Evening of Tuesday, October 8, 2002

Another very dark, moonless night! This was probably the coldest night
so far this season (it was around 6 degrees C while I was outside).
Limiting magnitude in the high 5s (say 5.7 or 5.8).

M-33 (Tri). It has been a while since I observed this object formally.
Tonight I took a look at it with my 75mm Unitron. It was quite large and
essentially filled the 25mm field of view (48x). It was very bright;
easily seen with direct vision. However, the object looked rather
diffuse overall; its boundaries were vague and ill defined. With averted
vision I made out a shape and it seemed like I was also seeing some
structure. M-33 actually looks nicer in some ways in the binoculars. The
field of view seems richer and the object is a bit less overwhelming. I
felt that the view in the binoculars was more pleasing. This is
definitely an object for low power. ds-code: C(25mm)b2f3d4s1,class=2

M-76 (Per). Easy to find due to the proximity of 51 And and Phi Per. The
object was visible with direct vision but averted gave a nicer view. It
was relatively small, but not tiny. The field of view was interesting
because a relatively bright star was right nearby. Overall this was a
very satisfying object. ds-code: C(25mm)b3f4d3s3,class=3

NGC-744 (Per). Not found. I scanned the area fairly closely and I saw
several possible sightings---including one that looked particularly
likely. However, none of the sightings were sufficiently clear for me to
claim that I saw the object. The NGC catalog lists the members of this
cluster at magnitudes 11..13. I probably was able to see a few of the
members but evidently not enough of them to make the cluster clear.

NGC-957 (Per). This cluster is not far from the double cluster and was
thus relatively easy to find despite the fact that there are no bright
finder stars near the object. There was a loose "cluster" of stars in
the vicinity of the object, but NGC-957 itself was really wrapped around
one of the stars in that larger grouping. The cluster was fairly small
and highly elongated looking. Most of the members were too faint for me
to see with direct vision but averted vision showed quite a few of them.
The field was a typical, rich Milky Way field. ds-code:
C(25mm)b4f4c2s4,class=4

NGC-752 (And). This is a very large cluster. With the 25mm eyepiece it
filled the field of view and was fully resolved. It appeared quite open
and sparse. The binoculars gave a much more interesting view. At 7x it
showed as a mostly resolved splash of stars that was well condensed and
"cluster-like". The field was also rather interesting in the binoculars.
ds-code: B(7x50)b2f4c3s3,class=2

NGC-891 (And). This object is relatively difficult despite the
encouraging description of "11.5 bright" in the NGC catalog. I took my
time looking for it this evening and I am certain that I was looking in
the right spot (I was able to confirm my finder stars in the main
'scope). I saw nothing conclusive. I did see a faint fuzzy spot but it
could have been a star association. It did not seem to have any
observable shape (as I might have expected for this classic edge-on
galaxy). I can't confirm a sighting.

M-34 (Per). This is a large cluster. It filled the field of view of my
25mm eyepiece. The cluster was quite open and well resolved. Averted
vision does showed some additional stars, however. Overall it was not
that interesting in the telescope; binoculars actually gave a nicer view
(although it was not fully resolved in my 7x50 binoculars). ds-code:
C(25mm)b2f3c4s2,class=2