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Trip down Sirius-way


Special K

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There's some wonderful browsing to be done south of the bright lights of Orion and have to admit I've not explored around Sirius till now. M41 makes a fine group for being so low down in the sky and the nearby doubles of π and 17 make a nice addition. Swooping over to M47 was a bit of a navigational challenge given the LP but once there, this is a real treasure! The doubles are serenely nestled amongst the small pack of stars, with the center pair really standing out. Great area! I found M46 very dim to the point of not claiming it, but moonglow was pretty powerful tonight. Definitely come back to this area on a darker night.

An easier hop in the finder scope was from Sirius to M50 and the Seagull Nebula IC2177. There was a faint suggestion with the UHC on and off, and looking now at the books and charts I've realized what I was looking at and what a wealth of activity here! NGC2353 is another small cluster supporting a beautiful double at center stage, while NGC2335 could just be made out (or was it 2343?). A return voyage to this gold mine is definitely on the cards.

From here it was off to Praesepe M44 which looked stunning in the 28mm at a mere 22x. There are endless geometric combinations of squares and triangles with the Beehive, making it unique! After a coffee break it was off to Jupiter and just in time for the eclipse of Io which was cool. Planet detail was quite good tonight with some dark patches appearing in the EZ. A great end to a very pleasant session, thanks for reading.

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Nice report. I have started observing this very "rich" area of the sky myself and have been surprised by the number of objects available for viewing even with modest equipment . Although for me at my location it is very accessible .

Peter

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I meant to add I do like the quote in your signature although for myself I would use the line following on from your one.

Peter

Ahah, well spotted Peter, thanks :)

I was also thinking of verse two when I was choosing!

You'll be well positioned for those targets and so much more. Happy hunting in those parts!

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  • 3 weeks later...

There's some wonderful browsing to be done south of the bright lights of Orion and have to admit I've not explored around Sirius till now. M41 makes a fine group for being so low down in the sky and the nearby doubles of π and 17 make a nice addition. Swooping over to M47 was a bit of a navigational challenge given the LP but once there, this is a real treasure! The doubles are serenely nestled amongst the small pack of stars, with the center pair really standing out. Great area! I found M46 very dim to the point of not claiming it, but moonglow was pretty powerful tonight. Definitely come back to this area on a darker night.

An easier hop in the finder scope was from Sirius to M50 and the Seagull Nebula IC2177. There was a faint suggestion with the UHC on and off, and looking now at the books and charts I've realized what I was looking at and what a wealth of activity here! NGC2353 is another small cluster supporting a beautiful double at center stage, while NGC2335 could just be made out (or was it 2343?). A return voyage to this gold mine is definitely on the cards.

From here it was off to Praesepe M44 which looked stunning in the 28mm at a mere 22x. There are endless geometric combinations of squares and triangles with the Beehive, making it unique! After a coffee break it was off to Jupiter and just in time for the eclipse of Io which was cool. Planet detail was quite good tonight with some dark patches appearing in the EZ. A great end to a very pleasant session, thanks for reading.

Hello...me is new here ...looking for basic info...am I alright here ??

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Hello , my name is Beehive 67 and wonder where to find topics for stargazing without instruments... ??

Hi Beehive and welcome! Have a look in the getting started sections or if you have any kind of chart with constellations you can have a good time without any instruments relating the maps to the night sky.

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Hello , my name is Beehive 67 and wonder where to find topics for stargazing without instruments... ??

Thats a good point. Not sure there are many topics on naked eye observing Beehive. Feel free to start one in this section or any of the relevant observing sections.

Its certainly an aspect of the hobby that most seem to forget about once an optical instrument has been bought, its a shame as challenging oneself with the naked eye alone is great fun.

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M46 is worth another look - see if you can spot NGC2438, a little planetary nebula in the midst of it (Though it's actually a foreground object)

Will do Andy. The cluster itself was pretty faint so definitely need a darker night. Tonight is nice and transparent but the moon is nearly FULL blast! I like the way that planetary nebula can take magnification so if I can find NGC2438 I will be piling on the power.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Kevin,

I had a look around there last night. I was really taken with M47 it was smashing, I really liked the doubles within it you mentioned. It was around 2am so the moon hadn't started to affect it too badly, but given it was so low it was surprisingly good :)

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Hi Kevin,

I had a look around there last night. I was really taken with M47 it was smashing, I really liked the doubles within it you mentioned. It was around 2am so the moon hadn't started to affect it too badly, but given it was so low it was surprisingly good :)

Hi Richard, thanks for reminding me...  I did the tour again last night and just as delighted with M47 as before!  Mag 50x seemed to be a very nice view, and M46 was clearly visible this time around.  I didn't venture further south, though, as the ground mist was clobbering the lower sky.  The wide double star 2 Puppis is a cool sight nearby. 

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