26 March, 2026

Top image is sketch of M65 and 66 through 32mm Plossl.

Bottom image is sketch of Jupiter through 25mm Plossl with 2x Barlow 

 

 The sky tonight is very bright. The Moon is about 75% illuminated. Transparency isn't real great, there is a layer of haze/light smoke over the valley. The layer is visible as you look at the horizon. NELM is about 3.5. I can barely make out Pherkad and 3 of the stars in the handle, including Polaris. Despite this I wanted to observe some of the Messier Objects in "Turn Left At Orion" while they are visible. This is the time of year when most of them are visible and I hoped to see quite a few before they are gone for the year. This is also the time of yer that a lot of amateur astronomers engage in a Messier Marathon. The goal is to observe all 110 objects in a single night. It's not for me, but a lot of people enjoy the challenge. 

I had remounted the OTA on the pier before dark to get ready. My first targets were picked because they would be going behind the hill and trees to the west. They were visible in the southwest for a short period of time, so I didn't sketch them. This is also the first time I have paid much attention to open clusters. In the past I have been concerned with my ability to distinguish them from the general star field. it turns out that this wasn't an issue. If the cluster was larger than would fit in the field of view (FOV), slewing slightly to the sides made the cluste very obvious.

First was M41, an open cluster in Canis Major. It is about 23,000 light years away and contains about 100 stars. Small telescopes are supposed to be able to resolve about 50 of them. A satellite crossed the FOV while I was observing, which isn't that uncommon. I was using the 32mm Plossl so magnification was 63.5 and the actual FOV is about 0.82 degrees, or about 49 arcseconds.I noticed a star just off the center that had an orangish/reddish tint. The overall impression I had of the pattern of the stars was a bulls head or goats head with the horns. 

 Next was M46. It was very dim in the bright sky. I could just make out a slightly denser mass of stars in the center. It contains about 500 stars and is about 5400 light years away. I was also able to observe M47 and NGC 2362. M47 is about 1600 light years away and only contains about 50 stars. NGC 2362 is another open cluster, about 5000 light years away with about 60 stars. It is also called the Tau Canis Majoris cluster, after its brightest star. I was also able to make a quick observation of M93. There are about 80 known members of this cluster, but through the telescope the apparent number seemed smaller. In part that might be due to the bright sky, but this cluster seemed like one I would like to try to sketch.  

 These objects were starting to go behind the hill so I moved over to M67 in the constellation Cancer. Just a quick observation as it was getting closer to the hill.It has over 500 stars and is about 2300-2900 light years away. I then moved to Leo to try and spot the famous Leo Triple galaxies of M65, M66, and NGC 3628, I made a sketch of M65 and 66. The sky was bright enough that a lot of the surrounding stars were washed out.  was using the 32mm Plossl eyepiece. Using shorter focal length eyepieces to obtain more magnification just made the view dimmer without showing any more detail. NGC 3628 appears to us edge on and was to dim to be seen tonight. I did verify by comparing the star field to the sketches in "Turn Left At Orion" that I was looking in the right location for NGC 3628. 

After the DSOs  I wanted to try for Jupiter with a #56 light green filter. It is supposed to help with contrast to bring out a little more detail. I used it with the 25mm Plossl and the 2x Barlow. The filter did seem to help a little. Using averted vision I think I was able to see hints if texture in the two main bands, and possibly  the Great Red Spot.

I then tried for M51, but by now the sky was very bright. I was just able to make out a faint smudge with two dray blobs using the 25mm eyepiece. I shut down around midnight. a light frost was starting to form, and the bright sky was just too much. 

I'm not into lists just to say I checked it off, but in honor of the Messier Marathon, here is tonights list:

 M41, M46, M47, M65, M66, M67, M51, M93.  and NGC 2362.