My First Messier Object! M45

Was out watching the Total Lunar Eclipse, the sky was very cloudy, and i could barly see the red-ish colour shift in the moon as the clouds were blocking it out, The moon looked like a black disc. Went in side to warm up after about 2 hours of veiwing and watched the bottom of the 9th in the 4th game of the World Series, and saw the Boston Red Sox win the World Series. Anyways i went back outside, ready to give up, and pack it in, when i looked up to my amazement and saw the sky as clear and as dark as i have never seen it before, and with my naked eye M45 caught my attention.

M45, also known as The Pleiades (the Seven Sisters) is a large open cluster, with about 8 or so very promenient Stars that make up the shape of a dipper, without the elongated handle that we are used to with our Big and Little Dippers, Ursa Major and Usra Minor. I like to think of it more as a tea cup of some sort.

What was amazing about seeing M45 was before this night, I had never even seen a picture of it in a book (that i know of) and never really heard about it, now, ever since this night, in the Winter months, its the first thing out of the sky I spot, just because it is so big and obvious to me now. Infact, I have read that the Seven Sisters were mentioned in writing as far back as 750 B.C.!!! So it turns out its not just myself that finds it an easy target :)

Here is a NASA image of M45, I have tried to image this cluster but have yet to have any luck.



Date: 27/10/04
Time: 11:00pm EST
Location: Backyard of 111 Reed Drive
Seeing: Very Good (once the clouds went away)
Site Conditions: Seeing was stable, typical October night.
Eyepiece Used: 32mm
Instrument: NexStar 114GT