Nice report Paddy. How good is NGC 2477! My first encounter with 2477 occured when I swept it up by chance with the 120st and my first thought was wow another Omega Centauri
. Not sure why this stunning object is virtually unheard of both in literature and amongst amatuers, it's not that uber far south! It's made even better by its neighbour 2451, lovely in the 120st at low power, showing two extremes in the varieties of open cluster shoulder to shoulder, however according to Steve Gottleib's notes in NGC IC, 2451 might actually be a random grouping. Either way, what a gem of a pair.
Incidentally I observed NGC 2452 aswell last night and clearly saw those 2 lobes you mentioned. Reminds me of a hamburger, which did not help the late night hunger pangs! The southern lobe seems to have a nearly stellar bright spot in it.
I hear ya about the mozzies, damn things were giving me hell last night. There wasn't many biting me, but when they buzz around your head, that noise they make is enough to make me scream in pure rage
Hate this summer, cold, cloudy and mosquito ridden, first time in my life I'll say, bring on winter!
Cheers