Mike JW

I would thoroughly recommend Jocular and the Pretty Deep Maps. Mike

Simply put you need to decide what it is you wish to 'see' and find out about . There are many categories/lists. Messiers Objects. Caldwell Objects, Herschel 400, Brighter NGCs (about 400 of them), Planetary Nebulae, Globular Clusters, Open Clusters, Reflection Nebulae Hicksons, Arps, SHK galaxy groups, VV galaxies, Palomar Galaxy Groups, Palomar Compact Galaxies, Flat galaxies (RFGC), WBL Galaxies, Distant IC/NGC galaxies, Quasars......... Personally I tend to stay in small areas of the sky so as to be able to ensure my set up stays well aligned for that area. I am intrigued by your phrase "obligatory pictures". EEVA seeks to continue the tradition in this hobby of observing and finding out about the object to build up a personal knowledge of the amazing universe, as well as sharing what we 'see' and also the understanding we gain. I regularly go back to objects for another look (do that visually as well). I fear you may get bored if you see things as "obligatory pictures" You will see that some specific threads have been set up in the EEVA sections- Arps, Hicksons, VV Galaxies, Globular Clusters. (resources provided at the start of these threads as appropriate). If there is a specific interest that grabs your attention then a thread could be set up for it, to which we can all contribute. Obviously you need to choose objects that suit your set up as well as your interests. Various software can generate lists for the night - free or otherwise. I would be happy to generate lists in excel if that helps. Probably best to think in terms of objects brighter than mag 12 - a few hundred of them. I and others can supply lists. Currently my galaxy lists run into several thousand!!!!! - I shall never complete them. Sometime I will make up my own personal Messier Object booklet as something to look back to when age finally prevents me getting out there........I have done this for the Hicksons and the Arps. Certainly it helps to have pre prepared lists to maximise our limited clear spells. Have fun Mike

A few confused thoughts as I am not particularly technical. Using my Alt/Az ioptron mini tower: - level as accurately as I can using the bubble, then the next step is accurately align it to south (use compass), finally put scope in vertical position (use a mini spirit level ), again accurately. Then do one star alignment choosing star in the area I am interested in and hit GOTO. When I have taken the time to be accurate it has often surprised me how close the first star is. Use finder to get accurately in the centre of fov/ reticule eyepiece. Then swop over to camera. Personally I think it pays off to be accurate in the setting up. When I head off to somewhere else then I will sync in that area before going to more DSOs. Using my iOptron EQ45, - equatorial mode. Again I have often proved that accurate levelling (I use mini levels and the level on the polar scope as the bubble level is way out) and then accurate polar alignment makes a big difference in locating and tracking. With this mount after the first two star alignment I look at the read out and if it indicates that the alignment is poor I go back to the zero position and adjust accordingly, then follow up with another 2 star alignment before heading off for the targets. Again I will always sync to additional local stars as I move around a given area. It is a right pain but when I make this effort I get the reward of those tiny faint DSOs that you see me post. Dob - levelling very accurately seems to help with the two star alignment procedure. Then head off to the area of interest. Sync to a local bright star and often then head off to a fainter star (I use SAO numbers) before then confidently going to the object of interest - absolutely have to do this for SHKs, many of the VVs, Palomars. Again it is a pain but the rewards are worth it. I have tried 3 star alignment on the iEQ45 - not sure it made any improvement compared to the 2 star procedure. Agree with Martin that EEVA is very forgiving. Remember EEVA is not about getting wonderful images (that is for the serious imaging techniques). EEVA is about finding the object and then observing it/researching it...... I don't plate solve - do not have the software to do this and most of the time I don't need to. Just now and again it would be useful to have this facility when I am after a small, very faint object in a sparse star area but then the fun of the chase kicks in........EEVA is about enjoying the objects and having fun. Mike

Personally I find levelling and accurate polar alignment essential. I even level accurately my GOTO Dob. Mike

Here is a selection of SHK groups from 14/09/20 SHK 83 - faint and tricky to locate. 9 members, P 1111765 is the brightest at mag 17.6 SHK 84 - 6 members, the brightest is P1336278, mag 16.8 SHK 362 wins the 'pretty group' award with a bright star thrown in for added visual pleasure. Interesting with this group because there is one member well separated from the rest - go up and left a bit until you reach the obvious fuzz on a level with the bright star. 9 members. Mike

Sept 27th - just removed my comments re the timing of the closest approach as I had totally misunderstood when the closest approach would happen - silly me. Mike

Here is Aladin with NED overlay. The cross matches the grey fuzz on my shot and has the data as Q 2333+019 - redshift 1.871. I have inputted PB 5468 - it seems to put the cross at the same place as the quasar? see second screen shot. Mike

