison.

Oc 2384, center, makes an attractive pair with 2383, upper right.  Both are in Canis Major.

 

A couple of half decent minor clusters came next.  Oc Ru 18 was located at 86x, where I saw a few brighter stars against some haze.  120x begins to resolve the haze.  At 166x and especially 221x the cluster is moderately rich, with about 30 stars counted.  Oc Ru 20 resolves into about 20 stars all around a brighter one.  It was a decent group at 166x, though it can be located at 86x. At the opposite extreme is Collinder 140, in the far corner (southeast) of Canis Major.  At 30', it is very large.  Near the center is Dunn 42, a superb gold and blue double star.  The magnitudes are 5.5 and 7.5, with a wide separation of 99".  Another orange and very blue pair are south preceding.  Unranometria shows 10 of the brightest stars.  The entire area makes for fine sweeping at 43x.

Taking a cluster break for a few moments, there are two small nebula to find.  2296 is tiny but bright, somewhat following Sirius.  It lies just beyond its bright influence.  I located the nebula at 166x, but the best view of this small, round nebula was at 221x.  No filter is needed to see it.  There may be a star involved.  It strongly resembles a galaxy, and was thought to be one for a long time.

gn 2296 resembles a small galaxy. The glow of nearby Sirius is obvious.

 

The other nebula is up near the border with Monoceros, being gn 2327.  This one is curiously located at the end of a curl of stars, and at low power can be mistaken for a star.  It is quite bright, with my best view at 221x, where small filaments could be seen coming away from the main brightness.  The star following it is also a nebula, though it appears stellar in the scope.

 

gn 2327 and a smaller companion can be found up near the border with Monceros. 

 

Along with 1528 in Perseus, perhaps the finest cluster of the winter sessions was oc 2345, with it's brightest star at mag. 9.  It's not a super standout object, but it has a curious overlay of bright stars in a horseshoe shape, with fainter ones in behind.  At the apex of the horseshoe, in the north, is a bright double star.  166x gives a fine view of this fairly large open cluster.  At this range, the 2nd star in the horseshoe in the following end is also a close double.  This pair has a particularly rich group of faint stars around it.  221x and 333x resolve more and more faint stars.  This is a moderately rich group with widely scattered fields, some of these being fairly dense.

Oc 2345 in Canis Major.  

 

With a cloudy week ahead (new moon is tomorrow), I am finished until April.  Last year I had 0 clear nights in March, so at least I scored twice this year.

 

*All images are taken from http://www.astrosurf.com/benoit/p23.html, which are in turn from NASA. 

 

Mapman Mike