*M41: bright, magnitude 4.5, pinpoint stars in the Plossl eyepiece. A great place to start, and some say, to end on a positive note. The only object viewed with the Plossl eyepiece.
Cr121 is a mag 2.6 cluster 60 arcmin diameter. There were about 2 dozen stars distinguishable in a loose structure characterized by 2 bands of stars forming parallel arcs. HR 2607 is a 5.4 mag yellow-white star close by.
Cr132 is a 3.8 mag large (almost fills the FOV of the 18.2mm DeLite eyepiece). Very loose group of stars forming linear patterns.
*Cr140. Visual magnitude of 3.5 and 60 arcmin in diameter, this can be seen with the naked eye (not by me tonight). It is called the “Tuft in the Tail of the Dog.” Six bright stars create a linear chain (also described as “Y” shaped) that runs through a background of dimmer stars. The brightest star in this chain is a wide (99”) double. It was described in 1980 as “not obviously a cluster”.
Cr135. This is a 2nd mag cluster 50 arcmin in diameter. One bright star and 3 others are arranged in a triangle against a background of fainter stars. It takes up about 1/3 of the FOV.
NGC 2354. Somehow, I missed this one, even though it was on my list for the night! I had seen it previously from my light polluted driveway: it just looked like a fuzzy patch, but is mag 6.5 with a diameter of 18 arcsec.
*NGC2362. Definitely a favorite. Listed as a 3.8 mag cluster with a diameter of 5 arcsec. It was originally discovered by Giovanni Battista Hodierna (best name in the history of astronomy) before 1654, and found by William Herschel in 1785. This is a concentrated cluster with tau CMaj at its center. The faint stars make it look like a headlight in the fog. It is a very young cluster, only 5 million years old.
Trumpler 6 and 7. These are 2 small clusters both 5 arcsec diameter and mag 8 and 10, respectively. I could not be sure I was seeing them because of the rich background of stars. Probably too dim for the conditions tonight.
* HR2764 (145 C Major). A nice double of stars only 1 mag difference, and separated by 27”. An easy split showing a blue-white pair. Note: I also looked at Adhara, but I was unable to see the faint companion separated from the primary by 8”. The 35x magnification was probably insufficient for my eyes. The conditions and the difference in brightness between the primary and secondary stars were probably also limiting factors.
NGC2383 and 2384. This is another pair of clusters each 5 arcsec diameter and mag 8.4 and 7.4, respectively. As for Tr 6 and 7, these were hard to distinguish against the background of stars: I’ll try again at a darker sky site.
NGC2360. This is a faint patch of stars about 13 arcsec in diameter, and mag 7.2. There is a bright star about to the North: maybe HR2758.
*NGC2345. Mag 7.7; diameter 12 arcsec. There is a vertical line of stars approximately 2/3 FOV long that cuts through a small cluster of fainter stars.
Gum 3 and Seagull IC 2177 to North.
*Bonus! M93. I know, it’s in Puppis, not C Major, but it was well positioned, although low in the sky. It’s a nice, bright group, 10 arcmin diameter, that forms a wedge.
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