[Dave882 (David)]

I spent a couple of hours with the c14 down on the outskirts of Sydney this week (B4 sky) which compared to my home-sky is complete luxury. My main goal was to view comet ztf, which was worth the effort but certainly not as good as previous comets such as Leonard last year. With the ES82 30mm the coma was relatively bright but diffuse and not showing any hints of colour. Tail was very faint and the shape was only just discernable with averted vision.

It was however the ever-popular Carina who stole the show on this night! As soon as I landed here I was immediately taken by the view of the Homunculus Nebula - which was showing quite bright and clear. The dual lobes were clearly defined and a pastel tangerine colour. The colour was interesting as I've previously observed this from the B7 suburbs and it showed a much deeper red colour so perhaps a function of the LP or just general atmospheric pollution in Sydney.

I tried a few different eyepieces but the best view was had with the ES82 24mm yielding 163x mag. I was able to orientate myself by locating the 2+1 very small/faint stars just off the NE side. There was a small but clear 'spike' toward these stars emanating from the centre between the 2 lobes. the lower SE lobe was clearly brighter and appeared slightly larger too. It also exhibited a discernible dimple in its centre, a detail that I'd only once glimpsed before but was now visible for more extended periods with better seeing. The lobes had the distinctive hour-glass shape, but in moments of excellent seeing it became clear that the perimeter was not actually that smooth but quite irregular. The upper NW lobe showed less discernible detail and was dimmer.

My setup has a pretty small fov, but nestled into this same view was the keyhole, and it contrasted the homunculus perfectly! It showed clearly silhouetted against it's brighter background with some surprising but very subtle detail, quite lovely!

Definitely the best view I've ever had on the homunculus and the unexpected highlight for the night!