The Crab revisited; the Lion's roar!

[Special K]

Having a series of sessions back to back is pretty much a luxury for me, if you don't count the freezing cold winds.  Forecasts were not good so I don't know where those breaks in the clouds came from but they were taken advantage of.   What began as some searching around for Cancer's hidden gems turned into a full blown galaxy feast in Leo!

The double Σ1268 (Lambda Cancri) was the beginning point of my travels and is a lovely loose binary with a faint companion of nice contrasting color.  As a naked eye object between the Lion's head and Castor, it is useful as a jumping off point for hops with the EQ mount.  A few degrees northeast is the star-rich fields of the Sigma's Cancri (1 to 4), which is a treat to the eye given how bright and bundled these stars are.  It would be very rewarding just to trawl the surrounding vicinity as there are more rich fields and hidden galaxies in the neighborhood.  Just across the Lynx borders lies the spooky UFO Galaxy!  At 9.7, NGC2683 is a nice bright image that looked like an edge on spiral.

About 7 degrees South of Lambda is Gamma and the marvelous Beehive M44.  I just never get enough of the geometry of this cluster and this time I saw a Cepheus lookalike amongst the brigher stars.  The bigger scope adds more subtle stars to the field invisible to the ED80.  There is a depth and richness to this cluster that keeps you coming back for new surprises.  Spotting it naked eye from home can be difficult, so seeing it so bright in the EP is always a revelation.

Medium winds were preventing good seeing, so M3 and M53 were there but unable to be resolved.  I had another abortive attempt at NGC5053 and got as far as pinning down the exact location.  There just might be a hint of some light in that space using the 152, but the house then got in the way!  Gonna keep trying until I bag this one.

Another victim of bad seeing was Zeta Cancri, Tegmine (Tegmen, or shell of the crab).  The A and B component in the 152 at 260x could be beginning a separation and there were times it seems there were a pair of beady, bright eyes staring back, but gusts of wind kept the scope wobbling and never at a standstill.  Shame because I'm nearly there with this.

The M67 cluster was a first for me and another understated gem of the Crab.  What a beautiful shape!  Two shapes in fact that have a little gap between them, but each peppered with dim points of ancient light.  I was in awe of this one, as I would be of a statue in a museum.  Quietly, it has been there for a very, very, very long time.

Inspired by the UFO earlier, and armed with yet more layers, I forged on into Leo:

NGC2909 (8.9)  seen this one before, but the rest were first time viewings.  For whatever reasons I've never tried these before and was a very rewarding venture:

M96 (9.2) and M95 (9.7), then up to

M105 (9.3), NGC3384 (10.0), and a very difficult NGC3389 (?) bunched together in the same FOV, finding the 12mm EP at 100x quite useful.   Thinking I now need a 9mm for the 152 for galaxies though.....   Then further north to

NGC3377 (10.2) and NGC3367 (11.5) which is dead hard.

Over to the classic trio:  M65 (9.3) and M66 (9.0).  NGC3628 at 9.5 is never easy for me.  Must be a low surface brightness as NGC3367 was easier.

The end of a three to four hour session was concluded with the obligatory check of Jupiter.  Still gusts of wind, but not too much to stop making a positive ID on the GRS!  It really is dark enough to be mistaken for a shadow transit in poor seeing.  One or two dark festoons were also visible, so well worth the visit! Happy Hunting!

 

 

 

[Martin Meredith]

Great report! I was also in the Leo area last night for a brief and unexpected between-the-clouds session (love these grab-n-go scopes). With my 77ED M65 and M66 were bright and easy with direct vision, and clearly oriented. As you note, NGC 3628 is much more difficult to make out; I made a rough sketch and it seems I caught a few photons in the right place, but that was after maybe 15 minutes staring at the field.

Martin

[Davesellars]

Great report.  Nice to be able to use two different scopes in one session.  The sharpness of the 80ED optics really makes those larger clusters sing.

[cotterless45]

Great report ! I had details of the doubles in M44 somewhere ! Some lovely targets spotted and enjoyed. I think you would have fainted to see the Sunday sky at SGL !

clear skies !

Nick.

[Knighty2112]

Nice detailed report. Well done!  Didn't get a great time observing last night. Clouds where rolling in too much, but did manage to look at Jupiter (well before the GRS came into view) and look at M65 & M66 again. Seeing wasn't great as I also tried the Whirlpool again but failed to bag it again. May try a few double stars as apart from the famous ones I've never really bothered looking at them. Sounds like with some the different colours make them a nice sight to see.

[Special K]

6 minutes ago, Knighty2112 said:

Nice detailed report. Well done!  Didn't get a great time observing last night. Clouds where rolling in too much, but did manage to look at Jupiter (well before the GRS came into view) and look at M65 & M66 again. Seeing wasn't great as I also tried the Whirlpool again but failed to bag it again. May try a few double stars as apart from the famous ones I've never really bothered looking at them. Sounds like with some the different colours make them a nice sight to see.

Those clouds were an interesting variety and looked very wintry at times.  I'm sure there was also a thin haze throughout which didn't clear off.  At one point I noticed a drop in contrast to look up and realize the refractor was punching through a singificant cloud!!!

[Piero]

Brilliant report Kev!  

Yeah, the non messier in the Leo triplet is tough with a small telescope. It took me several attempts to spot it and even so, its light was very faint and visible only via averted vision. Nice notes too! Those can be very helpful in the medium-long term.  

 

[laudropb]

Very nice report and very useful notes. Managed 30 minutes in Leo last night before the clouds rolled in.

[alan potts]

Another really good report, nights on the trot, be careful how many times you say that, wall have ears and the weather can read.

[Size9Hex]

Fantastic stuff! Quite a few targets in there to inspire. I'm intrigued by the UFO - yet another one for the growing list...