NGC 2392 Eskimo Nebula

 NGC 2392 Eskimo Nebula

24” f/3.17 Steve Swayze

130x - 250x

Vancouver, WA

December 2025

The context: 

Scope cool down time: 9PM to 1AM (time of observation) with fans on high, then dropped down to med for observation. 

I planned to observe Jupiter, but the extremely poor seeing (3/4 on the Pickering scale) made detailed viewing of Jupiter an impossibility, given the unsteady atmosphere and resultant undulating image of Jupiter that would not really come to a sharp focus. So I decided to swing over to NGC 2392 and see what that looked like under low to mid powers. The observation led to a sketching session. This was the first session in which I sketched standing, and the sketching stand perfectly accommodated my standing posture, with the sketching surface at a height of 63", a little over 5 feet in height. The 24" f/3.17 was pointed almost to zenith. The sketching stand allowed me to sketch without hindrance in a standing posture, allowing me to both observe and sketch seamlessly. 

What stood out to me? 

The loose star cluster surrounding the Eskimo immediately reminded me of NGC 457, known as the Owl Cluster. The Eskimo being juxtaposed next to a bright star reminded me of the eyes of the Owl Cluster. The stars southeast of the Eskimo also resembled the Owl Cluster somewhat. The star poor region northeast of the cluster stood in contrast to the star dense region to the southeast of the Eskimo. 

Despite poor seeing, a 3/4 on the Pickering scale, I was able to pick up hints of structure close to the central star. The central star was easily seen with direct vision, with hints of structure teasing the eye of the observer. My son Gustav, 17, observed momentarily before retreating to the warmth of the house.  

The Process: 

 A white gel pen in weights of .5, .8, and 1.0 was used to draw in the stars. A green gel pen with a weight of .6 was used to ink in the central star of the Eskimo. A dome brush was used to lay down green powder for the Eskimo nebula, and a black gel pen was used to draw in hints of the inner structure visible in the Eskimo. This was done at the sketching stand at the time of observation.