Seems like an absolute age since I last managed to get my scope out under clear skies...and indeed the diary says its over a month ago!

I've been itching for an opportunity to get out...Christmas had bought goodies including a Telrad Finder and plenty of additions to my burgeoning Astronomical library!

Out in the Light Pollution trap which is my back garden - and having given stern instructions to the ladies of the household not to put the bathroom light on while I'm outside I get the scope put up and leave it cooling. In use on the side of the scope the Telrad seems huge and getting it aligned properly is a pain...its mounted on the far side of the OTA to my Finderscope - so stretching and straining is needed to get a good straight through view...AND it weighs a ton...I've had to re balance my scope on its mount as its so nose heavy with the Telrad in place!

Time for some naked eye observations while my Scope cools and my eyes adapt, Jupiter is high and dazzlingly bright in the constellation of Aries, the "kite shape" of Cepheus is obvious over the roof of my neighbours bungalow to the north and I am able to pick out two naked eye stars in Monoceros (Gamma and Beta I believe).

Picking up the binoculars its easy to pick out the three Messier clusters in Auriga (M36, M37 and M38) as tiny condensations in the background Milky Way, they actually seem more difficult to spot in the finderscope...perhaps that's down to its narrower field of view? In the Dob M37 is the most obvious and the one that appears to be outside the traditional lines of the constellation; M36 is a tight bright scattering of resolved stars and M38 is more scattered and nebulous.

I was again surprised to pick out M1 The Crab Nebula relatively easily from my back garden because of the skyglow and light pollution - one thing I've discovered already is that the Telrad makes it so much easier to find things...I was straight onto Zeta Taurus with no problems or scanning around whatsoever! Compared to the last time I viewed it, it appeared larger more extended and slightly lozenge shaped...it was still only a very faint puff of smoke though!

The Orion Nebula M42 & M43 looked as spectacular as ever - but I do seem to be having real difficulty identifying M43 as a separate object, to me it definitely merges into the nebulosity between the horns of the main M42 for me...A,B,C and D all visible in the trapezium _ I will have to make an effort on a steady night with a better eyepiece to try and resolve some of the fainter members!

Using the Telrad in conjunction with some newly printed finder charts it was easy to identify the location of M78 just north of Orion's belt - but was pleasantly surprised to be able to view it as a small comet-like triangle of sparse grey smoke sweeping away from an embedded faint star - my first ever reflection nebula...yippee!!

Adding the 10mm EP with the x2 Barlow it was time for a second look at Sigma Orion - I do find this combination unpleasant to view with - I look forward to investing in more and better eyepieces! The Multiple Star system was viewable as a quadruple star this time - the tiny faint companion C visible next to the Primary A/B...all four stars like a chain of different sized white pearls on a bead.

Having viewed Monoceros for the first time as a naked eye constellation (or two of its members anyway) - it was time to turn the scope on Beta Monoceros which was thankfully easy to find mid-way between Orion's belt and Sirius - the star itself was an attractive triple system A bright primary and nearby two fainter stars almost merging together they are so close - all an attractive "ice white".

Castor is the fainter of the two bright "twins" in Gemini and an impressive double star, in the 10mm EP it splits to two equal bright white companions (after reading about it i realise there is a third fainter companion I missed...something to look out for in future).

I've always been interested in Planetary Nebula - and with inferior optical equipment I have unsuccessfully tried to spy The Ring Nebula and The Dumbell Nebula in the past...now I've finally acquired an astronomical telescope I was quite excited about the thought of finding one and was going to try my luck with NGC2392 The Eskimo Nebula in Gemini. My star-hop started at Wasat (the waist star in Pollux' half of Gemini) and with that in the Telrad it was pretty straightforward to find 63 Gemini - a triple star asterism which let me know I was on the right track. I was impressed I could actually make out NGC2392 as a bloated fuzzy star in the 25mm EP (I thought it might need higher magnification) and with the 10mm it was visible in all its glory - a tiny bright disk surrounded by a fainter halo - impressive and a real reward - my first ever planetary!

Whilst I was in Gemini I had another look at M35 - definitely my favourite open cluster so far! Looking stunning in my 25mm EP - a nicely resolved and extensive cluster of faint stars with an even smattering of brighter members in the foreground.

While trees and a fence meant I couldn't swing the dobsonian in the right direction, but binoculars on the other hand were OK and sweeping south of Sirius in Canis Major meant I was able to pick up M41 as a diminutive patch of light...another new Messier for my collection!

I had an unsuccessful attempt to locate M50 in Monoceros - while I had been able to find Beta Monoceros earlier I couldn't pick up enough guide stars to star hop to this open cluster in a rather sparsely populated area of the sky :(

A quick look to the west and light pollution was hampering viewing...The bright core of M31 was visible, but no companions and there was no sign of M33.

After enjoying them on my last session I revisited a couple of easy to find double stars in Cassiopeia (easy to find with the Telrad that is - I've used mine for a couple of hours and already I wouldn't part with it...worth every penny and more!) Eta Cassiopeia easy to find between Alpha and Gamma Cas - a well separated double with a beautiful yellow/red colour contrast. Iota Cassiopeia a little trickier - just outside the "w" of Cassiopeia an attractive triple system - a bright primary and two fainter companions, B very close to A and probably not separable on less steady night.

While in Cassiopeia I have a look for the multitude of open clusters it contains - not nearly as easy as you'd think, with Cassiopeia being firmly in the milky way - there's an awful lot going on once you look through the eyepiece! Hopefully investment in a lower magnification, brighter widefield eyepiece will help in future! I manage to identify M103 close to Delta Cas - more through luck and its proximity to such an obvious guide star than judgement but its visible as a small faint mottled patch of light with a couple of brighter foreground stars in the 25mm EP.

A more obvious and visually spectacular cluster is M34 in Perseus - positioning my Telrad guide circle midway between Algol (in Perseus) and Almach (in Andromeda) and it was a surprisingly easy find...nice and obvious in the finderscope. In the 25mm it had a lovely well resolved appearance - a sparse scattering of bright and faint stars spread in an extended fan shape.

Well the indoors and normal life was calling and it was time to pack everything away after an exciting session and many new finds - I must remember not to be so dismissive of my back garden - just because I can't get anywhere darker it doesn't mean it'll be a wasted night!