M78, NGC1502 and NGC2403 (w/sketches)

We had two clear nights in a row at the end of last week, but the first included 110 kph winds, so I didn't dare open the observatory. The second night, while still too windy for the seeing to be up to much, was considerably calmer and exhibited decent transparency.

M78 (w/ NGC2071) 2/1/2008 21:45 UT; Pickering 4, NELM 6, SQM 20.6

Nebulosity obvious at all magnifications with UHC assisting slightly at 175x, and a bit moreso at 110x and 80x. OIII overpowers at all mags. Three involved stars, with the brighter two of similar magnitude.

This is a big-exit-pupil target: 55 Plossl (5.5mm exit pupil) slightly better than 31T5 w/ telecompressor (3.9mm exit pupil).

I tried a couple of targets south of Orion (NGC2207 & 2362), but at less than 10° over my horizon they were a mess. So I switched to something a bit more overhead.

NGC1502 2/1/2008 22:25 UT; Pickering 4, NELM 6, SQM 20.6

Quite pretty (and I'm not much of an open cluster fan); there appears to be a ton of doubles, with one very bright avocado pair near center, an arc of somewhat dimmer stars to the NE, and two prominent unequal-magnitude doubles to the E.

NGC2403 2/1/2008 22:50 UT; Pickering 4, NELM 6, SQM 20.6

Quite large and bright. 10 or 12 foreground stars and 1 or 2 knots (one of the knots confirmed at 260x, the other still iffy). Clearly a tilted spiral, with a large nearly circular but very poorly condensed core. The arms, though, are a mess. The most apparent knot (to the ENE) and the bit of a dark lane to the N of the core give a strong hint to placement of one, but that's about it.

-- Jeff.

Wow great drawings.....Early signs of aperture fever after seeing what a 16' can do. :lol:

David --

Thanks!

I know what you mean about aperture fever... I suffer it myself. But about the only place to go from here is a big Dob, and I've gotten terribly addicted to the ease of an observatory setup.

(I think the answer is to find a local observing buddy and talk them into one. )

-- Jeff.