Thanks for the initiative in setting up this observation challenge, great for those new to this pursuit.
My observation is from a nice bright mooonlight suburban back yard...........! None the less, I have had great success with all but IC 335 and NGC 121. They will wait until a Snake Valley visit.
The most interesting challenge was Mars. It was achieved from the front yard, in between street lights and over the northern suburbs of Melbourne at about 11.00pm. Out of the orangeish murk there were moments of wonderful clarity with great views at 170x.
The learning from this exercise is to look closer at stars in clusters, and to obtain a good sky map book that will provide info in support. What recommendations?
Pity that I will be travelling in Feb and will miss that challenge!
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