Observing suggestion - Pair of galaxies near M51

[mdstuart]

Included in my observations last night were this pair of galaxies right near M51.

Next time you go for M51 try these.

NGC 5173 and NGC 5198.. Both are pretty faint at mag 13 but 

5198 is set inside a little group of faint field stars which adds to the view. 5173 is centred between two pairs of stars. Its small but bright enough for me to hold with direct vision in the 16 inch dob.

Here is a map to print out to help you find them.

5173.pdf

Given they both have a redshift of around 2500 kms it looks like they are members of the same galaxy group.

Give them a try and let me know how you get on!

Mark

[jetstream]

I will try these for sure Mark, my last session was perfect as far as my skies go, with M51 showing its spirals well, wish I would have thought about these then.... When searching/viewing these faint galaxies, what mag do you use in the 16"?

Thanks for the map BTW!

[mdstuart]

Gerry

I tend to go for the fainter galaxies now which are quite small. So, once I am centered in on the galaxy, I tend to use a 7mm 82 deg Williams Optics eyepiece which gives a magnification of x261..

Mark

[jetstream]

Thanks Mark, I'm tending to use less mag than you - scope considered, but I must try a bit more like you are using. I did use my 8mm Delos on galaxies but I stupidly sold it ... it showed a lot of promise actually.

[Guest]

Long ago in a galaxy far far away there was a magazine called Deep SKy and in that there is a very interesting article on galaxies near M51 by Robert Bunge. It was issue 30 Spring 1990. You can still downlaod these as PDF's from www.astronomy.com

Owen

[mdstuart]

Owen...is there anywhere you can get those pdfs for free?

[Stu]

Can't find the PDFs but Roberts website looks interesting.

http://www.ladyandtramp.com

Stu

[Guest]

No not as far as I know. Not everything in life is free I am afraid.

Owen