Andrew Cooper
Jan 31, 2011    Hale Pohaku, HI (map)
46cm f/4.5 Newtonian, Deep Violet @ 60x
Seeing: 6 Transparency: 6.5 Moon: 0%

A gorgeous nebula filling the 1° field of the eyepiece, Bright! Large! visible to the unaided eye, the nebula is bisected by a wide dark lane than enters from the northwest and exits to the northeast with a 90° angle at the center of the nebula, ηCar itself is a bright orange star in the brighter northern section, the southern section is cut by several north-south sweeps of darker material, the entire region is a treasure trove of clusters and nebulae

Andrew Cooper
Mar 13, 2010    Hale Pohaku, HI (map)
15cm f/5 Newtonian, Primero @ 22x
Seeing: 7 Transparency: 6.5 Moon: 0%

A wonderful object, Large! Bright! a roughly round nebulous region almost 2° across, a very dark rift cuts through the center of the nebula with an abrupt 90° turn part way across. ηCar itself is a bright obvious star, notably orange, in the brightest region north of the rift, the whole complex is obvious to the unaided eye in the center of the southern Milky Way

Andrew Cooper
Apr 14, 2007    Pu'u Kuainiho (map)
76mm f/6 APO

Very bright, very large, an extensive nebula complex over 2° across, visible naked eye, the nebula divided into north and south lobes by a broad dark band, ηCar itself sits in the center of the brighter northern lobe, notably orange, mag. 6.1, the entire region makes grand sweeping, from NGC3293 2° northwest of ηCar, to NGC3532 3° northeast

Andrew Cooper
Apr 5, 2007    Hale Pohaku, HI (map)
15cm f/5 Newtonian, Primero @ 35x
Seeing: 7 Transparency: 7 Moon: 0%

Large! Bright! conspicuous to the unaided eye, entirely fills the 1.5° field of the 6" at 35x and more, wide dark lanes cut through the center with extensive mottling of the brighter areas, ηCar itself is the brightest star in the field, notably orange, in the middle of the bright northern quadrant of the complex, one of the best nebulae in the sky, I see more every time I look at this celestial wonder

Drawings, descriptions, and CCD photos are copyright Andrew Cooper unless otherwise noted, no usage without permission.

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