[AJames]

Hi all
This is certainly a fabulous image. Well done!!

I like the picture of NGC 3324, with the white monster variable star V370 Car (centre right), with the companion nebulosity. This 5.5 magnitude star is similar to the northern star Deneb at the head of the Swan in Cygnus. It looks to me as correct colour. The image of this arcing nebulosity looks to me like some creature's foetus curled nicely up inside some egg sack - with V370 as it's eye, and another ending as the red star on the tip of the tail.

This red star (bottom right) star incidentally is 6.0 magnitude HIP 52127, and has the spectral class of M1III. It is also is the wide double GLI 152, whose companion is 8th magnitude 26.3 arcsec in PA 80 degrees. Although optical, it has a wonderfully colour contrast with the bluish companion, which is more attractive in smaller apertures than larger ones. (You can easily see the companion below it in this image!) Moving left and slightly down - roughly 3 or 4 arcmin is a fairly blue star which stands out in the 'scope. Another blue star of similar is about the same distance away - forming a flat triangle with the pair and the first blue star mentioned here. Nice in 20cm or above...

I have also attached a pdf article on NGC 3324, referred as the Gem Cluster, which I give as a Chrissy present. This was going to place in one of the local amateur journals - but to hell with it - there are far more readers here that might enjoy reading it - if only to get those old observational juices going !!

This also has some information on the surrounding nebulosity to the north of the cluster.

Again this is a really great image...

Regards,
Andrew