6 December - A Great Night's Viewing

[Wiltshiresaint]

Have only had time this evening for about 45 minutes observing with my bins, but it proved a very productive and satisfying time.

A couple of weeks back I thought I'd spotted M36 in Auriga but wasn't by any means certain that the misty blob I could see with averted vision was the open cluster I was looking for (see http://stargazerslounge.com/observing-binoculars/92009-auriga-what-did-i-see.html).

Well, a superb clear night beckoned so outside I went again. Within 5 minutes or so my night vision had kicked in sufficiently to see the Milky Way overhead, clearly visible across the Sky from Cygnus through Cassiopeia and beyond. (Finding I could see this from my garden was a real bonus when I moved in around 6 months ago).

After another ten minutes or so I moved to Auriga, looking between El Nath and Theta Auriga for a tell-tell fuzzy blob. This time I thought I could see two such blobs, and noting the star patterns around both I dashed back inside to look on Stellarium. Sure enough, I could confirm M36 and M37. Superb, and a real sense of achievement.

I went back outside and made a sweep of the sky, trying to find a few new constellations near to the ones I knew. In this

manner I was able to make my way from Ursa Major, to Ursa Minor and into Draco for the first time. Heading east from Jupiter I found Cetus before spotting Gemini. Most importantly I think I should be able to remember them now.

Time for a quick attempt at capturing something with my DSLR. Straight up - lets see if I can get the Milky Way. A 30 second exposure or two later and it's time to get back inside. Onto the laptop and there is Cassiopeia, or most of it, heading across to Andromeda. No sign of the Milky Way (hopelessly ambitious I suspect) but there in the middle if the image is a lovely fuzzy image of the Andromeda Galaxy. Okay, it's nothing more than a slightly hazy patch but still great for this newbie to see.

[philsail1]

Sounds like yo had a very satisfying evening's observing there "wilshiresaint!"

It is surprising just how much you can see with a decent pair of binoculars - what size binos were you using?

Let's hope we have some more clear nights!

best wishes,

philsail1

[Wiltshiresaint]

It is surprising just how much you can see with a decent pair of binoculars - what size binos were you using?

Yes, I think it was my best night yet Phil. Chasing those clusters in Auriga has been great fun.

My binoculars are Viking Navigators, 8 x 42s. I was given then for birdwatching a few years back so they're not ideal for astronomy by any means, but it's still impresses me how much more I can see with them.

[russ]

Does indeed sound like you had fun. Auriga is one of the best places to go with a pair of binos. I always head straight there, it's a very rewarding constellation.

[mdstuart]

Try the double cluster and M34 in Perseus which shoudl both show up in your 42mm's...

Should be clear tonight and then again from Thursday onwards..

Mark

[Wiltshiresaint]

Thanks for the tip Mark. I'll definitely take a look tonight if the weather is okay, but I work in Bristol and it's looking pretty grim right now

[Talitha]

Well done! Yes, i remember your thread and am glad you were able to confirm the sighting. The Pleiades and Hyades clusters look great through any sized binocular. IIRC, the Mellotte and Collinder open clusters are all fairly large but i'm not too sure if they'd all be bright enough... worth a try, anyway. Hope your sky cooperates.

[arad85]

Thanks for the tip Mark. I'll definitely take a look tonight if the weather is okay, but I work in Bristol and it's looking pretty grim right now

Clear as a bell here 'Scope is outside cooling down.... Got some doubles on my list for tonight...

[cloud9]

horrible weather here. Its meant to clear up later though so i have hope!

[george7378]

Great report - I had a great night last night too

[Wiltshiresaint]

Intermittent cloud around and family commitments meant I only had a few minutes outside last night but it did allow me to go back to Auriga and find M38 sitting above M36 and M37. It's a lot easier to be sure what I'm looking at when I've already confirmed it during a previous session.

Didn't go too far for my next target, M35 in Gemini. Again, my bins only show it as a hazy blob, and that's using averted vision. However, some time spent there did allow me pick out some detail - a trio of stars in what looked like a triangle shape.

And that was that unfortunately - back inside, no time for Pegasus although I'll make my way there soon. Later I managed to check M35 on Stellarium and sure enough there were the three stars I saw inside the cluster. Newbie lesson learned during this seesion was patience. Particularly at the start of a session my eyes are clearly still becoming accustomed to the darkness, and it's well worth sticking with an object in order to see more detail.