So many galaxies and not enough time!

[mdstuart]

Out again a few times although I am now having to wait until nearly midnight to observe.

The 16 inch Meade is still amazing me with its light gathering potential.

I have now done a lot of research identifying those galaxies which should be within the reach of my scope. I did this by looking at the the images on the ngcic project web site. http://www.ngcicproject.org/dss/dss_ngc.asp

I have then entered the list of the galaxies that should be observable in my Skytools software. http://www.skyhound.com/

I am now working my way though the list. I print out the maps from Skytools and then hop to the galaxies on clear nights.

BUT

I have now observed 1009 galaxies and there are still at least 1500/2000 to go that should be relatively easy to find from my mag 5.5 but with a lovely orange glow towards Bristol skies.......I have observed 120 new galaxies since I got the 16 inch scope in late March but even at that rate its going to take me a good few years to get through this current target list.

So many galaxies...I sometimes wonder why I do not get bored but I just love my times of observing. Its time to just chill out, contemplate, ponder, consider in amazement, be grateful for life and everything I have. I love to enjoy the colours and patterns and varying density of the star fields around the galaxies, the various shapes and textures of the galaxies themselves ..and I am hooked by what you can learn by doing some follow up to find out about the objects using the amazing resources we have today on the internet.

Its looking clear so perhaps its time to look for galaxy 1010?

Clear skies everyone.

Mark

[John]

Good stuff Mark - your reports are inspring me to do more galaxy hunting

It's amazing how many my 12" dob can pick up once I get "my eye in"

You and I need a special "Bristol filter" to combat that glow !

[swamp thing]

Glad your enjoying the old LB mate.

[Paul73]

Nicely put. I spent a while in Coma the other evening. Straining to confirm the, possibly spotted, little grey smuge. Then just sitting back and enjoyed the heavens, considering the magnitude of what I had been observing, enjoying the night sounds & the chill on my face. And, the abandonment of the daily grid for a couple of precious hours......

It is a great hobby.

5.5 skys are pretty good too.

Paul

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Really inspiring stuff. Of course you are also increasing my aperture fever again

[mapstar]

Nice write up Mark and thanks for the links

Damian

[Chris]

Nice report, there can't be that many people who have seen that many galaxies with their own eyes in the UK. I admire your tenacity Mark

[YKSE]

Great milestone, Mark,   Congratulations. It'll take me some years to reach that numbers, hunting faint fuzzies is much more fun than I thought it could be.

[laudropb]

Great report and really well done to reach that milestone. Unfortunately from my light polluted skies I am struggling to reach 100

[damnut]

Nice write up and thanks for the link.  That is some light bucket you have..

[estwing]

Nice read Mark I admire your hunting skills

[faulksy]

nice one mark, you realy are a human go to

[Terrynak]

Congrats Mark on crossing the 1000 mark in terms of galaxies observed, as well as your new 16" Meade (Lightbridge I assume).   Been a couple of years since we last conversed.

My workhorse scope is still 4.5" in aperture, but I use a longer focal length instrument this time - 900mm or f/7.9: 

With the help of more detailed DSO lists (especially for the Leo/Virgo/Coma region) and access to slightly darker skies (about 6.0 naked-eye limit, compared to 5.5 previously), my galaxy count has increased to 623.  But the switch to a longer focal length scope helped as well.   

When seeking out small faint objects, use of higher magnifications darken the surrounding sky to improve contrast between target object and background (and increases the size of the object), improving one's chances of seeing the object.  I find that I need 100-150x of magnification to spot the smaller, fainter galaxies (dimensions of 3 arc-seconds or less) and my 114/900mm Newtonian does this without a Barlow, which can introduce some loss of light and contrast, the degree of which depends on the quality of the Barlow.  And we know that in hunting galaxies, we can't afford to lose any light or contrast.     

So I consider this scope more effective in hunting small, fainter DSO's than the previous 4.5" Newtonian I was using, which was a shorter focal length scope - 450mm or f/4:

This one is better for wide field views and larger deep-sky objects, especially in dark skies.    

With larger scopes obviously (such as your 16"), you can see more without having to push the magnification so high!   

[YKSE]

My workhorse scope is still 4.5" in aperture, but I use a longer focal length instrument this time - 900mm or f/7.9: 

IMG_0348 (resized).jpg

With the help of more detailed DSO lists (especially for the Leo/Virgo/Coma region) and access to slightly darker skies (about 6.0 naked-eye limit, compared to 5.5 previously), my galaxy count has increased to 623.   

That's a great deed to get so many galaxies with 4.5"! congratulations, it's just another prove how important sky darkness is. My ambition of getting over 1000 galaxies with 8" (having access to 6.0-6.2 sky) doesn't seem to be so out of blue any more

[Terrynak]

That's a great deed to get so many galaxies with 4.5"! congratulations, it's just another prove how important sky darkness is. My ambition of getting over 1000 galaxies with 8" (having access to 6.0-6.2 sky) doesn't seem to be so out of blue any more

Thanks - I like to get as much out of my scopes (however modest) as I can, with the help of darker skies and whatever information on DSOs I can get access to.  I also use the NGC/IC Project Web Site that Mark refers to as a resource, along with the Deep Sky Pedia website.