by Jamie Dillon
Just calling in to brag, finally finished off p.5 of the Edmund's Mag 6 atlas, with two OC's off on the SE side. Up front here is a disclaimer, though. There are 3 planetaries in that region I have yet to bag. Have decided to go on a planetary tour when I'm older and wiser. I know there are fine observers with a refined taste for the things, like Ozer and Hudgins, but at this point it's like this: Navarrete:little OC's::Dillon:little PN's.
Pulled Felix out last night, with CMa and points East beckoning at the south end of the yard. Jupiter was a blur in the disk, but there were 3 moons all in a diagonal row right close in, another moon just opposite. Good omen. Before his bedtime Liam came out and discovered a fresh taste for the Moon. We spent time watching sunrise over Sinus Iridum. Then and later I studied the rim of the Appenines that rises over Mare Imbrium. Also, Aristarchus, off east of there, was showing a high palisade with a pitch black floor behind. Back to Sinus Iridum, spent time studying the incredible byzantine intricacy of the back rim. By then the seeing supported 420x, not bad for the backyard.
(Felix is a Celestron 11" f/4.5 Dobs with a primary made by Discovery. Was using a 22 Pan, 16mm UO Koenig, a 6mm Radian and a TV 2x Barlow, with a Lumicon OIII.)
I sat and played in CMa (awoooo) and Puppis for hours, getting the PN in M46 to jump out with the OIII at 79x with the Koenig, then finding 2539 and 2482. Spent some of my residual youth looking for 2440, a PN just south of M46/47, which wouldn't come out of the moonlight, helping to evoke the above sour grapes.
2539 meanwhile is just east of M46 and pretty, fairly dense, diamond dust. And 2482 is right in the neighborhood of M93, needed 79x to show amid the aforementioned moonwash, but compact and dense, also worth more looks.
M93 I had only seen while Messiering thru the area last winter, and there is a reason the big Messier OC's get famous. Interesting cluster with lots of shapes and lines of stars. Worth sketching. Then poked around tau CMa and took in the sights, esp h3945 which is one remarkable binary, blue and gold. Jo was looking at it while I said it deserved a name, so now she's dubbed it the Cal Bear.
As much fun as the views was simply doing the mental exercise of starhopping off the chart. Satisfying pastime.
(Incidentally I want to log impressions of learning to use a 90mm widefield refractor. Got Lucy out without Felix for the first time last Saturday to practice. Interesting how it's a very different kind of observing, distinct both from binocs and from a medium Dobs. Views are sharp and distinct but the whole experience is subtler. I remarked in conversation with a couple of the local worthies how I'm now impressed with folks who got started in the hobby with ST 80's and the like. There's a use of imagination there that I bypassed, starting with an 11". Now, given that Felix isn't getting on any airplane, I'm delighted to learn the ropes with Lucy.)
3rd Q not all that far away...