Nice clear night, cold. Taurus and Auriga are in the east, above the really bright streetlight. I should learn to aim a laser on the sensor to turn it off….
M1 –
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Crab Nebula – Pretty easy to find, but not too bright. The line made by Iota-Aur and Beta-Aur sort of point near Zeta-Tau (Taurus). M1 is about 1 degree left of Zeta-Tau. So, I found Zeta-Tau in the finder (the brightest star in the vicinity) and then looking through the 25mm EP, panned over to M1. Fairly dim, not quite circular. I think the streetlight decreased the contrast in the scope.
M35 –
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Iota-Aur and Beta-Aur also sort of point near Iota-Gem (Gemini), and a degree left of Iota is M35. I could easily see Mu and Eta-Gem with the naked eye. Shading my vision from the streetlamp with my eye, I could just make out Iota-Gem. I aimed the finder at it, then, looking through the 25mm EP, panned over to M35. Very nice open cluster, fills about 80% of the view.
M77 –
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Mag 9 Galaxy in Cetus. about a degree below-left of Zeta-Cet. I found Zeta-Cet in the finder, and looking through the 25mm EP, panned to M77. Looks like a fairly concentrated fuzzy in the 25mm, and in the 10mm EP I could see a further haze outside the more intense center. It’s very concentrated in the center though.
I took a few minutes to try and find Uranus, which is about 3 degrees from Jupiter, but coudn’t see it. And it was cold.
Deeby's Astronomy Log 