An evening with the hunter

[johnfosteruk]

I setup shortly after dusk in the back garden out of the way of the streetlamp last night and had a brief but nice tour of Orion. I'm glad I did, the seeing was very steady, not a cloud in sight, and no moon.

I started with some doubles, of which Orion has plenty.

First was RIgel, Beta Ori at 125x. I do enjoy the challenge of doubles with a large magnitude difference, the companion struggling to shine through the glare of the brighter primary.

Blue & White Delta Ori at 50x an easy split

Sigma Ori didn't show any colour but with nearby Struve 761 is a wonderful adventure, increase the mag to reveal more components in an apparent endless supply of stars! (What's the smallest aperture anyone has used to split the AB components of Sigma? I've a vague recollection that Burnham split them with the 12" Lick refractor.)

Iota Ori an easy split at 100x, then 200x. The primary seemed to be yellowish-white, secondary blue in comparison and no colour seen in the C component.

32 Ori seems ambitious with 4" aperture (even if well corrected) but definitely 'notched' at 125x, increasing mag made no difference.

Theta 1 Ori, the Trapezium gave up A to D easily at 50x. E appeared with some effort for a moment. B appears violet, no colour seen in E during a fleeting glimpse.

Going wide to take in M42 I'm certain I observed a hint of blue as well as the usual greenish hues. Spent a long time under the observing hood teasing out the faint stuff at 75x.

NGC 2194 - Intergalactic Wanderer was dim, almost misty but rich with stars. 

NGC 2169 - The Little Pleiades, the 37 made me smile!

M78, a faint patch with diffuse edges and a concentrated 'nucleus'.

A quick jump into Taurus to finish with some favourites and then I popped in to grab the camera and tripod for a quick snap of the hunter as he made his way over the neighbour's roof. Then indoors for a nice brew. Happy days are here again.

[Guest]

Nice shot. 

Quote "the 37 made me smile"

I think we all smile at the eyepiece once in a while ?

[Eastman]

Great report and really nice picture