14/09/20 It is always a temptation to post the obvious 'wow' views we get via EEVA. So here is a 'boring' view but actually on close inspection it holds interest. VV 1958 in Pegasus - UGC 12280. Mag 15.5 pair of galaxies in contact (PK), 500 million lyrs away, both spirals. The close up shows they are angled to each other as they interact and there is a hint of disruption - see Aladin view. Just after I started the subs for this target my neighbours came out and I showed them the planets and totally forgot I was running the camera, hence the 11 mins of subs (actually it was over 13 minutes but I dropped some of the unsteady subs). This length of time is hardly 'live' in the EEVA sense but the result is of interest. Mike

Don't mention the WBLs - I will get hooked! Mike

14/09/20 The question to be asked is why do we not visit this superb barred galaxy more often in Andromeda? Answer because it has a well known neighbours - M31 or M33 not far away in the sky. There are some excellent Hubble images out there but I struggled to find any research papers. Distance estimates have varied but I think it has now settled to approx 29 million lyrs away with a diameter of about 59,000 lyrs, mag 11.6, type =SBc. It is inclined to us at about 70 degrees which makes it difficult to see the bar/arms but the more I look at it then the bar and two arms become evident. Probably merged with another galaxy in the past. http://bf-astro.com/ngc7640/ngc7640.htm - shows a superb photo of the fact that this galaxy lies behind a thin veil of nebulosity. Mike PS This was just one of several cracking observations made in a 2 hour session.

Arp 284. Not for the first time I visited Arp 284 last night (13/09/20). However first time with the Dob and those diffraction spikes of 16 Psc do it for me. Personally the view as captured below gives me an aesthetic buzz - so much to enjoy. 16 Psc - is a spectroscopic binary, mag 6, a yellow-white dwarf star on the main sequence. Follow the diffraction spike that goes up and to the left. It leads you to a bright star, now go straight down and you see a grey fuzz, about half way to another less bright star. This is Q 2333+019 10.17, z=1.871 (light travel time = 10.185 billion lyrs!!!) - images show it as blue (not surprising as it must be bright). Finally to Arp 284, classed by Arp as having infall and attraction (still do not understand what is meant by this) NGC 7741 = SB(s)b pec (on the right) and 7715 = Im pec sp. The pair are about 100 million lyrs away. 7714 is a starburst galaxy and hence strong H alpha (red colouration). It has an active black hole at the centre. Astronomers characterise NGC 7714 as a typical starburst galaxy composed of Wolf-Rayet stars — extremely hot and bright stars that begin their lives with dozens of times the mass of the Sun, but lose most of it very quickly via powerful winds. The two galaxies drifted too close together between 150 million years ago, and began to drag at and disrupt one another’s structure and shape. Apparently 7715 charged right through 7714 As a result, a ring (older sun like stars - picked up in my shot) and two long tails of stars have emerged from NGC 7714, creating a bridge between the two galaxies. This bridge acts as a pipeline, funnelling material from NGC 7715 towards its larger companion and feeding bursts of star formation. Most of the star-forming activity is concentrated at the bright galactic centre. Mike

Morning folks, Just had to visit NGC 7479. I enjoyed seeing the unusually long bar, and pleased to pick up starburst activity in the extended western arm (right hand side), as well as hints in the bar. Research papers suggest the extended western arm is due to a dwarf galaxy being gobbled up (300 million years ago) on the eastern side, resulting in the asymmetry of the galaxy. Also the western arm has a high neutral hydrogen content which is being used to fuel the starburst activity. Interestingly so the bar has drawn into itself the surrounding neutral hydrogen so there is a hydrogen hole extending out from the nucleus equivalent to the radius of the bar. A dust lane extend the length of the bar - again just got hints of it. New to me is that a barred galaxy with two asymmetric arms, beginning at the bar ends is known as a Magellanic Type Barred Galaxy. Mike

Hi Martin, https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1701/1701.00615.pdf is where I got the info. Last night I tried for 'E' but despite the power of my set up I did not get a hint of it. Conditions were not good. Mike

Hi Martin, I like the wider fov but I would be amazed if you have captured any companions. It is pushing the limits of the 15/camera set up. I re visited 7331 again last night to have another go for companion A, Happy to say I have just got something, having eliminated the noise. The close up shot - I have removed several of the poorer subs to try to improve the sharpness. Have fun looking for these companions. Mike

7479 - new one to me, a real beauty and what a fine bar it has, Thanks for bringing this one to our attention. Now on my list of objects to visit. Mike

Here is my result from the 15/ultrastar set up. Mike

Hi, Callum/Martin, Just had to give NGC 7094 a look with the 15/ultrastar. I was pleased to get some detail but it took much fiddling around with the settings. I did enhance the shot in photoshop. Now for some interesting info. Apparently the CS (mag 13.7) is of a rare type (hybrid PG 1159 star - failed to work out what this means). In essence it is in transition to becoming a fully formed white dwarf. It pulsates gently - slowly and by small amounts. This would appear to reflect the stars composition as it completes the transition. One article says it is hydrogen deficient but another article writes about the high levels of hydrogen still remaining in the stars envelope, along with C 1V (ionised carbon). The internal zone around the CS is being blasted by the very energetic winds and is part of the cause of the filament patterns high resolution images reveal. One article suggested that the cause of the filaments/pattern is due to the original star being a triple star. The PN is 5000 lyrs away, about 3 lyrs across and old in PN terms. Mike

