NGC 1579 – “The Northern Trifid”  Reflection Nebula in Perseus 

JANUARY 2013 OBSERVERS CHALLENGE – NGC-1579

Roger Ivester  2-16-13

Date: January 31st 2013 – 10-inch reflector @ 104x by Debbie Ivester

The night was cold and was pretty difficult for me to spot this nebula, which appeared very faint.  I’m beginning to be able to recognize the cardinal points relatively easy.  I just center the object and when new stars enter the eyepiece field, I know this is east.  I then slightly nudge the scope north and then south, lifting my eye to look over the optical tube. 

It took me several minutes to see the nebula, which appeared as a faint cloud with a very irregular shape.