Short Jaunt Through Orion

[Sunshine]

Seeing was fairly good last night but, the bitter cold (-12C) was a constant reminder of the cozy 23 degrees just steps away from where I set up. One look at Orion and I knew I could bear the cold, its stars so unmistakable, the only constellation which somehow stands out and, separates itself from every other constellation a less experienced eye might glance past. Sitting on my rickety chair dressed like I was heading off to the arctic circle, waiting for my wee refractor to cool, I held my phone up using SkySafari to plan a target path through its many offerings. Would anyone be surprised that my first target was M42? for those unfamiliar, it is that bluish smudge just below his belt 😂. Every time I look at M42 I feel like I am rediscovering it because essentially I am. Every year for the past few years, I have trained a different telescope on M42 but, never with something as small as a 4" refractor. Having had only one quick look at this target once with this scope under a full moon, I was excited to see what I could see on a moonless night. In went my 14mm XW which offered a beautiful view but, left me wanting more awful quick so in went the 9mm Morpheus which presented a very nicely contrasted view. This scope can really put up some pinpoint stars, boy did the trapezium ever look beautiful, enveloped in more nebulous detail than I thought possible in a 4". Without getting too carried away, I did not see whirling tendrils of glorious blue and red ethereal gasses but, I was surprised to see such contrast between the core and, the black sky. 

 

When I took a closer look at the Trapezium is when I was really surprised, inserting my 5mm XW I was enthralled by how delicate and sharp those four stars were. Just like the period at the end of this sentence,  those stars looked just as sharp, the definitions of pinpoints. After looking at them for a good 30 seconds, I suddenly saw E pop into view, WOW it was pretty, I wasn't aware that my 47 year old mildly astigmatic eye could register something so delicate and faint but, it was there, absolutely shocked me because it was so so delicate and tiny!. E was wonderful to see but, F was a challenge for some reason, I only managed a fleeting glimpse of F on a few occasions before I would loose it, all the while E was still there, I am not sure why this is. Increasing the power seemed to be detrimental, I would loose E when jumping to my my 3.5 XW, maybe on a night of better seeing I will be treated to both, technicalities aside, I was elated with the way this small 4" frac was treating the smallest of pinpoints of light. 

 

There were a few doubles which I enjoyed equally as much but, It is late so I will speak of just one which was wonderful. One I hadn't seen before as double stars were never really of great interest to me as they have been in the last year or so since I bought my first refractor, my 115 Eon which now has a new owner. Eta Orionis, boy are they close together, at first look with my 9mm I thought they were on and the same, not so, with my 5mm I could see these two very similar colored stars were indeed a pair, a clean black split was a pretty sight, no mistaking it at all. After doing some homework I now understand this is actually a quintuple system at roughly 900LY from earth, so transfixed on the pair I was that I cannot recall seeing any others. I'll have to research their magnitudes and distances more closely for my next session, in the meantime, I am looking forward to summer when I can stay out all night without my toes turning blue. 

CLEAR SKIES!!!

Edited March 9, 2021 by Sunshine

[Froeng]

Brilliant! Seems you really enjoyed yourself! M42 is truly one of the most magnificent views under half-decent skies!

[Nik271]

Well done for spotting the E and F stars! Its normal for F to be more difficult, because it's close to the C  star which is the brightest. I find that averted vision really helps with F, and can spot it with a 7 inch Mak when conditions are good.

[Epick Crom]

Nice session @Sunshine! I'm in love with Orion as well, but gee mate, -12C? I can't imagine how cold that must have been😨

 

[Sunshine]

5 hours ago, Epick Crom said:

Nice session @Sunshine! I'm in love with Orion as well, but gee mate, -12C? I can't imagine how cold that must have been😨

 

Being from the land down under, I can see how you couldn’t imagine observing in sub zero temps, lucky you!

Edited March 8, 2021 by Sunshine