Three new Messiers, Trapezium, and a few revisits.

[Ccolvin968]

Tonight was the first night in over a two months that I got out with my Z10 dob. I was on a work trip, and just before and after the weather was absolute trash. It was cold out there. 17 degrees F (-8.3 C), but I managed a two hour session out there. It would have been longer, but I need better socks... Even though they layered them up, I had on summer weight boots. Dumb me... I started out re centering my finderscope after a nasty knock broke the plastic screw. I replaced it with a stainless steel screw. Wont win a beauty contest, but it is functional. After I got that fixed up, I saw that Albireo was still visible. It was a beautiful yellow blue combo as always. I then went over to M45 for the first time in my big scope. I couldn't believe how many more stars were visible compared to my 5" scope. I had no rhyme or reason to my observing tonight. I was just thrilled to have my scope out again, and to be trying out my 10x42 binos on a DIY tripod mount that worked like a charm. I then went over to M31 and spent some time there. I haven't had such cold air and no wind. It was really cool. Even with the moderate LP in my area, I could see quite a bit more than usual. The snow on the ground does me no favors by reflecting all of the light from the city up higher. Normally my Southern Horizon is washed out about 15 degrees and below. Tonight it was washed out almost all the way to 35-40 degrees. Very sad because I was going to try to find Uranus. No such luck. Finally, I was able to get M42 in the binoculars before the scope. My house blocks the view of the eastern horizon and Orion was a little shy coming over the top tonight. Tonight was my first time viewing the Orion Nebula. I was shocked even in binoculars how obvious it was that there was a nebula there. I could only see the main body of the nebula right around the Trapezium, but obviously not the Trapezium itself through 10x42's. After what felt like an eternity of a wait, I was finally able to get the 10"dob on it. I was so surprised about how beautiful it was through my 32mm ep (39x magnification) I could see the main part of the body of the nebula then the long strand that runs to the North of the nebula, and likewise to the South. A, B, C, and D were barely separated at 39x. A and B were so close together that they were flickering back and forth of being one star and two. Then with my 14mm ep (89x Magnification) A, B, C, and D, were all split very nicely. The Trapezium was clearly there. There was no difference with my 8.8mm ep (142x magnification) other than slightly more separation. I was totally satisfied with my observing night after that. I plan on trying to wake up in a few hours to see if I can find Catalina. After I barely saw ISON before it exploded into a bunch of little pieces, I'd love to see a brighter comet. I tried for IC434, but the LP in my area is too bad I think. I also tried to observe Gamma Cassiopeiae and IC 59 and IC 63. No luck with the nebulas. All in all, it was a great night, and a great way to kick off my new year of observing. Clear skies!