December 4, 2019: Short but sweet binocular session

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

I returned from a salsa party just before midnight to find the skies beautifully clear.  I didn't have time to get the scope out, so I grabbed the Helios LightQuest 16x80 bins for a quick look at the sky. Orion's sword was tempting as ever, so had a quick look at M42 and M43, nicely resolved in these big bins.  Next I had a quick look at M45, which is always gorgeous in bins. I pointed the bins towards M33, which can be a tricky target in suburban skies, but I got it bang in the centre of the FOV, showing up surprisingly well. I also visited Andromeda to check out M31, M32 and M110, before moving to first the Double Cluster, and then M34 in Perseus. Just to stay in the same part of the Messier catalogue, I snapped up M35 in Gemini, and M36, M37, and M38 in Auriga, all beautifully resolved in these bins. M44 proved a bit more elusive, being placed in a brighter area of the sky, over the city centre, but I got it in the end. I ended up with M81 and M82 in Ursa Major, after a brief but futile attempt at M101 and M51 (both too low to make out). M81 and M82 showed up nicely, however.

I was glad I could spend some time under the stars again. Binoculars are just superb  for these brief opportunities.

 

 

[scarp15]

That's great Michael, must check the weather forecast for any potential spontaneous evenings to go out with binoculars. 

[PeterW]

You must have some fairly good skies?

peter

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

1 hour ago, PeterW said:

You must have some fairly good skies?

peter

Pretty decent for suburban skies. I do get much better views when I am out of town, but for a quick session I cannot really complain 

[Mr_Simnock]

I really love looking at M36, M37 and M38, each has has it's own distinct shape and look. I use them to judge the seeing conditions often during any session with my bino's.