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Island Universes - A Few More Galaxies

Qualia

By Qualia
in Sketching

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Qualia

Qualia

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Posted

It's amazing to think that its only been a hundred years or so, since the true nature of galaxies, those cloudy, spiral shaped bands of light was discovered; that there are other islands in space made of vast numbers of stars, far beyond the boundaries of the Milky Way. 

It's even more mind-blowing to realise that even those galaxies we are able to see with our relatively small bits of glass and mirrors, are so far away, that the light which left them and that we are able to see tonight, began its lonely journey around the time mammals were just appearing on the evolutionary scene, when dinosaurs still walked the Earth and ants did not exist.

All sketches were made using the Moonshane 10" f5, 10mm TeleVue Delos, a brush, chalk dust and white marker. The photos have been lifted from the web.

NGC 2683

NGC 2683 is in the constellation Lynx. It is a very bright, very beautiful, edge on galaxy and should be visible with most aperture under reasonably dark skies.

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NGC 2859

NGC 2859 is in the constellation Leo Minor. Its around 83 million light years away and exhibits a stellar core surrounded by a faint halo. With attentive observing and averted vision, it is a joy to observe.

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NGC 2964 & 2968

NGC 2964/2968 are in the constellation Leo. A nice pair of galaxies with 2964 being the brightest. I didn't realise until later that there is an extremely faint NGC 2970 lurking in the area, so on another clear night I will try to find it.

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NGC 3226 & 3227

NGC 3226 & 3227 are in the constellation Leo. They reside some 50 million light years away and are a gorgeous pair of interacting galaxies, caught in a slow cosmic waltz. They are both reasonably bright, with 3227 appearing as a round nebula, whilst 3226 takes on that casual galaxy cigar shape.

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NGC 3190 & 3193

NGC 3190 & 3193 are both in the constellation Leo. They are about 80 million light years away, with 3193 appearing as a bright halo with a stellar nucleus and 3190 more of an elongated shape with a very bright core. 

NGC 3190 has thrown me a little. As can be seen in the sketch, there is a bright star set just north of the core and I cannot figure whether I've made a mistake while sketching or if I did see such a thing. The trouble is I can find no reference to this star, so it looks like I did make an error whilst plotting. However, it does seem odd as to why I would have put a star smack bang in the middle of the galaxy.

So, if anyone can put me right or help, it would be really appreciated :smiley:.

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Astro Imp

Astro Imp

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Lovely work again Rob, and interesting to compare your sketches with the images. Thanks for sharing.

You are obviously having better skies than us UK based observers at the present, haven't seen a star for over a week and it's raining now as well.

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John

John

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It's amazing to think that its only been a hundred years or so, since the true nature of galaxies, those cloudy, spiral shaped bands of light was discovered; that there are other islands in space made of vast numbers of stars, far beyond the boundaries of the Milky Way. 

It's even more mind-blowing to realise that even those galaxies we are able to see with our relatively small bits of glass and mirrors, are so far away, that the light which left them and that we are able to see tonight, began its lonely journey around the time mammals were just appearing on the evolutionary scene, when dinosaurs still walked the Earth and ants did not exist.....

Well said Rob and superb illustrations as well :smiley:

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Qualia

Qualia

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Thank you all for your kind words and support. It's a real joy to return home late from work, sopping wet and cold from a long cycle ride and to witness such generosity and kindness. The weather here has taken a real turn for the worse and it looks like it's going to remain that way for a least another week  :BangHead:  I hope you guys get a chance to head out.

Thank you again,

Rob

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DeepSkyBagger

DeepSkyBagger

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Great sketches, Qualia. Re your query about the star next to NGC 3190 - There's a little confusion crept into your description here. The galaxy with the bright star next to it is NGC 3193, not 3190. The star is listed in the 4UC as 4UC560-049442 and is quoted as being magnitude 9.6.


 


See attached screen grab from Guide 9.


 


Cheers,


 


Patrick


 


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RobertI

RobertI

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Beautiful sketches Rob, wish that more reference books included drawings of what you can see, instead of what Hubble sees, inspired !

Nick.

Agreed. A bit off topic, but that's reminded me that I have some of the Webb Society Deep Sky Handbooks which contain nothing but sketches as seen through the eyepiece, mostly through 6 to 10" reflectors. I must start using these again as I used them all the time before the age of PCs & Planetarium programs. Not sure if they are still in print.

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DeepSkyBagger

DeepSkyBagger

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Agreed. A bit off topic, but that's reminded me that I have some of the Webb Society Deep Sky Handbooks which contain nothing but sketches as seen through the eyepiece, mostly through 6 to 10" reflectors. I must start using these again as I used them all the time before the age of PCs & Planetarium programs. Not sure if they are still in print.

They're all out of print now. There were 8 volumes in total, you might be able to pick them up second hand. Unfortunately the reproduction in those volumes was not very good, and the printed versions of the observations look little like the originals they were copied from. It can also be a bit difficult to determine which written description goes with which picture. Still, they're an excellent introduction to deep sky observing.

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FenlandPaul

FenlandPaul

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They're all out of print now. There were 8 volumes in total, you might be able to pick them up second hand. Unfortunately the reproduction in those volumes was not very good, and the printed versions of the observations look little like the originals they were copied from. It can also be a bit difficult to determine which written description goes with which picture. Still, they're an excellent introduction to deep sky observing.

Funnilly enough I got my Volume 2: Planetary and Gaseous Nebulae copy out last night to flick through. It's very nice to see the realistic eyepiece impressions and compare to my own descriptions and the (rather poor) sketches I've made. I have vol1 - double stars as well. Good books.

Paul

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

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Qualia

Qualia

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Re your query about the star next to NGC 3190 - There's a little confusion crept into your description here. The galaxy with the bright star next to it is NGC 3193, not 3190. The star is listed in the 4UC as 4UC560-049442 and is quoted as being magnitude 9.6

Cheers, Patrick.

If it helps clear confusion, referring back to the sketch, I figured NGC 3193 was the "bright halo" looking galaxy and NGC 3190 was the "elongated" galaxy "with bright core".  As such, it wasn't the bright star 'next to' 3193 that threw me, but rather that little star I've sketched within NGC 3190.

In light of finding no reference to it, I can't understand why I drew it but....

the fainter star in front of the nucleus of 3190....is also in the 4UC, listed at mag 12.5.

Patrick

This may in fact clear the entire mystery :grin: . What was sketched appears to be a line of sight 12.5 mag star! Brilliant stuff and thank you, Patrick.

The only question that remains is what is 4UC?

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