On another Brrrrr..... cold Minnesota evening, when the temp was about -19F (~ -29C) and when the wind chill was close to -30F (~ -35C), I decided to continue working on the Bino-Messier project. I drove-out to the Onan observatory on 01/14/2009 (Wed) in the evening and looked at a some Messier objects using my Celestron Upclose 10X50 binos. The seeing was wonderful and on this cold winter night, the transparancy was 9/10.
I started with the open cluster in Gemini --- M35. I initially confused this cluster with another open cluster but was soon able to spot the right one using a the S&T pocket star atlas. Once you know the position of this cluster, it is easy to locate and is fairly bright. Gemini was up in the sky in East and this cluster was approx 40-45 degrees in the sky.
I tried looking for M44 which is in Cancer but, Cancer was washed out in the lights of the nearby Young America, MN.
So I moved to the open cluster (some list it as an annuerism) in Cassieopia, the M103. This one was near the meridian and as such at a very awkward angle using the binos. This one sits between the delta-star and the famous double-cluster.
I decided to call it quits after starting to feel the wind-chill. I intend to complete as many Messier's as possible before my trip to India.
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