The Sights Of Auriga

[Epick Crom]

Hi my fellow stargazers! The plan last night was to observe Uranus, Auriga, Gemini and Carina. I put out my 10 inch dob to get to ambient temperature 2 hrs earlier under clear skies. When I came out later to observe Lo and behold the southern sky was clouded over. The pesky clouds were slowly starting to move north, so I had to modify my observing session and dive straight into Auriga before it too would be consumed by clouds. We are experiencing a heatwave here in Perth at the moment so the night was hot and humid.

I pointed my scope at El Nath in Taurus to start my descent north into Auriga. I encountered the double star HD 36044 first. Moving further down 14 Aurigae came into view next. This is an attractive double star, white primary with a blue looking fainter companion. The stars 16,17,18 and 19 Aurigae were all close by. The "runaway" star AE Aurigae was to the right of them, I lingered here as this star is also known as "The Flaming Star". No "flame" nebulosity was seen. I moved left of AE Aurigae to find the open cluster NGC 1893 next. This cluster to me looked like the capital letter Y! 

Panning above NGC 1893 brought me to Phi Aurigae, a star set in a lovely field. Checking Sky Safari, this star is in the centre of the nebula IC 417. I observed for 10 minutes but again no nebulosity seen. This is either a faint nebula or my LP and low altitude of this constellation are rendering it invisible. I paid near by open cluster M38 a visit next. Woah I can see why this cluster is called the "Starfish Cluster". Does look like a Starfish to me, it's stars arranged in an X shape. I strained to see companion cluster NGC 1907 below it. It was invisible at 70x, only once I upped the magnification to 240x did I detect it. It was smaller than I thought it would be, looking like a faint globular at this magnification. It must be a better sight from the northern hemisphere. 

From there I moved towards the open cluster NGC 1931. This is a open cluster and nebula according to Sky Safari but both eluded me! I must be suffering from atmospheric extinction. The humidity and LP wasn't helping either! M36 caught my eye close by so I examined it next. Beautiful open cluster with a double star SAO 58235 imbedded within this cluster. Just as I was going to find M 37 the clouds won the battle and covered the northern section of my sky. It was an interesting tour of a northern constellation I'm not too familiar with. It's always exciting to view and explore new sections of sky you haven't seen before! Thanks for reading and clear skies to you all!

Joe

[Pixies]

Ah - M37 is the best of the 3, IMHO. Hopefully you'll get a chance to observe it again soon.

NGC1664 is nearby (in the vicinity of Capella) and one of my favourite open clusters. Called the 'kite', I think it looks like a stingray. Is it too far North for you?

And I've never been able to observe any nebulosity in Auriga from my light polluted skies.

[Epick Crom]

25 minutes ago, Pixies said:

Ah - M37 is the best of the 3, IMHO. Hopefully you'll get a chance to observe it again soon.

NGC1664 is nearby (in the vicinity of Capella) and one of my favourite open clusters. Called the 'kite', I think it looks like a stingray. Is it too far North for you?

And I've never been able to observe any nebulosity in Auriga from my light polluted skies.

Thanks Pixies! Yeah I think the cluster you mentioned near Capella is a bit to far north for me, but I will try it tonight now that I'm using a table to place my dob on top. This allows me to see a few more degrees north above my neighbours house! I have yet to observe Capella through my scope but I can see it low down naked eye. Ok so the nebulosity in Auriga is difficult to see in LP conditions, even from the northern hemisphere. Can't wait to see M 37! Thanks mate and happy observing!

[Kon]

Very nice report Joe and I am glad the clouds did not ruin the fun.

10 hours ago, Epick Crom said:

Panning above NGC 1893 brought me to Phi Aurigae, a star set in a lovely field. Checking Sky Safari, this star is in the centre of the nebula IC 417. I observed for 10 minutes but again no nebulosity seen. This is either a faint nebula or my LP and low altitude of this constellation are rendering it invisible.

When I saw the IC417 around NGC1893 a few weeks back I had to use my OIII filter. Without it I could see the cluster nicely but no hint of the nebula, but with the filter it brought it up nicely.

Similarly M38 and NGC1907 look quite nice together if you have a wide FOV EP. I agree the smaller cluster does not reveal much details at low mag.

[wookie1965]

Cracking report and a great read thank you for posting. 

[Epick Crom]

4 hours ago, Kon said:

Very nice report Joe and I am glad the clouds did not ruin the fun.

When I saw the IC417 around NGC1893 a few weeks back I had to use my OIII filter. Without it I could see the cluster nicely but no hint of the nebula, but with the filter it brought it up nicely.

Similarly M38 and NGC1907 look quite nice together if you have a wide FOV EP. I agree the smaller cluster does not reveal much details at low mag.

Thanks Kostas. I really need to invest in some filters soon☺️

[Epick Crom]

4 hours ago, wookie1965 said:

Cracking report and a great read thank you for posting. 

Glad you enjoyed reading it @wookie1965, hope you are feeling better now 🤞

[wookie1965]

1 hour ago, Epick Crom said:

Glad you enjoyed reading it @wookie1965, hope you are feeling better now 🤞

Sorry no went back to dentist yesterday got very strong antibiotics says I have a dry socket and the infection is not under my cavity so he is worried could be in the bone sent me for xray said I may need specialist help. 

I am shall we say worried in language you can write on here. 

I look like a hamster with two or three nuts in its cheek.