I did the ETA Carina thing. I just love the whole ETA Carina complex. ETA Carina (the supernova I will see
); The homunculus which has changed noticeably over the past few years; wonderful nebulosity; Wolf Rayet stars and bubbles; open clusters; many different coloured stars in the vicinity. A wonderful target. Then again all the targets listed have plenty of appeal as "eye candy".
Ron, Having been fortunate enough to see M51 in Larry Mitchell's 36" scope in Texas, I can assure it is something pretty special. I almost fell off the ladder from 15 feet in the air when I first saw it. 36 big inches does help too
Cheers,
John B