Omega Centauri from 90 / 30

I observed about 4 hours last evening, quickly reviewing a number of objects and scopes before the moon got high in the sky. It was a 7/10 sky, some wind and COLD! 30 degrees in New Orleans is hard to handle!!! Decided to leave a Tak 102 and WO 110 out for the night and get up early to look at Jupiter and the "Vega complex" in the AM. We have large petro-chemical plants to the south of my residence. So, their bright glows and associated “torches” usually wash out all deep sky objects south of Canis Major. However, last night they were “dark” for some reason, therefore all of Centaurus was quite visible…and of course so was Omega Centauri…even with the moon nearby! I get to see this gem from the Gulf coast every once in a while with bino’s when I’m out early to flyfish in the spring. But seeing it with those two cooled down scopes and a 5.2 Pentax is beyond description…you just stare at it filling almost the entire field of view in the ep….it’s absolutely outstanding. Nothing in my sky compares...M-42 is close, M-13....forget it. You have to make every effort to get a glimpse of this sight at least once, you will not be disappointed...tom

Tom,
I saw this 3 weeks ago while on vacation near the eqautor. I had my 7x50's and it was almost dawn, but the Omega cluster was huge! Makes M13 look like an afterthought. Can you see the Carina nebula from your location?
Ivan

Was that 30 degrees above or below Zero? It was merely minus 12 for me last night (good transparency, poor seeing).

I agree with you, Tom. The only time I've been able to observe it was at the 1998 Texas Star Party (I live in Michigan - and don't tell me about cold winter nights!). In my 13.1" at 215x (7mm Nagler) I recall seeing nothing but stars across the entire field! Definitely one of the most incredible sights I've ever seen.

Doug