Andrew Cooper
Sep 14, 2015    Hale Pohaku, HI (map)
15cm f/5 Newtonian, Makaʻiki @ 19x

A bright cluster off the toe of Gemini, rich, 20' in diameter, fully resolved, a couple bright stars surrounded by a swarm of dimmer members in a heavy Milky Way starfield

Andrew Cooper
Mar 1, 2011    Hale Pohaku, HI (map)
46cm f/4.5 Newtonian, Deep Violet @ 60x

Large, about 30', bright, rich, an odd void at the center, arranged in clumps with a notable chain of stars at the northeast leading out from the center, NGC2158 visible 30' to the southeast

Andrew Cooper
Oct 21, 2006    TIMPA, Avra Valley, AZ (map)
12x36 Canon Image Stabilized Binoculars

Bright, well resolved, good sized, easily found off the 'toe' of Gemini

Andrew Cooper
Dec 3, 2004    Sentinel, AZ (map)
46cm f/4.5 Deep Violet

Large, bright, very rich, a heavy concentration of hundreds of stars in a rich star field, stars arranged in clumps and chains, an oddly vacant area at the center, NGC2158 visible as a faint patch 23' to the southwest

Rev. T.W. Webb
May 19, 1885    Hardwick, Herefordshire, England (map)
24cm Reflector

Beautiful and extensive region of small stars, a nebula to the naked eye. How differently La.'s 24-in. mirror shows it, his own words will best tell:-- 'A marvellously striking object. No one can see it for the first time without an exclamation... The field of view 19' in diam. and angular subtense 53-1/2°, is perfectly full of brilliant stars, unusually equal in magnitude, and distribution over the whole area. Nothing but a sight of the object itself can convey an adequate idea of its exquisite beauty.' Sm. observes that the stars form curves, often commencing with a larger one. There is an elegant festoon near centre, staring with a reddish star; 9-in. spec., '71. No ruddy star, Feb 18, 21, '82. Es., pale yellow, '93. Between ε Gem. and ζ Tau, a little n; in fine region. About 1/2° sp, just beyond a group of outliers, is NGC2158 (H. VI 17), a faint dim cloud of very minute stars.

― Celestial Objects for Common Telescopes, T. W. Webb, 1917

John Herschel
Feb 19, 1827    

A large, coarse, pretty rich cluster of stars of 9th to 16th magnitude, which fills 2 or 3 fields, but chiefly one in which are about 100 stars.

Charles Messier
Aug 30, 1764    

Cluster of very small stars, near the left foot of Castor, at a little distance from the stars Mu & Eta of that constellation. M. Messier has reported its position on the chart of the comet of 1770, Mem. Acad. 1771, pl. VII. Reported in the English Atlas."

― Connaissance des Temps, 1781

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

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