Hi all, Callum's post of 7331 and 7320 fired me up to take another look at these well known objects but this time I used the 15" Dob, to give a comparison between a 7", 11" and a 15" scope. During yesterday I thought I would read up about 7331, rather than just post yet another image. NGC 7331 (mag 10) also known as Caldwell 30, is an unbarred spiral about 50 million lyrs away (One article said 40 mlyrs) and is similar in size (120,000 lyrs across) to the Milky Way. Its four companions are known as the fleas and on a good night I see all four of them with my 20". Like the Milky Way it has a super massive black hole at the centre. Strangely the central bulge (describe as being 'boxy') spins slowly in the opposite direction to the rest of the galactic disc (which spins relatively fast). I could not find any information as to the origin of this retrograde spinning bulge. Infra-red studies reveal there is a warm disc (ring) of small grained dust surrounding the bulge. Overall the galaxy has a low rate of star formation (a quiet galaxy). However detailed studies show two tidal streams which, suggests past interactions. Quite possibly consuming dwarf galaxies. Currently six dwarf galaxies have been located orbiting 7331 (not the so called fleas). A = mag 19, B= mag 20, C = mag 18.5, D= mag 20.5, E = 19.5 and M = 16.15 (no idea why it was called M!). Now this set me pondering whether I would be able to locate any of them. See reference image below. First up A and B. Below is a close up. No sign of B. My circle indicates where A would be. I adjusted the settings to remove as much noise as possible and this leaves two tiny specks of fuzz, the right hand one being the brighter. I am not claiming this as a definite for A. I should probably revisit on a very good night. Next up is my attempt for companion M. Happy with my ID for this one - top left fuzz of the image below. Now to C and D. The circle at the top is where C lurks - nothing to be seen. The lower circle is D - reducing the noise and something very faint lurks. See zoomed in shot - the fuzz could well be noise but it does not quite have that 'noise' feel about it. I forgot to try for E. A fun and absorbing look at again at 7331 and always something to learn. Mike

Hi Martin, What a great find this one is. It is on my list of Pegasus VVs but as I am working through them logically using RA co-ordinates it is way down my list - 23 to go before I reach this one. I think I might do a quick detour on the next occasion. I would agree with your thoughts re why it is not a Hickson (but I would have to point out my lack of knowledge/understanding.....) Vizie R classifies it as NNNP = triple with a tight pair. I assume the VV 84 is actually the row 3 horizontal crosses below and to the left of NGC 7433, and not 7433 or/and 7435 Below is the Aladin screen shot - left cross has redshift of 0.024600, middle cross has redshift of 0.024610 and the right hand cross has redshift of 0.025347. NGC 7433 has redshift of 0.025311. I have tried using a converter to find out the distances. Left cross = 337mlyrs, middle cross = 340mlyrs, (therefore close to each other = NGC 7436). NGC 7436A - right hand cross = 350 mlyrs. NGC 7433 = 349 mlyrs and thus is close to the right hand cross (NGC 7436A) The redshift distance of 0.027272 for NGC 7435 is 376 mlyrs - so not an immediate neighbour. As to UGC 12274 (not on my aladin image) I came across a distance of aprrox 300 mlyrs so somewhat nearer to us. Very interesting to muse on this image - thanks Martin for posting. Mike

These are favourites both visually and using the EEVA technique. Plenty of detail in your shots. Below are shots using my 7" Mak Cas and the Ultrastar for comparison. Taken back in July 2020. Mike

Hi Callum, thanks for your post. Pal 13 is certainly tricky to locate/observe. Mike

How strange that we should be targeting Arp 86. Mike

Hi Martin, I looked at these in August but never got round to reading up about them. Wonderful area to explore and thanks for the info. Mike

I actually collimate my Dob every time I use it. I set it up, let it cool, check collimation and then observe. On a long session it can be necessary to collimate again as the mirror cools down. Mike

Here is my second Arp from last night. Arp 182 is the pair of galaxies NGC 7674 and its companion 7674A. You get a lot for your money with this Arp because it is also part of the compact group – Hickson 96. NGC 7674 is SA(r)bc pec and its companion is a tight spiral Sa. 7674 is also Sy2 (seyfert 2) – meaning it has very active nucleus (very bright nucleus and a bright source of electromagnetic radiation). Sy 2 galaxies have the nucleus obscured by dust. Amazingly so 7674 has two gigantic black holes about 1 lyr apart suggesting a merger of two galaxies in the past. I was hoping I might pick up the two beautiful plumes that curve away either side of the companion. HCG 96 includes the Arp pair, the little galaxy below and to the left and further to the left NGC 7675 (elliptical). My shot also includes LEDA (PGC) 21460, another Sy2 galaxy. – mag 17?. By the way Arp 182 is also VV 343. Some of the other fuzzy spots are probably galaxies. Mike