1 Ethos,9 galaxies,BIG smile

[jetstream]

Tonight I was given another gift of great skies,SQM 21.8 repeatable,AVG+ transparency,NELM 6.3.My 10mm Ethos eclipsed all other EP's -17mm Ethos included- and gave me such an inspiring view of 9 galaxies in .81deg TFOV!! I was in Virgo,half way between Vindimiatrix and Denebola (or so) and located this galaxy cluster a few times to confirm obs.I wonder if this a part of Makarians Chain?Some galaxies in that FOV were faint,but the contrast of the Ethos 10mm really brought them out.Loads of galaxies in there and Leo too.The Needle galaxy showed with a line though the center and a bit,awesome.M101 spirals again,M13 stunning and saw some new interesting things in Coma B

The transparency forecast led me to a new dark site,chasing down that small pocket of better sky....and it paid off

[rwilkey]

Well done Gerry, that's an incredible area to look at, I wish we had such clear skies, but it has been unsteady for a few days now, although clear on the face of it.

[Mike73]

Glad you had a great night Gerry, you've had a few of those this winter!

I never really enjoyed my Ethos but having that wide TFoV combined with a small eye relief sure does pay off with groups of galaxies.

Whats your observing site latitude? Have you got very long before you we lost astro darkness?

[YKSE]

9 galaxies in half a degree FOV, that's something I'd love too see too! My wild guess is that 2mm exit pupil of 10mm Ethos have a little edge over your other EPs.

[jetstream]

Glad you had a great night Gerry, you've had a few of those this winter!

I never really enjoyed my Ethos but having that wide TFoV combined with a small eye relief sure does pay off with groups of galaxies.

Whats your observing site latitude? Have you got very long before you we lost astro darkness?

Thanks Mike.My latitude is 48.61 deg here in town and 48.44 deg at this site and I'm not sure how much time I have before the astro darkness is gone.Not sure where to find out,but it makes it tougher when true darkness doesn't come-how do I find this out I wonder?

I love my Ethos and the 10mm is outstanding on DSO,but maybe this is because of its near optimum exit pupil,whatever the case it works and with a big FOV for the EP focal length.I'm sure not using my 21mm E much yet though brightens the sky...I really hope it works well on the Veil...it IS wicked on the Double cluster.

[jetstream]

9 galaxies in half a degree FOV, that's something I'd love too see too! My wild guess is that 2mm exit pupil of 10mm Ethos have a little edge over your other EPs.

It would be really nice to compare your Leica zoom and the 10mm XW ,10mm Delos,10mm Ethos on galaxies,but this will most likely never happen unfortunatlely.There would be some premium views given up then! Maybe an individuals eyes/preferences would make the difference with these.

[Spoon]

What scope have you got????

[jetstream]

What scope have you got????

The scope I use for almost all my observing is an Orion Optics UK VX10 f4.8,1/8 PV dobsonian.The very dark skies that I drive to make all the difference in the abilty to see things,I also chase the transparency down when choosing a site-when one is better than another.

[Spoon]

Oh so not a huge scope then. Sounds like a good night!

[YKSE]

That 10" in 21.8 dark sky will outperform a 20" in my average light polluted backyard with 18.5 in SQM, if I have a 20". i.e.. The sky darkness between 21.8 and 18.5 is about 2 magnitude, which is about the difference of 2.5 time of scope's aperture.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Great report. Nine galaxies in one FOV sounds like part of Markarian's Chain. Best I have managed there was 8 in a 1.25 deg FOV (31T5 "Panzerfaust" in my F/10 SCT). My favourite focal length for galaxy hunting is the 22T4 in my F/10 scope (roughly equivalent in terms of exit pupil to the 10mm in your F/4.8 scope). I am not surprised the 10 eclipsed the 17 Ethos.

[jetstream]

Hello Michael,I have trying to figure out what I saw and I think your right.I mixed up a couple of galaxies when looking at some images after getting back-what I saw didn't look like a chain-but a cluster of galaxies and then a pair at the outside of the FOV.So I think I had M84 and then NGC 4461 and NGC 4458 at the field edges-not sure what FOV this calc too,but with my 10mmE I use 17.7/1200x57.3= .84deg.So we can eliminate NGC's 4477,4473 from things any way.

Does anyone have an app or program that can image(circle) the FOV with M84 and NGC 4461 and NGC 4458 at the edges?I know BigMak does....it would be nice to see the TFOV that my EP gives to help me figure this out....

