Deep Sky Feast, 14Th Jan.

[Size9Hex]

A deep blue sky late afternoon promised great things, with the waxing moon not yet boisterous enough to spoil the party.

Warmed up on a few targets from a previous evening to confirm what I recall seeing, before beginning the feast. No real plans beyond enjoying the sky and seeing something new.

Past the Double Cluster to Stock 2. A funny old target that I've overlooked until now. A sea of stars in the eyepiece, but overspilling the field of view. Panning around revealed the extent. In binos, surprisingly, just a large faintly brighter area of sky.

Without leaving the eyepiece I drifted upwards, further into Cassiopeia. To my delight, I stumbled immediately onto the colourful arrowhead cluster of M103.

Three new clusters, Caldwell 10 flanked by the more modest NGC 659 and 654. Different eyepieces revealed different details like 3 blind men describing an elephant.

Wanting for something different, over to the Galactic Wanderer, with a chance to split Castor before beginning journey. A faint patch that became clearer as I looked. A scattering of faint stars in view, but nothing resolved in the target itself.

NGC2371, a cheeky little planetary in Gemini, revealed itself with some persistence as figure 8 or a monkey nut.

The Crab Nebula showed some shape, and I think some texture within. I can't pin it down, but each time I've looked recently, it hasn't been a simple smooth blob.

M78, new to me, as a delightful bright wisp of cloud.

If the night had been a feast, the rise of Jupiter signalled the port was being passed round. Low in the sky, I expected little. 180x proved too much, and confirmed why the ancient Romans named it after their God of Jellyfish. A more modest eyepiece stopped the wobbling and brought out contrast. Fleeting glimpses of a notably dark dot, which I believe to be the shadow of Io. Some other features picked out too, but nothing earth shatteringly awesome.

And then to bed.

[laudropb]

Very nice report. You had a very productive session and best of all a very enjoyable time.

[Special K]

Nice report Paul and a good load of targets. Makes we want to bag the Galactic Wanderer...........and last night I was sooooo close too! Next time.