First view of M36, M37, & M38

[Kainushi]

October 9th / 2200 hour JST

They were low in the sky, still rising through the LP in the East.

Initially, I thought I was looking at the few remaining scraps of clouds in the sky, but they remained stationary.

They were dim, lacking any detail; in fact, I would have passed them by had I not been searching for them.

 I look forward to seeing what they have to offer when they are higher up in the sky.

Cheers to you!

[Ben the Ignorant]

5 hours ago, Kainushi said:

 I look forward to seeing what they have to offer when they are higher up in the sky.

When they are higher up in the sky, M35 will also be at a good height. Find it at the western foot of Gemini; the group will be deeper inside the light pollution bell, but its member stars are brighter, so you shoud pick it up easily.

[Kainushi]

13 minutes ago, Ben the Ignorant said:

When they are higher up in the sky, M35 will also be at a good height. Find it at the western foot of Gemini; the group will be deeper inside the light pollution bell, but its member stars are brighter, so you shoud pick it up easily.

Ben,

Thank you for the tip.  I'll do it.

[Size9Hex]

Fantastic! The Auriga clusters are stunning. I'm not sure what else you've seen in your binos, but the Double Cluster, Hyades, M31 and Pleiades are all well placed at the moment and lovely in binos. M13 is on it's way into the west, but is still high enough to catch.

[Piero]

^^^ +1 to Paul's suggestions! 

Another lovely target for binoculars is the Alpha Persei Moving Cluster, which surrounds the star Alpha Persei - Mirphak (..I'm always scared to spell this wrongly in English.. ). 

[Kainushi]

11 hours ago, Size9Hex said:

Fantastic! The Auriga clusters are stunning. I'm not sure what else you've seen in your binos, but the Double Cluster, Hyades, M31 and Pleiades are all well placed at the moment and lovely in binos. M13 is on it's way into the west, but is still high enough to catch.

 

10 hours ago, Piero said:

^^^ +1 to Paul's suggestions! 

Another lovely target for binoculars is the Alpha Persei Moving Cluster, which surrounds the star Alpha Persei - Mirphak (..I'm always scared to spell this wrongly in English.. ). 

I was leaning against my storage shed viewing M36/7/8.   I have a tripod, but it's a tiny thing, inadequate for stargazing.  

The Double Cluster & Alpha Persei Cluster have been my starting points this month, and have improved nicely now that they are free of the LP in the East.  Before I turned in that night, I stretched out on the knee-high wall that divides my property from my next-door neighbor's and rested the binoculars on my eye sockets.  Cold and hard as it was, this method provdided me with the best view I've ever had of M31:  the core was large, bright, and obvious.  Using averted vision and my active imagination, I could picture hints of arms extending from the center!  I made a mental note to myself to look into purchasing a chair.

[Piero]

Other quite large(-ish) open cluster visible in this season are M39 (Cygnus) and M34 (Persei). If you observe under a dark sky, you might catch the galaxies M81 and M82 in Ursa Major too.  M33 is also doable with your 10x50 under dark skies. Cassiopeia is a lovely constellation to observe. Most targets will require a bit more magnification than 10x, but the overall sight is great with wide field tools to me. 

[Kainushi]

"Cassiopeia is a lovely constellation to observe.  Most targets will require a bit more magnification than 10x..."

Thank you, Piero, I've looked at it many times, and have always felt like I was missing something.