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Old 18-03-2010, 07:47 PM
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ngcles
The Observologist

ngcles is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Billimari, NSW Central West
Posts: 1,664
Hi Orestis & All,

Excellent report mate, thanks for sharing it with us.

As Malcolm and others have already noted, that orangish star you saw is Eta Carinae itself. Try some magnificaiton on it (say about x150 or even a bit more in your 'scope) and it will probably look "bloated" compared to other stars in the field. If the seeing is really steady, you may be able to make out the Homunculus Nebula as two tiny little orange "wings" out the side of the star at centre.

Couple of other things to look at while you're near the Eta Carinae nebula, make sure you check the open clusters NGC 3293 and NGC 3532. They are very different to each other -- one rich and compact, the other a huge throng with 100s of stars. Personally, I rate NGC 3293 as the best compact cluster of all -- barely shading out The Jewel-Box cluster (NGC 4755).

Re Saturn, it is exceptionally difficult to see the Cassini division at present because the tilt of the rings is so slight -- so don't be too disappointed. It probably won't even be visible in 'scopes of your size for another year (or more) and only in very good seeing.

Best,

Les D
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