Planet, Fine Double, Some Clusters

[cloudsweeper]

Further to my earlier report of viewing Luna, I returned to the 8SE and aligned it on Menkar and Aldebaran.

Uranus was close to the Moon, and GoTo was spot on.  It took some magnification, but - not surprisingly - showed no hint of colour.

Mesarthim, a double in Aries was next, and it jumped out immediately as a tight, bright, matched pair at x56.  A real delight, and the high spot of this brief session.

M45 Pleiades cluster did not all fit in the FOV, but was a lovely sight with many bright stars in a loose spread.

M42/43 nebula showed some detail with subtle changes of brightness.  Nebula filters did not seem to enhance this at all.

C50 Satellite Cluster in Monoceros.

NGC 1662 open cluster in Orion - pleasant - about 10 bright stars, with more faint ones.  Going from x56 to x85 darkened the background and showed the fainter stars a little better.

NGC 1807 open cluster in Taurus - very similar to the above, but without much difference at x85 this time.

A nice, short session, although a bright Moon and clouds scudding by limited it somewhat.  

Good to get any sort of action in these days!

Doug.

 

 

[Knighty2112]

Nice work Doug. A nice mixed bag of targets to hit, well done. Away for work at the moment, and hoping for clear weather at the weekend at home, but forcast is not looking good for that alas!  

[scarp15]

A nice rounded session Doug and including the Lunar observing. Clear sky here, nice to look up at on a walk out earlier this evening.

[Astro Imp]

With your earlier lunar you seem to have had a very pleasant evening with a good variety of targets. Like you I always enjoy Mesarthim, like a pair of headlights, easy but nice all the same.