Canis and Ursa (Major)

12 January 2021, 22:00 – 23:15

Cold, but not as brutal as Saturday. Hazy sky, with bands of cloud waxing and waning in the southwest like a poor man’s aurora. Light condensation on scope.

Seeing: Poor

Transparency: Poor

Given the conditions, and the prospect of cloud ending the session at any moment, I stuck to old (and bright) favourites once again.


Sirius, The Dog Star, Canis Major

171x and 240x. Having recently read that the white dwarf star Sirius B is close to its maximum separation from the primary, roughly 11” east-northeast (following), I wanted to see if I could detect it with my scope. Unfortunately the indifferent seeing quickly put paid to that idea (even Rigel was tough to split tonight), but definitely one to try again if and when conditions allow.

Betelgeuse, Orion

171x. Now looking much more like its old self after last year’s dimming event. A grand view in the DeLite; the orange colour also seemed more intense than last year.

NGC 2392, Eskimo Nebula, Gemini

240x and 133x. Same puffball appearance as Saturday night. Still difficult to make out the shell structure, but the central star was showing well. No colour discernable.


With the clouds starting to interfere I was forced to relocate to the other side of the sky, and with no time to waste consulting star charts, the M81/M82 group was the obvious choice. (At least I can see these galaxies in the finder – just.)


M82, galaxy, Ursa Major

133x. Tapered streak of light (like a candle burning at both ends). Mottling and dark lane visible with averted vision, but nowhere near its best tonight.

NGC 3077, galaxy, Ursa Major

133x. Faint, but obvious. Condensed core with averted vision. It still embarrasses me that I never saw this galaxy before March of last year.

M81, galaxy, Ursa Major

133x. Bright core with stellar nucleus. Ill-defined outer haze; I reckon the spiral structure might be visible in the Ethos on a really good night when M81 is near maximum elevation. Dark patches near core were just about visible. Something else I hadn’t paid enough attention to before tonight: the two close foreground double stars in a line southwest from the core; the outermost pair just barely split at 133x.

And so, with the clouds closing in, that was it for the session.

Old Favourites in Gemini and Auriga

9 January 2021, 19:00 – 20:15

Conditions: Very cold; hazy cloud and a slight mistiness in the air. Windy earlier, but dropped off by the time I took the scope outside.

Seeing: Poor / average

Transparency: Poor (mostly)


And still the bad weather continues; this being the first clear(ish) moon-free night in nearly a month. With hindsight I’m glad I got so much observing done last winter, because this one's looking more and more like a write-off.


Mars: 240x. Rather small now. The variable seeing made it hard to pick out detail, but there appeared to be a bright spot or cloud close to the SPC.

While in the area I took a quick look at Gamma Arietis (the headlight double) and also stumbled upon a similarly-spaced double in the same constellation. Possible Pi or Epsilon Arietis (most likely the former).

NGC 1514, Crystal Ball Nebula, Taurus

171x + OIII filter. Large (especially at this magnification), but quite faint tonight – even with the filter. Irregular outline with averted vision, but internal structure hard to see. Central star like a dim light shining through candyfloss. Also viewed at 92x (Ethos 13mm) without a filter; the nebulosity was still visible, but if it weren’t for the two halo-less stars flanking it, it could easily have been mistaken for the effects of condensation on the mirrors.

NGC 2392, Eskimo Nebula, Gemini

171x + OIII filter, and 92x (no filter). Bright, condensed, approximately half the size of NGC 1514. If 1514 was like candyfloss then this was like a scrunched-up swab of cotton wool. The shell structure I’ve seen on previous occasions was smeared out by bad seeing. Central star easier to see at 92x without the filter.

M35 and NGC 2158, open clusters, Gemini

Glorious view at 92x. NGC 2158 fairly obvious as an extended misty patch SW of M35 – seemed larger than I remember. A few stars resolved with averted vision, mostly on the outskirts.

M36, open cluster, Auriga

92x. Pretty cluster, bright stars arranged in pairs, but somewhat overshadowed by M37.

M37, open cluster, Auriga

92x. Spectacular view in the Ethos, easily the highlight of an otherwise indifferent night. Superbly rich in stars – arguably the best winter cluster (if you count the Double Cluster as an autumn object). The orange-red star at centre seemed particularly prominent tonight.

M42, Great Nebula, Orion

92x. Partially obstructed by neighbour’s tree, so just a quick look to make sure I get my annual fix. The Trapezium stars seemed to be showing slightly different colours (mostly likely due to combination of poor seeing and diffraction).


As tempting as it was to wait for Orion to clear the neighbour’s tree, the cold was really starting to bite at this point, so I called it a night.