View Observations | Add Observations
Help | Discussion | Acknowledgements


Observations made in the constellation Auriga:

Comet (Comet, est. mag 5, est. to be in Auriga)
Observer: Michael Amato (e-mail: abigmick@aol.com)
Instrument: 50-mm binoculars   Location: West Haven, Connecticut, United States
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: fair   Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Oct 21 03:45:00 2010 UT   Obs. no.: 1861

This evening I was finally able to observe Comet Hartley 2 with my 10X50 binoculars. This comet is a small green fuzzball that was quite easy to see with my binos. I also have been following a sun grazing comet headed straight toward the sun on the SOHO sight in real time. This comet will probably crash into the sun while I'm sleeping tonight. Two fine comets to observe, one in the sky above me and another online in real time. That's the life.

M38 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com, web: http://www.joecaggiano.com)
Instrument: 10-inch Dobsonian reflector   Location: Glenside, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: fair   Seeing: fair
Time: Wed Feb 18 01:00:00 2009 UT   Obs. no.: 1814

The "seeing" was not as good today as it was yesterday while viewing M81 and M82. Still, it didn't make too much of a difference with this globular. Though hardly visible through my 10x50 finder, M38 exploded into hundreds of stars forming a bright cross-shaped pattern at 40x. Blue and gold stars peppered my view. I have taken a picture of the core since I could not fit the whole globular into view with my camera. I have posted pics on my webpage.

M37 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: mihai mataringa (e-mail: mihaimataringa@yahoo.com)
Instrument: 7x50-mm binoculars   Location: Constanta, Romania
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Fri Dec 15 17:50:00 2006 UT   Obs. no.: 1600

Lucky evening!Unexpected power outage,soI took my binos for a brief tour.Starting fom beta Aur I find M37 and M36 in the same field,aprox.4degrees between them.Faint,still no problem to observe.More difficult seems to be M38,very faint,irregular,using averted vision.

M38 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com, web: http://home.mindspring.com/~jcaggiano/)
Instrument: 70-mm binoculars   Location: Glenside, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Mon Feb 20 01:10:00 2006 UT   Obs. no.: 1495

A tight dense cluster that appears similar to M36 except alittle bit larger. Located about 1 binocular field (2 Southeast) of M36 it was relatively easy to find. Appearing as a faint hazy mass it took on a small nebulas appearance.

M36 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: Joe Caggiano (e-mail: jcaggiano@mindspring.com, web: http://home.mindspring.com/~jcaggiano/)
Instrument: 70-mm binoculars   Location: Glenside, Pa, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: excellent
Time: Mon Feb 20 01:10:00 2006 UT   Obs. no.: 1494

M36 appears similar to M38. A small, dense grouping os stars that appear faint and hazy, almost like a nebula at 15x. I needed to use the binos on this because it was directly overhead. I will try to pick more stars out in the future by using the scope at higher power.

M37 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: Sriram.M.Gubbi (e-mail: sriram_gubbi@yahoo.co.in, web: http://dino.lm.com/artists/display.php?name=sriram_gubbi)
Instrument: 6-inch other   Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Fri Nov 11 04:45:00 2005 UT   Obs. no.: 1411

This is the best open cluster I've seen. Due to light pollution and thin haze, it appeared as a nebulous patch with direct vision. Averted vision helped to completely resolve the cluster into numerous stars. I think I'll get a much, much better view of the cluster from a dark site.

M36 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: Sriram.M.Gubbi (e-mail: sriram_gubbi@yahoo.co.in, web: http://dino.lm.com/artists/display.php?name=sriram_gubbi)
Instrument: 6-inch other   Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Fri Nov 11 04:43:00 2005 UT   Obs. no.: 1413

The brightest of Auriga's clusters. It is not as rich as M37 but contains much brighter stars.

