I think I could do astronomy for another forty years and still be amazed at what a difference observing conditions can make from one night to the next. The other night may have been the best ever from my urban location in terms of transparency. For the last four years, seeing the three great open clusters in Auriga with my
Nikon Astroluxe 10x70 binocular has always followed a very predictable pattern. M37 has always been easy, with M36 just a shade tougher. M38, though, has always been questinable. On most nights, M38 was simply not there in the
astronomy binocular, even a premier
astronomy binocular like my Nikon 10x70. On a rare night, I could just glimpse this open cluster with averted vision. The other night, though, M38 was as obvious as the nose on my face, no averted vision required. Guess you never know until you get out and look. Glad I did.