When touring the rich star fields of Monoceros, don't forget to pay a visit to this winter gem. NGC 2353 is presented in the drawing at left, which renders the view at 129X in my Meade Starfinder equatorial Newtonian. This large open star cluster is centered and occupies much of the 24' diameter view. NGC 2353 ranges across a 20' diameter area but the distinctive feature is the large range in brightness of its members. The brightest is 6.0 magnitude HD 55879, positioned just southwest of center. My sketch records another 55 member stars, some falling in the mid-13th magnitude range. The bright double star at the very center of the cluster includes 8.7 magnitude HD 55901 and 9.2 magnitude SAO 152604. About 4'.5 to the northwest of this pairing, a stellar triad captures the eye. This trio includes a 9.8 magnitude star. Look for NGC 2353 between a pair of 5.9 magnitude stars just across the border from Canis Major.