Blair
Pooh-Bah
Reged: 05/07/03
Posts: 1163
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1. M37
My favorite of this trio for in my 120ST, with my 17mm Explorer II eyepiece, stars sparkle across it and it hints of M11's density of stars.
2. M36
This is a very loose open cluster that is easy to find because of its brightness compared to the other two.
3. M38
Even when M36 is easy to find M38 can be elusive in my usually hazy, mag 4 skies.
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Silicon Owl
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/25/05
Posts: 943
Loc: Waimea, Hawaii
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We were enjoying these ourselves from the back patio of a friend last night. Always old favorites!
When you have access to darker skies try NGC1907 and NGC1931, two overlooked objects in among the brighter trio. 1907 is a particular favorite of mine, fits in the same field as M38, small and rich, while 1931 is a patch of nebulosity with some embedded stars.
http://www.siowl.com/index.html?ngc1907
http://www.siowl.com/index.html?ngc1931
Clear Skies!
Andrew
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Andrew Cooper
Personal Website and CN Gallery
Handmade 18" Dob / NS11GPS / 6" RFT / 90mm APO / TV-76 ...and a twin 10m
"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." --Sarah Williams
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David Pavlich
Postmaster
Reged: 05/18/05
Posts: 6539
Loc: Mandeville, LA USA 30.38 X 90....
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Since I moved to a refractor, I visit this trio every time I'm out along with M46. Gotta' love the pinpoint stars.
David
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A few scopes and mounts.
Proud Member; PAS NOLA,
Life expectancies would go WAY up if green vegetables smelled like bacon...
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novbabies
Postmaster
Reged: 06/05/05
Posts: 15678
Loc: Northern Georgia!
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The first time I saw NGC 1931, I logged it as "cometary in appearance".
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Good Seeing!
Mark
Orion 12" XTi f/4.9
VERY old Edmund 6" f/8 reflector
Assorted binoculars
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desertstars
Deja moo
Reged: 11/05/03
Posts: 30019
Loc: Tucson, AZ
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Ah, the Big Three of Auriga! These were among the first objects I revisted when I upgraded from 60mm aperture to 200. They were visible to the Old Scope, and looking at them that way made me appreciate Messier's skills with his modest equipment all the more.
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Tom W.
SVP8 'She turned me into a 3-legged Newt' EQ
Ralph, the All-Purpose 102mm Refractor
Under the Desert Stars
"If we don't change direction soon, we'll end up where we're going." Professor Irwin Corey
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RRaubach
AstroCowboy
Reged: 01/26/05
Posts: 2173
Loc: Douglas (Converse County),WY
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These are really nice in my tripod mounted Schneider binoculars. M37 may be my favorite Messier open cluster. All 3 Messiers are naked eye objects from my ranch on moonless nights. 
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Rodger
Meade SN-10 (UHTC) on Tak EM-200 mount/Antares rotating rings. Moonlite focuser.
Parallax 14.5" Newtonian on HD 200 mount (arriving soon!) w/ conical Royce mirror.
TMB 203 f/7 APO refractor on Tak NJP-160 mount.
Discovery 12.5" PDHQ
Schneider 18x80 "Flakfernrohr" binoculars/tripod mounted. Canon 15x50 IS binoculars
Unihedron Sky Quality Meter
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Chopin
Canis Insanus
Reged: 02/03/05
Posts: 3376
Loc: In the doghouse.
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I, too, love M37. It's density resembles spilled table salt. These three are the only OC's on my winter public viewing list, other than the obvious Double Cluster, and it takes only a quick glance to figure out why. Gotta' love the winter OC's!
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JasonŽ
Phlog
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stevecoe
Reged: 04/24/04
Posts: 2129
Loc: Arizona, USA
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Howdy all;
Here are two observations with a 6 inch and the Nexstar 11. I also really love M 37.
6" f/6 Mak-Newt at Hovatter Road, 100 miles from Phoenix Seeing=6 Transparency=7
22mm Panoptic Wow!! very bright, large, very rich, much compressed, the light orange star dead center is very prominent. This cluster is the definition of "well detached".
