We are currently over at the dark site house and I got out for a couple of hours last night to do some observing. I stopped by the northern targets for a little bit while I was out and before the clouds took over the sky, forcing me inside. Though I have observed these objects many times over, I wanted to swing by them again and here are the results.
Messier 67 / NGC 2682 (Cancer, open cluster, mag=6.9, size=25.0’, class=II2m):
After aligning the finder scopes and main scope, it was about half an hour before true astronomical darkness, so I decided to warm my observing eye up with this fine cluster. Easily spotting M44 in Cancer with the naked eye, I quickly aimed the scope in its direction using the Rigel Quikfinder. Moving to the
RACI, M44 was a bright rounded hazy patch from which I moved about 2° SSE to pick up mag 3.9 Delta Cancri. Continuing on in the same direction with the
RACI for just over 7°, I stopped on mag 4.3 Alpha Cancri, with 60 Cancri (mag 5.4) also in the field 40’ to the WSE. Shifting my focus in the finder to the west of 60 Cnc I picked up a small hazy patch of starlight – my target.
I had already dropped in the 13mm Ethos (152x) in the focuser and now moved to it. The cluster was front and center in the view, presenting a beautiful array of shimmering embers scattered across a goodly portion of the 0.7° TFOV. The brightest star in the view, mag 7.8 HD 75700 marked the northeastern edge of the cluster field with the main body of cluster members presented a broad and gently sweeping curve from that star through the field’s center on toward the southwest. To the east and southeast, there was a slight void of lower stellar density that separated the main body from a NNE to SSW trickle of 10th magnitude and dimmer stars. Overall the cluster presented a feast of easily over 100 stellar jewels ranging from 7th to 15th magnitude. It was truly a feast for the eyes, presenting magnificently in the large scope.
Messier 44 / NGC 2632 (Cancer, open cluster, mag=3.1, size=1.2°, class=II2m):
Not much to say about this cluster. It is a winter and spring stable for many. A full half hour before astronomical darkness I was able to discern it easily with the naked eye. Through the
RACI finder it was a large and bright diffuse glow. Then through the 21mm Ethos (94x) it was right in my face. Spread across and over spilling the field of view with numerous bright stars and a multitude of dimmer ones. It was difficult to get a handle on its real beauty in the big scope. This cluster is more a friend of binoculars or smaller wide-field apertures. Nonetheless, I was here for a reason – the treasure that lurks amongst those stars. This bounty is an east-west string of six galaxies (all in the
NGC/
IC) that bisects the cluster’s center stretching across the diameter of its field. To be sure there are a few other galaxies in there, but these are the cream of the crop – if one could call them that!
NGC 2903 (Leo, barred galaxy, mag=9.0, size=12.6’x6.0’, SBr=13.4):
Clouds were becoming an issue at this point. Aiming the scope at mag 3.0 Epsilon Leonis (Algenubi) I nudged WSW to pick up mag 4.3 Lambda Leonis (Alterf). In the
RACI I easily spotted the wide east-west pair of stars (mag 6th and 7th) to its south. Just south of the eastern star of the pair, I picked up a dim and very small hazy patch – my target. Moving to the 21mm Ethos (94x) I had this fine galaxy in the view. Large and bright, it presented an oval elongated about 2x1. It seemed slightly mottled and not as robust as I’ve seen it before, given the intrusion of clouds. At 152x, the HII region
NGC 2905 was easily spotted at the northeastern end of the central bar. The mottled appearance intensified, hinting at its spiral structure, but this was more inferred than truly seen. Viewing briefly at 199x,
NGC 2905 stood out well within the disk, which was now very heavily curdled in appearance. Not the best view I’ve had of this beauty, but still quite pleasing indeed.
You can read the full observing report at this link in the Reports Forum:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=16848
So I invite everyone to get out there when you can and check out the objects for this month. Even if you've seen or imaged them before, nothing wrong with visitig old friends now and again.
I hope to visit two of the three southern objects while here as well.