Hello astronomy fans! Duane and I got out for three and a half hours tonight at Eagle Bluff and WOW! the sky was spectacular.
I put in a half an hour with my 15X70 binoculars when I got there just to check out the sky. Orions Belt, Orions Sword, M35 in Gemini, Aldebaran and the Hyades, M38,37, 36 in Auriga, Rigel, Sigma Orionis, and even M81, M82 in Ursa Major were all plainly visible.
Duane showed up and we put in a hard search for the Horsehead Nebula, but could not quite pull it in. The Flame Nebula was very clear. Then we caught M1 the Crab Nebula, I tried the Witch Head Nebula near Rigel, but while I could see the nebulosity, I couldn't make out the features.
Duane nabbed the Owl Nebula, and M81 in Ursa Major, while I got NGC 1545 (open cluster in Perseus) and NGC 1664 in Auriga for my Herschel search. We both saw two faint meteors apiece and just had a great time checking out the starry fields of the winter night sky.
AGNFA! ;D