M38 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: Sriram.M.Gubbi (e-mail: sriram_gubbi@yahoo.co.in, web: http://dino.lm.com/artists/display.php?name=sriram_gubbi)
Instrument: 6-inch other   Location: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Fri Nov 11 04:43:00 2005 UT   Obs. no.: 1412

Another showcase Auriga cluster. A good one. It contains many faint stars which yield a fantastic view.

NGC1857 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: Emil Neata (e-mail: forvert2000@yahoo.com, web: http://www.geocities.com/deep_sky_astronomy)
Instrument: 150-mm Dobsonian reflector   Location: Craiova, Romania
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Wed Nov 10 03:00:00 2004 UT   Obs. no.: 1093

NGC 1857 is a large, dense cluster in Auriga. It's mostly composed of 7th mag. stars.

M37 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector   Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Dec 10 06:45:00 2002 UT   Obs. no.: 744

Found with difficulty after getting lazy, and instead of star-hopping from M36 just generally sweeping "thataway." Star-hopping is almost always going to be faster, even for bright objects like prominent Messier clusters.

M36 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector   Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Dec 10 06:35:00 2002 UT   Obs. no.: 743

Found by star-hopping at low power from M38.

NGC1907 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector   Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Dec 10 06:25:00 2002 UT   Obs. no.: 742

Noticed in same low-power field with M38, as a small fuzzy patch slight S of the cluster. Was not obviously a star cluster (as opposed to, say, a small, bright nebula) until I increased power.

M38 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector   Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: excellent   Seeing: fair
Time: Tue Dec 10 06:20:00 2002 UT   Obs. no.: 741

M38 was easy to find by star hopping. Also noticed NGC 1907 in the same field, without having realized it was there beforehand.

M38 (Open Cluster, in Auriga, Est. RaDec 5h28m +36)
Observer: Thomas Godfrey (e-mail: choccy_bourbon@hotmail.com)
Instrument: 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector   Location: Norwich, Norfolk, England
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: fair   Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Jan 11 19:55:00 2001 UT   Obs. no.: 576

Intermediate between M36 and M37 in terms of the number of stars. Under these less than good conditions i could see that there was one central star from which four chains of stars seemed to radiate. In darker skies this effect may be drowned by the background stars.

M36 (Open Cluster, in Auriga, Est. RaDec 05h36m +34)
Observer: Thomas Godfrey (e-mail: choccy_bourbon@hotmail.com)
Instrument: 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector   Location: Norwich, Norfolk, England
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: fair   Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Jan 11 19:55:00 2001 UT   Obs. no.: 575

Overall much less impressive than M37 as it was not nearly as rich. However the member stars did seem brighter than those of M37.

M37 (Open Cluster, in Auriga, Est. RaDec 05h52m +33)
Observer: Thomas Godfrey (e-mail: choccy_bourbon@hotmail.com)
Instrument: 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector   Location: Norwich, Norfolk, England
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: fair   Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Jan 11 19:40:00 2001 UT   Obs. no.: 574

At x80 this superb, rich cluster filled the view and in my opinion is the best of the Messier clusters in Auriga. A prominant orangey coloured star lies at the heart of this great cluster.

M38 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: Serge (e-mail: astroguy@onaustralia.com.au)
Instrument: 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector   Location: Perth, WA, Australia
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Dec 21 16:00:00 2000 UT   Obs. no.: 540

Stars near the core seem to have same magnitude

M37 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: Serge (e-mail: astroguy@onaustralia.com.au)
Instrument: 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector   Location: Perth, WA, Australia
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Dec 21 16:00:00 2000 UT   Obs. no.: 540

Very beautiful & large, nearly filled 26mm EP F/10 78X, not quite nice in 40mm F/6.3 32X, 1 star particularly brighter in the core.

M36 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: Serge (e-mail: astroguy@onaustralia.com.au)
Instrument: 8-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain reflector   Location: Perth, WA, Australia
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: fair
Time: Thu Dec 21 16:00:00 2000 UT   Obs. no.: 540

Smaller & brighter than M38

Alpha Aur (Capella) (Star, in Auriga)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: naked eye   Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: poor   Seeing: poor
Time: Sun Feb 27 04:45:00 2000 UT   Obs. no.: 512

Pressed by my friends and family, lazing in the jacuzzi, to identify "that yellowish star, over there," I was gratified to be able to say, "Um, I think it's Capella, in Auriga," and turn out (after consulting my planisphere) to have been right.

