This gorgeous little jewel was the last object I observed in my quest to sketch the Herschel 400. The drawing at left presents a 129X view in my 10-inch, f/4.5 Newtonian. NGC 2506 is centered within a random scattering of some 55 stars. The 6' diameter cluster is well detached from the surrounding field, highly concentrated toward the core and rich in faint embers. The brightest members are only in the 10th and 11th magnitude range and there are just three recorded in my drawing. But the 25 fainter members shown are packed tightly within a 6' diameter. The diffuse glow of numerous unresolved stars provides a backdrop for this collection. You'll find NGC 2506 tucked safely away in the southeast corner of Monoceros.