8.8mm UltraWide 28 stars in NW quadrant, prominent dark lanes cut this cluster into unequal thirds. The stars are mags 8,9...12. This is a terrific view of one of the most magnificent clusters in the sky.
M 37 Flatiron, 60 miles from Phoenix Nexstar 11 S=5, T=6 22mm Panoptic
very bright, very large, very rich, compressed, a winter favorite. There are 60 stars resolved in the up and right quadrant, so the cluster shows approximately 240 members resolved. There is a lovely orange star dead center. An
amazing set of dark lane wind through this cluster and cut it into many pieces.
Clear Skies to us all;
Steve Coe
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150mm 6" f/8 Celestron Refractor on Sirius Mount
80mmED 3" f/7.5 Orion Refractor
Author "Deep Sky Observing" Springer-Verlag
Author "Nebulae and How to Observe Them" Springer
New Canon Xt astrocamera with Hutech modification
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Art Fritzson
sage
Reged: 01/29/05
Posts: 315
Loc: Northern Virginia, USA
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I'd been viewing the trio for a long time through binoculars - everything from 8x42s (can see a pair at a time 36/38, 36/37) up through my 25x100s (shows lots of stars but still clearly a cluster with mostly background glow). Recently I started observing M36 with my 10" Teleport and the first time I looked I was stunned - there was clearly a pattern that looked like a slightly rotated five pointed star. I've tried to capture the effect (not with any accuracy of star placement) of what I saw in the sketch below. Has anyone else ever noticed this?
- Art
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2006 "Bagging on a Budget" Award for Excellence in Binocular Astronomy
Garrett 25x100 IF, Oberwerk 15x70, Celestron Noble 10x50, Meade 10x50 and 8x42 Travelviews
William Optics Zenithstar II 80mm APO
Teleport 10" - an incredible all-in-one Planetary/DSO/"Grab and Go"
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novbabies
Postmaster
Reged: 06/05/05
Posts: 15678
Loc: Northern Georgia!
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I've always thought of M37 as "the starfish cluster"...nice drawing!
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Good Seeing!
Mark
Orion 12" XTi f/4.9
VERY old Edmund 6" f/8 reflector
Assorted binoculars
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Art Fritzson
sage
Reged: 01/29/05
Posts: 315
Loc: Northern Virginia, USA
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Mark, based on your comment I looked into the historical record and found that the Scottish astronomer Charles Piazzi Smyth characterized the M36 cluster as "like the device of a star whose rays are formed by very small stars" (see the reference here )
Thanks -
- Art
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2006 "Bagging on a Budget" Award for Excellence in Binocular Astronomy
Garrett 25x100 IF, Oberwerk 15x70, Celestron Noble 10x50, Meade 10x50 and 8x42 Travelviews
William Optics Zenithstar II 80mm APO
Teleport 10" - an incredible all-in-one Planetary/DSO/"Grab and Go"
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Silicon Owl
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/25/05
Posts: 943
Loc: Waimea, Hawaii
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Odd, it is M38 that is usually referred to as the Starfish Cluster. I don't notice anything in my own notes about a star, instead "two bars"
30 Sep 205
Gila, New Mexico
90mm F/12 APO Violet Haze @ 34x
Large, rich, a clump crossed with two bars of brighter stars, a faint mist enveloping the brighter stars, NGC1907 clearly visible 32' south
Check the SEDS entry... http://www.seds.org/~spider/ngc/ngc.cgi?NGC1912
I'll have to look at the other two again and see if I notice the same effect.
Andrew
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Andrew Cooper
Personal Website and CN Gallery
Handmade 18" Dob / NS11GPS / 6" RFT / 90mm APO / TV-76 ...and a twin 10m
"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." --Sarah Williams
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Art Fritzson
sage
Reged: 01/29/05
Posts: 315
Loc: Northern Virginia, USA
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Actually, the more I look into it, the more I see that others have noticed the same thing in all three. Todd Gross in his observing report of M38 says "Like M37, this star cluster, M38, is star-like in apperance..." and in his report on M36 says "Oddly, this cluster too seemed to take on a star-like appearance at this aperture, just like M37 and M38."