Other (Other, est. to be in Auriga, Est. RaDec 5h08.4m, +39d03')
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector   Location: Harrisburg, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: good   Seeing: good
Time: Thu Dec 10 02:15:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 430

On this particular night I observed the "Three Kings", three open clusters that are discussed on page 80 of the December 1998 Astronomy. Appropriate viewing for this season (even though Christ was probably born in the spring and the wise men numbered more than three and were not kings but astrologers), the King clusters were discovered by Ivan King through the POSS. King 17 is located in Auriga and was my first target. The orange-red variable TX Aurigae is just to the south east of this faint and nondescript stellar grouping and helped me to identify the cluster. I used magnifications of 118, 202, and 259x. While I was in the neighborhood I also visited the open clusters Cz 20 (118 and 202x), NGC 1857 (202x), and NGC 1778 (202x). NGC 1778 is an attractive open cluster composed of over 20 tightly grouped stars and lies about 2 degrees due south of King 17. King 14 is located just to the north of kappa Cassiopeiae. It is an open cluster worth seeing. Two other open clusters, NGC 146 and NGC 133, are in close proximity to King 14. I viewed all three at 118x.My final DSO of the evening with the 17" was the third of the Kings. Located to the northwest of beta Cassiopeiae in an area rich in star clusters King 12 at 118 and 202x was the prettiest of the Three Kings. (Both King 12 and King 14 are brighter but more sparse than the typical King cluster.)

NGC1931 (Open Cluster, in Auriga, Est. RaDec 05h31.4m, +34d15')
Observer: Dave Mitsky (e-mail: djm28@psu.edu)
Instrument: 17-inch equatorial reflector   Location: Harrisburg, PA, USA
Light pollution: moderate   Transparency: fair   Seeing: fair
Time: Mon Dec 7 01:40:00 1998 UT   Obs. no.: 429

While observing some of the open clusters in Auriga I turned my attention to the emission/reflection nebula (and presumably open cluster) NGC 1931, an object that I had not observed for a number of years. This small (approximately 3' by 3') diffuse nebula surrounds the ninth magnitude triple star ADS 4112 (page 97 Uranometria I). This is one nebula that stands up to light pollution fairly well. I used magnifications of 118, 202, and 259x while observing this DSO. There is an excellent CCD image of NGC 1931 at http://members.home.net/rcoleman/1931.htm (.)

M36 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector   Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: poor
Time: Sat Mar 1 05:25:00 1997 UT   Obs. no.: 88

Of the three Messier clusters in Auriga, this was the largest, richest, and generally the most impressive in the 8-inch at 48x; a wide, rich field of medium-bright stars.

M36 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector   Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: poor
Time: Sat Mar 1 05:20:00 1997 UT   Obs. no.: 87

Smaller than M38, courser; observed at 48x in the 8-inch.

NGC1907 (Open Cluster, in Auriga)
Observer: John Callender (e-mail: jbc@west.net, web: http://www.west.net/~jbc/)
Instrument: 8-inch Dobsonian reflector   Location: Carpinteria, CA, USA
Light pollution: light   Transparency: good   Seeing: poor
Time: Sat Mar 1 05:15:00 1997 UT   Obs. no.: 86

Noticed in the same 48x field as M38 in the 8-inch: a smaller, sparser cluster that was barely resolvable.

View 25 more observations...


Sort by: Observation time    Upload time   
Sort order: Forward    Reverse   
Object:
Type of object:
Constellation:
Observer:



View Observations | Add Observations
Help | Discussion | Acknowledgements

Questions? Problems? E-mail jbc@west.net

dObjects Object database created with dObjects     Pixelsight Logo created with Pixelsight