2023-01-10

• Condition: VG6
• Location: Home, Spearfish: 44.49, -103.87

The sky opened up unexpectedly tonight (finally)! I was going to stay up longer to see the last three targets from my goal last year, but clouds started rolling in again around 9pm.

6:35PM

• Target: M 43, de Mairans Nebula[1]
• Const: Orion
• RaDec: 5h35m -5°16
• Type: Diffuse Nebula
• Scope: ST80
• Setting: 40x
• Image: ../images/2023-1-10_M43.jpg[2]

Great view of the Orion Nebula tonight! I got more details out of it than any time before. After prolonged viewing, I was able to see darker patches in the glow of the nebula, adding a bit of "noise" to the overall view. As far as M43 is concerned, I wasn't sure exactly what to look for. After coming in for the night, I had to look up where it was exactly in relation to M42. It appears that the small round glow north of the major glow is M43? I always thought it was part of M42.

=> [1] M 43, de Mairans Nebula (ID) | [2] ../images/2023-1-10_M43.jpg

8:41PM

• Target: M 67[1]
• Const: Cancer
• RaDec: 8h50m 11°49
• Type: Open Cluster[2]
• Scope: ST80
• Setting: 50x, AV
• Image: ../images/2023-1-10_M67.jpg[3]

Nice little cluster. It took a while to find as there wasn't much that drew my eyes towards it at first. After some prolonged viewing, I was able to see a multitude of pinpricks of light appear. AV was required to find and to get any sort of detail of out it. Found by jumping from M44 to α Cancri, then moving a little west.

=> [1] M 67 (ID) | [2] Open Cluster (ID) | [3] ../images/2023-1-10_M67.jpg