I've only noticed it with M36, but I suspect that aperture, seeing, and transparency all come into play here. Perhaps it's something about our brain's inclination to pattern match?
Don't have a clue beyond what I see  , but all three are a delight to observe -
- Art
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2006 "Bagging on a Budget" Award for Excellence in Binocular Astronomy
Garrett 25x100 IF, Oberwerk 15x70, Celestron Noble 10x50, Meade 10x50 and 8x42 Travelviews
William Optics Zenithstar II 80mm APO
Teleport 10" - an incredible all-in-one Planetary/DSO/"Grab and Go"
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novbabies
Postmaster
Reged: 06/05/05
Posts: 15678
Loc: Northern Georgia!
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Hmmm...wonder if I'm having a "senior moment" ? 
Well, I remember thinking starfish shape for either M37 or M38 - but definitely not for M36...
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Good Seeing!
Mark
Orion 12" XTi f/4.9
VERY old Edmund 6" f/8 reflector
Assorted binoculars
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Ptarmigan
Carpal Tunnel
Reged: 09/23/04
Posts: 1874
Loc: Arctic
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See them all the time. Always fun to observe.  
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Ptarmigans=Cute and Cuddly
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Chopin
Canis Insanus
Reged: 02/03/05
Posts: 3376
Loc: In the doghouse.
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This thread was of interest to me, so I used the three OC's to test out the 'newish' 28UWAN tonight (BTW, all three looked spectacular and finely pin-pointed in this piece, out to the edge).
To my eyes, M38 took on the shape of an [asterisk spelling edit], a slightly flattened 6 poited star, comprised of straight lines from the center.
M36 was more like a pinwheel, with 5 lines from center, all curved moderately in the same direction.
M37 was the one that appeared "Starfish" like.
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JasonŽ
Phlog
Edited by Chopin (04/11/06 07:33 AM)
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CollinofAlabama
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/24/03
Posts: 918
Loc: Lubbock, Texas, USA
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The Auriga Trio certainly are spectacular! I also include M35 in the grouping, though. They are a quad set to me. And, yes, Andrew, I LOVE to catch NGC 1907 along with M38 (and NGC 2158 with M35). These two "dual clusters" are, appropriately, at each end of the chain.
I have always thought of one of them as more "spidery" than starfish like, but to each his own creature. I forget, but one of them has a VERY bright star in the center with a thousand loyal thane stars in attendance. Which one is that? It's one of the Auriga three. Anyone else ever noticed this? BTW, I use smaller instruments, a nice 6" F/6 custom dob and an 80mm ED scope at low power with my Meade 5000 26mm or SV 30mm 2" eyepieces. And I just caught them all Saturday night (sans NGCs thanks to Luna's stealing the show).
CDS
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Coelum Serendum
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Chopin
Canis Insanus
Reged: 02/03/05
Posts: 3376
Loc: In the doghouse.
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I like how Art did his quick sketch, so I used that idea to do the same, hopefully further explaining what I saw last night.
Clear skies.
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JasonŽ
Phlog
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Chopin
Canis Insanus
Reged: 02/03/05
Posts: 3376
Loc: In the doghouse.
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BTW, M37 almost appeared, to me at least, to present a "starfish" within a "starfish".
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JasonŽ
Phlog
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Silicon Owl
scholastic sledgehammer
Reged: 11/25/05
Posts: 943
Loc: Waimea, Hawaii
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Definitely going to have another look at these when the Moon gets out of the way. It is amazing what you see differently with clusters like these each time you look.
While going through the H400 I try to look at each object cold, so I do not have any preconcieved ideas about it's appearance. I hit the coordinates without reading any description or looking at a photo. I do my drawing and write a description. Only then I read the description and/or look at a photo to see if I missed anything.
Andrew
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Andrew Cooper
Personal Website and CN Gallery
Handmade 18" Dob / NS11GPS / 6" RFT / 90mm APO / TV-76 ...and a twin 10m
"I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night." --Sarah Williams
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