Out Again At Last - Another Galaxy Bagged!

[cloudsweeper]

8SE.  Mild evening, dark, clear sky, no Moon.  I used the hood for the whole session and found it very beneficial both at the EP and when moving around the garden with various sources of stray light about.  (Should use the hood every  time!)

Quick look at M42 to test the GoTo.  Spot on.

C50 Satellite Cluster in Monoceros - very nice, several stars, a large cluster, not dense - no sign of the surrounding Rosette Nebula (with/without filters).

M67 open cluster (King Cobra Cluster) in Cancer - lovely - small, dense, not bright (I find clusters that have fainter, more sharply defined stars to be more attractive somehow) - mag from x56 to x113, best at x85, still nicely framed.

Wanting to progress with galaxies, this was a new one for me:

NGC 2903, face-on, barred spiral galaxy in Leo - very faint, AV required - saw a fuzzy patch, inclined NE-SW as per Stellarium.  This one is relatively bright, but was missed by Messier.  x56 used, still OK at x68, but less so at x85 and x48 (poorer contrast).  Small steps made a noticeable difference here - justification for having so many EPs!!

Finally, another re-visit:

M94 spiral galaxy in Canes Venatici, Cat's or Croc's Eye Galaxy - clearly seen as a small, round fuzzy spot with a bright centre, quite an easy target after the previous one!

A great couple of hours!

Doug.

 

 

[Ben the Ignorant]

M94 is not famous but it's the easiest telescopic galaxy, just as obvious in small scopes and light polluted skies as the brightest planetary nebulas.

[domstar]

Lovely. Can't wait to get out again.