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Good-old Stellarium (ocular feature) does the trick. My first views of Markarian's Chain and the Virgo cluster were through my 6" F/8 Newtonian, and I just trawled the area amazed at all the galaxies (and identifying only a few). In recent years, I have made a much more concerted effort, planning my sessions with my Sky Atlas 2000.0 and more recently also with the Revised Shapley-Ames Catalogue of Bright Galaxies. I often print out screenshots of Stellarium using the ocular  feature to show me the view either through the scope or through the RACI finder.  I then use my giant finder to star-hop accurately. This has lead to sessions with 30 or more galaxies found. Since keeping proper observing notes, I have bagged over 400 galaxies (417, at the latest count). Well worth the extra effort, as it encourages you to hunt down new stuff, and not just revisit the old favourites (as I was doing for quite a few years)

[Stu]

Hi Gerry,

Your wish is my command ;-)

I suspect it was M86, not M84?

This is the 10 Ethos in your scope. M86 bottom right, NGC 4461 and 4458 top left.

Does that help?

Cheers,

Stu

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[Stu]

With mag limit set to 14.7 you get.... 9 Galaxies!

Stu

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[jetstream]

Stu thanks!I had M84 in the FOV for sure could we use that as the edge?,the other 2 can't be NGC 4461 and 4458 then ,it must be the other 2 which will show at the edge after moving.Thanks for the help,I promise to learn to identify what I see someday!promise!!LOL!

[jetstream]

Hey it must have been the Eyes galaxies then!as my other edge

[Paul73]

Here in lies the problem. If you had normal darkish skys it really wouldn't be a problem!

Even under UK skys it is worth spending a few hours to plan your route around the area including "bright targets" and "marginal targets".

Bare in mind that some targets it takes a bit of magnification to confirm that the badly resolved star in the wide field is in fact a galaxy!

Paul

[Stu]

No problem, nice to help!

That makes sense, M84 at the edge, M86 centrally and Eyes top left?

9 galaxies in total with the limit at mag 13.5....

Cheers,

Stu

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[jetstream]

Stu that it! In that FOV right there I saw 9 galaxies,I was amazed and still am.Thanks a lot Stu,that map thing there works great!When I revisit I am going to take the time to identify the ones I see in this FOV.I only have my Pocket Atlas right now to use,but I'll fix that.

[scarp15]

I think that this article was posted on a previous thread, but this is what I used to identify the Markarian's Chain

Google the following Cloudy Nights review

SW: Deep Virgo - Markarian's Chain

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

The faintest galaxy I have seen with my C8 was mag 13.4 or so (readings from different sources vary), so I think a 14.7 (galaxy not star) limit for a 10" is stretching it. I think I have spotted all the galaxies in the diagram, so 9 in one FOV is certainly on the cards.

[jetstream]

Here in lies the problem. If you had normal darkish skys it really wouldn't be a problem!

Even under UK skys it is worth spending a few hours to plan your route around the area including "bright targets" and "marginal targets".

Bare in mind that some targets it takes a bit of magnification to confirm that the badly resolved star in the wide field is in fact a galaxy!

Paul

Hi Paul,I guess I'm in the "discovery" phase right now in this area and am glad I'm finding so much to see.Sometimes I go out for exploration or identification and all just for fun.These nights I was sky cruising, going here,seeing a bunch,going there seeing whats up etc,etc.Mdstuart has a great site with very good maps which I have used for UMA when dissecting it,I saw and recorded most on his chart in the "bowl".Took a while though.I really like another clump of galaxies over by Leo,between Chertan and Regulus.I'm gonna get the kid to print out a chart of the Virgo area from Marks site and bring it with me.I really don't use any lights once dark adapted though,makes things much easier to see.

[Stu]

The faintest galaxy I have seen with my C8 was mag 13.4 or so (readings from different sources vary), so I think a 14.7 (galaxy not star) limit for a 10" is stretching it. I think I have spotted all the galaxies in the diagram, so 9 in one FOV is certainly on the cards.

Yep, that was a red herring :-). The correct fov was 9 galaxies down to mag 13.5 which seems to fit.

Stu

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[Paul73]

Good choice of target! Whilst you are in the area, There is a lovely little cluster of Fuzzies in Leo's Mane (midway between Algieba and Adhafera).

Paul