a rewarding evening

[wimvb]

Returned from a session with my new Opticron Oregon 15*70
Had to drive a few km to get to really dark skies (just some glow from Stockholm to the south), but once parked I just took out a chair and started observing.
Now even I have to say: binoculars are a must for every serious stargazer.
Once I located Mirach, M31 Andromeda was a breeze. On the opposite side of Mirach I saw an irregular hazy patch which must have been M33. I hope to get a better view in a few months time during winter.
From there on a sweep to Vega and a short attempt to locate M57. No luck.
Swept past Albireo and the coathanger to Sagitta. Found the dumbell nebula (M27), very faint. No luck finding NGC 7000, I may have been looking at the wrong place. After that the Pleiades (M45) came into view (there were some trees to the east), I kept in the eastern part of the sky. M45 is always a gem. From there on I located M34 the spiral cluster and NGC 752.
Finished the session with the Hyades which had just come into clear view.

All in all a very rewarding evening.

Wim

[laudropb]

Very nice report and congratulations on having such a fine night. m57 I have always found difficult to find with bins. Even with the 8inch scope I usually have to use an OIII filter

[Piero]

Lovely report! Dark skies and bins are a nice combination! I was also very pleased with the view of m31 with an entry bins 15x70 under a dark sky!

[seo]

Interesting and worthy report. Dark skies are a must and bins are one of my intriguing targets !

[DemosL]

Very nice report and congratulations on having such a fine night. m57 I have always found difficult to find with bins. Even with the 8inch scope I usually have to use an OIII filter

I've been able to see M57 in my 4 1/4" scope. In my 15 x 70 bins, I may have seen it blinking on and off. It may have been my imagination.

[BeanerSA]

Nice report. If you can see M45, just stay out a short while longer and M42 will soon be in view.

[wimvb]

Binoculars are also becoming my favourites. DemosL; I've seen M57 in my scope. Even there it doesn't really jump out at you. Maybe I'll have more luck in a few months time when skies will be darker.

BeanerSA; M42 is still too low in the sky, even later in the night. My location is just north of Stockholm 60 deg north. This month, Cygnus wings are almost straight up. Ursa major is quite low in the northern sky at 22.00 (DST). Best time for objects in Orion isn't until December up here. Then I will definitely have a go at it.

Wim

[jetstream]

Great report!