Surely one of the more remarkable experiences is to be able to explore a galaxy with binoculars

One of my most memorable nights observing was on a night of supreme transparency when I spent the night exploring the Cloud with my 15×70 binoculars. I had looked at the Cloud a gazillion times through both my 10×50 and 15×70 binoculars, but a night of supreme transparency with nothing but the binoculars was an unforgettable observing experience.

 

This magnificent and singular galaxy is amazing in binoculars; a huge misty glow dominated by its bright shimmering bar and the Tarantula Nebula, and with glows of varying sizes and intensity scattered across it. I must say that the bar’s rich, glowing background is particularly lovely in binoculars, but also particularly bothersome when you’re trying to see the bright objects lying in it! Most interesting of all is that the glows of the visible objects are all quite specific. Albeit they are all small, some are decidedly silky looking, others misty, some even have a very slight uneveness to the glow. 

N11 = NGC 1760, 1761, 1763, 1769, 1773, 1776

What can one say but, “Wow!” This superbubble is a gorgeous, bright gleaming little treasure; its glow subtly uneven.

 

N4/5/9 = NGC 1731, 1714, 1715, 1735, 1747

This region appears as a pale, washed-out glow that is uneven and patchy.

 

N79S = 1712, 1722, 1727

N79E = NGC 1737, 1743, 1745, 1748

This busy star-birth region appears as two small glows, like little drops of dew nestled inside a faint mistiness.

 

NGC 1845

The star cloud, NGC 1845 (which has NGC 1833 and 1837 nestled in its southern end) appears as a lovely mist of pale light.

N103 + N105 = NGC 1850, 1855, 1858

Young globular cluster NGC 1850 in superbubble N103 is a binoculars’ showpiece! It appears as a small but beautifully bright glow in the bar’s glorious star-dust haze. N155 and 1858 in superbubble N105 join the young globular forming a stunning trio of uneven glows. Very eye catching!

N113 = NGC 1874, 1876, 1877, 1880

This complex of H II regions, along with NGC NGC 1872 and 1881close north, lying in the bar looks like a distant streetlight on a wet and misty evening.

N30 = NGC 1869, 1971, 1873

The faint nebulous glow is enhanced by the sight of beautiful orange Theta Dor just to its north.

N119 = NGC 1910

This gorgeous spiral shaped nebula with its magnificent inhabitant, bright S Doradus is among my most favourite of LMC objects, and in the binoculars it appears as a droplet of pearl-coloured light standing out against the rich glow of the bar.

N120 = NGC 1820

This SNR, lying against the bar’s large shimmering glow, appears as a lovely wisp-shaped glow. 

N44 = NGC 1929, 1934, 1935, 1936, 1937

This superbubble, so stunning in the telescope, appears as a lovely, softly glowing pool of misty light; its glow showing some very subtle uneveness.

N206 = NGC 2018

This superbubble appears as a beautiful glow; the little daub of brightish nebulosity showing up beautifully against the very gauzy southeastern region of the Cloud.

N144 = NGC 1962, 1965, 1966, 1970

The supergiant shell LMC 3 appears as a very patchy haze, brighter than the background haze, and with superbubble N144 showing as a small, but distinctly brighter, glow within it.

Supergiant Shell LMC 4, LMC 5 and The Impact Zone

The LMC’s northeast corner is simply stupendous, especially in a pair of binoculars. LMC 4’s dark cavern is superb; appearing as a big hollow of darkness in the LMC’s gauzy haze. It’s dotted around with bright patches, most amazing of which is NGC 1948/N48 on its northwest side… it’s the impact zone when the gargantuan LMC 4 is colliding with the smaller LMC 5 which lies to its northwest. This star-forming region is beautifully apparent in the binoculars as a narrow slash of light between LMC 4’s vast, dark cavity and LMC 5’s narrow darkness. (Unlike LMC 4 it doesn’t have any bright H II regions around its edges.) Amazing!

N55 (the Eighth-Note Nebula) 

This is my binocular pièce de résistance! In fact, it is also my favourite object in the entire Cloud! Nothing surprised me more than seeing this beautiful little object in the binoculars. Lying almost dead centre of LMC 4, it appears as a miniscule droplet of light glowing against the dark background of the supergiant shell’s cavity. 

N63 = NGC 2029

This star-forming complex with a stunning little SNR buried in its heart appears as a small droplet of light.

LH 95

This star-forming region appears larger than N63, but fainter; a soft nebulous glow.

N29 = NGC 2030, 2032, 2035, 2040  

In the telescope, this is one of the Cloud’s showstoppers; absolutely exquisite. In my binoculars it appears as a small beautifully luminous glow.

 

N57A = NGC 2014

An unusual superbubble in the telescope, N57A appears as a soft, misty glow.

The Sextant

The Sextant is the Cloud’s second mysterious arc, lying just southwest of the Quadrant, the starry. Nebulous and staryy in the telescope (it actually has a superbubble at either end), in the binos it appears as a small arc-shaped glow.

The Tarantula Nebula = NGC 2070

Visible to the naked eye, the Tarantula Nebula shines like a bright white galactic beacon, with a distinctly pearly aspect. I actually use the Tarantula Nebula as my transparency gauge because transparency is paramount for observing the LMC’s nebulae. A shining white beacon…I know the transparency is superb; anything less and I know the transparency is down. It really is a stunning little object in the binoculars. The huge star forming ridge that lies on the western side of the magnificent supergiant shell, LMC 2, appears in the binoculars as if it is dangling off the Tarantula like a gorgeous piece of celestial jewelry.

N158 = NGC NGC 2074, 2081 

One might expect this superbubble to pale in comparison to its very bright and gorgeous neighbour, but the glowing pool of light holds its own, especially with it being buried in the haziness of LMC 2 that sweeps eastwards; very attractive.

 

N160 = NGC 2077, 2080, 2085, 2086 

The Ghost Head Superbubble, famous for its two ghostly eyes peering out of the murky depths (two stunning high excitation blobs in the telescope), appears as a pearly glow, flanked to the north and south by N158 and N159 respectively. 

 

N159 = NGC 2078, 2079, 2083, 2084 

This fiery star-forming cauldron appears in the binoculars as a superbly silky pearl of nebulous light.

 

N154 = NGC 2033, 2048

This superbubble appears as a soft, misty glow.