Winter Observing

     Winter is a great time to watch the sky.  The winter sky contains many wonderful, legendary objects like Orion, Gemini, Canis Major, Taurus,  and more.  There are many bright, wonderful objects to see.  I never seem to get tired of looking at the Pleiades, Praesepe, or Orion Nebula.  Sure, it's cold, but that doesn't really matter when the skies are nice.
     The Pleiades, or the Seven Sisters, is very popular and can be viewed with the naked eye.  The Pleiades are located in Taurus, the bull.  Subaru means Pleiades in Japanese.  That is probably where the Subaru logo came from.  Praesepe, or the Beehive Cluster, is also a very nice and bright open cluster.  It is located in Cancer. On a good night, it appears as a smudge to the naked eye.  It looks great in binoculars.  Orion Nebula is another nice, bright object.  It is the brightest nebula in the night sky.  On a good night, you can pull many stars out of the Trapezium.
     Some other objects that are very nice include M46 and M47.  They are located in Puppis.   These two open clusters are bright and right next to each other.  While M47 is brighter, M46 has a planetary nebula inside it.  This is very nice in a 6" telescope.  If you want to get both, you will probably need a small telescope or binoculars.  M35 is another bright open cluster.  It is between Orion and Gemini.  It is a very nice and detailed cluster.  The Hyades in Taurus are also nice.  Auriga also contains some nice clusters.  M36, M37, and M38 are three open clusters that are located in Auriga.  They are bright and should not be too hard to find.  You also have M1, which is the Crab Nebula.  It is located in Taurus.  It can be hard to find with a telescope of less than 8" if you live in a light polluted area.  M41 is another nice and bright open cluster.  It is located near the middle of Canis Major.   Some other objects are M48, M93, M67 the Horsehead nebula, the Witch head nebula, and many more objects.
     Some of my favorite objects are the Pleiades, Praesepe, the Orion Nebula, M46 and M47, and M41.
     Winter is a great time to look at the sky.  There are many legendary constellations with great stories to them.  A lot of the winter objects can be located and seen with detail even with a small telescope.  Sure, it may be cold, but if you are having fun, it kind of tunes the cold out.  There are also no mosquitoes, which is very nice.  Winter is a great time to observe.