Time: 1900 h - 2200 h
Wind: Nil
Temp: -25*C
Locale: My farm, 50 km south of Winnipeg
Transparency: very good
Seeing: very good
Skies: Clear,
I set out with my binocs and my small
The coyotes raised hell to the south, and despite my familiarity, I find their noises still awaken something primal in me.... mainly fear, as I felt my hackles rising.
Another group joined in their caterwauling to the north, so I was treated to their symphonies for much of the evening.I put the 15 x70 binocs on M42 and noted Alnitak's blinding brilliance. I could not see any wisp of the flame or horse head, despite the good quiet conditions. I noted the Beehive cluster, M44.
I had a really nice look at this cluster, as well as M45, and more than a dozen common winter Messiers.
Why Cancer? It was such a great night that I could easily see it, just as Ptolemy may have all those years ago, with naked eye --- and so then I trained all my guns on it. Aratos mentioned M44 as a "Little Mist" , and Hipparchus included it in his star catalog.
2 litres of earl grey, a very frosted up beard, two frozen feet and three hours later I arrived home back in the city, feeling much happier. Astro is a balm for the soul.
Below is an image of M44. Canon 60D, 240 seconds, unguided, manual framing with a frozen
Processing: None, this is the raw single exposure. Its not stretched or altered in any way.
Thanks for reading to the bottom,
P.S. This weather is a torture test for my Ioptron mount. It passed with flying colours. Love this little mount.
