Hickson 44 - Snap

[qcdougn]

This isn't a real deep image. But, it's a good target for someone with more time. I took this last season just to see if I could find it.

Doug

[Naz]

Nice one Doug. You certainly found it and captured a faint fuzzy well, what size scope are using?

naz

[lunator]

Doug

interesting pic.

I can see a couple of faint fuzzies

[qcdougn]

Thanks guys... I used a Canon XT camera on my Meade LX-90 (8"). They're actually (4) fuzzies. Here's some info. from the internet.

"Hickson 44 is a cluster of four gravtitaionally bound galaxies that lie relatively nearby. Each of these galaxies shows signs of interaction, such warped disks or a large bright bar. The entire grouping spans 15', small enough to be seen together in the same field of view.

The brighter three members have been seen in 8-inch telescopes, and I suspect that the two brightest, NGC 3190 and NGC 3193, can be glimpsed in a 6-inch. The faintest member may pose a challenge in a 12-inch.

Hickson 44 makes a nice grouping of in my 18-inch f/4.5 at 94x. The brightest member is NGC 3190, cataloged as a 12.1 magnitude an edge-on spiral galaxy that appears as an very elongated haze with bright inner core. This galaxy has a large dust lane on the southwested side, which may be glimpsed with averted vision as an unusllay hard edge on that side. Be sure to try more magnification to bring out the lane.

The next brightest is NGC 3193, a 12th magnitude elliptical galaxy that appears as a round hazy spot near a 10th magnitude star.

More difficult is NGC 3185, a 13th magnitude nearly-face-on barred spiral. The faintest member is the 14th magnitude NGC 3187, a spiral galaxy with a bright bar. "

Doug

[barkis]

I can see 4 Doug. They are pretty faint, but it is good to images of the more challenging objects, after all, they deserve attention too.

Good stuff Doug. I would like to see more of the less glamourous fuzzies. They are challenges to the imager, and the scope.

Ron.