M42 - The Orion Nebula
It's been a while since I've taken a close look at this seasonal visitor. Through the 2" eyepiece it was a beautiful, compact green patch with several stars shining in it. As my eyes adjusted the full extent of the nebulosity could be detected. With the 25mm Plossl the nebula was much more distinct and three stars of the Trapezium could easily be distinguished. Seeing the Orion Nebula always makes me feel very small and humble.
M36, M37 and M38 - The Three Amigos in Auriga
Close to the zenith I used the 2" eyepiece to wander through Auriga, stopping off at each of the bright Messier open clusters in terms. M36 was large and faint and easy to catch even in the finderscope. M37 was bright but more sparse whilst M38 was a bit more difficult to detect being faint and compact. I revisited M37 with the 25mm Plossl to look at this beautiful collection of starry points lost in the blackness of space.