In early 2007, we must have taken a trip to Florida and while there I probably visited the Chiefland Astronomy Village or some other dark sky site.  The southern Milky Way from Puppis and Pyxis all the way to Centaurus was on display throughout the night.  Here we see the Milky Way from southern Canis Major to central Puppis, with open clusters from M41 on the right to NGC 2527 at lower left.  Unannotated image, Back to Constellations, Back to Starvergnügen

The open cluster M41 is an outstanding target for binoculars, even just 7 x 35 models, showing some of the brighter stars and its large extent easily in views through those binos. NGC 2362, which has the colloquial name of Tau Canis Majoris cluster, can be seen to the upper left of the three stars comprising the hindlegs of the dog, but its small size means that fairly high magnification must be used to see it well.

Nearby is NGC 2354, which is faint but large, and can be seen southwest of NGC 2362.  Magnification of 15x or 20x power is probably necessary to see it well. Across the border in Puppis lies an area rich in clusters and nebulae. M93 is another good target for binoculars, which show its asymmetric shape and some of its brighter stars. This region of Puppis is marked by the pattern created by the three stars k, ρ, and ξ Puppis; M93 is located to the north of the arc made by these stars, but all the other clusters visible with binoculars or low power telescopes are below the arc. Open clusters NGC 2467, NGC 2527, and NGC 2489 can be seen with binoculars or low power telescope. Of these, 2527 is the most easily detectable.

Of these last three objects, NGC 2467 is the most interesting. This object was initially classified as an open cluster, but then the nebulous portion of the object was discovered; more recent studies have revealed that the stars once thought to form the cluster are actually just groups of unrelated stars at different distances. The nebulosity here is probably not detectable in binoculars, but the star grouping is. My image, however, does record some of the reddish coloration of the nebula.

Lastly, the star grouping in southern Canis Major near the border with Puppis is a large and sparse nearby cluster called Collinder 140, first listed as an object by Lacaille in 1751 but catalogued in 1931 by Per Collinder. This object is easy to see even just with the unaided eye!