WoW! I love star hopping!

I had a great time at the peak on Saturday night with my cheapo binocs! Of course I still have that problem with the left side having more magnification than the right, so I am using with one eye like a telescope.

The first item on my list was to see how well I remembered my friends in Auriga. I had been working on M38, M36 and M37 with Mark's 8" scope the last time I was at the peak. At that time I had put so much effort into these poor clusters! I drew detailed pictures, confirmed every star on my beloved atlas and even sketched the image from the view finder. I took notes that I knew were going to be so helpful. Then tonight, one two three and I'm finished! I didn't open my notebook or star hop. I just looked up where they were supposed to be, and sure enough...

I will always treasure those little clusters as my first real star hopping experience!

Next I decided to test my vision on the Pleiades. Stop the press! I NOW HAVE ELEVEN SISTERS!!!!! I looked in binocs and that one way off to the left at the top seemed brighter than some of the others I had already seen. I looked naked eye with averted vision and there she was! Watch out Mark Taylor, I'm gaining on you!

I was cold and lazy so I decided to try a few old favorites. The double cluster, M31 and M33 were all very beautiful. Now I was ready for something new. I just scanned my atlas for another Messier that would hopefully be easy enough to find and landed on M34. I happily hopped right over to it!

At this point I needed to get some blood circulating, so I walked over to Mark T. to brag about my eleventh sister. I also showed him my new open cluster, M34. I described how you go off the tail of Perseus that curves to the right. Then at the bottom there is a trapezoid. Okay, he is with me. He sees the star right in the middle of the trapezoid. Then if you look at the two stars on the top, they and M34 make a 150 degree angle and it's over there to the left. Okay, he sees it. We are both staring at my wonderful accomplishment in our binocs and he says, "And there are three stars to the left of it in the view." But there aren't three stars. So I ask him if he sees the double star. He doesn't. Every detail of the star hopping matches. He must be in the right place. Oh well, I don't know about those three stars in his view.

About five minutes later he approaches me and says, you were looking at the real M34, I was looking at the ghost of M34. Apparently there is another tail off the bottom of Perseus that curves to the right with a trapezoid at the bottom. That trapezoid also has a star in the middle, and the top to stars make a 150 degree angle with another cluster (NGC1342) which is over there on the left. Too much, right? ;-)

I guess you had to be there, but the whole thing seemed pretty humorous at the time. Anyway, I think I have M34 and NGC1342 memorized now!

Jack taught me to find M35 with my binocs off the foot in Gemini. Then he showed me M35, a big open cluster, and NGC2158, a little starry smudge - both in the same view on his scope. I was impressed that they are both the same size and have the same number of stars yet look so different! Of course the difference is the distance.

I am looking forward to practicing my four new clusters at Michelle's this week. She has promised to lend me one of her scopes. Maybe her pronto? I'll find some new stuff too. I hope to stay up late enough to see M97, the owl. If Michelle has her 18" maybe it will be very beautiful for my first time! I am also going to work on discerning those two doubles in the Pleiades. Her dark skies should be helpful!