11th / 12th May 2012 - Galaxies Around The Great Bear

[Double Kick Drum]

After a three week hiatus, I finally managed to get the scope out for some more galaxy work.

I started with another good look at NGC 4631, the Whale galaxy in Canes Venatici. This is quite bright, elongated and it appeared to me asymetrical in shape. One end seemed thicker than the other.

Over the border and near to 11 Comae Berenices, I struggled to find NGC 4293 which despite its reasonable surface brightness took time to come through next to a magnitude 11 star on the end of a chain.

I moved across to find M85 was bright and directly visible but also noticed that I could just make out NGC 4394. My eyes had truly adapted to the dark and I found it easier to make out than NGC 4293.

Moving into Ursa Major, my next new find was the quite bright NGC 3675 nearby to 56 Ursae Majoris.

A few degrees North of this, I found M109 quite easy to see, now I know what I am looking for. Close by is NGC 3953 which looked similar if only slightly inferior. Also close by is NGC 4102, a much smaller and more compact galaxy which I found quite easy given it is magnitude 11.1.

Another new find was NGC 4125 in Draco, close to the Ursa Major border. This was circular and clearly visible with averted vision, next to a 10th magnitude star.

A little farther South, back in Ursa Major were another galactic pair of NGC 4036 and the more difficult NGC 4041, which was close to my limit at magnitude 11.3.

Three more galaxies I managed to observe were NGC 3998, NGC 3982 and NGC 3898 all in close proximity to 66 Ursae Majoris. NGC 3998 was the brightest of these and appeared as a hazy star. Similar but slightly feinter was NGC 3982. NGC 3898 was dimmer still but larger than the other two.

I rounded the night off with M101. I had only ever seen it with binoculars before but with it very high in a decent sky, I could make out a very large circular haze. I get the impression that I may well have looked straight through this one in the past given the size of its nucleus. With time it became very obvious indeed.

That's 11 new galaxies and the Herschel list goes into three figures. Let's see what tomorrow night brings.

__________________________________________________ ______

Observing Session: Friday/Saturday 11th/12th May 2012, 22:20 hrs to 02:00 hrs BST

VLM at Zenith: 5.2 to 5.3

New - Revisited - Failed

[andrew63]

Thats a nice haul - i'm still having difficulty with M101... But as with most things, once 'seen' you know what to expect.

andrew

[Mark at Beaufort]

Yes a nice collection of galaxies. There are so many DSOs around Ursa Major.

When you viewed the Whale galaxy did you have a go at the Hockey Stick (NGC 4656) which is in the same FOV?

Let us hope for another clear sky tonight

Mark

[Double Kick Drum]

Thats a nice haul - i'm still having difficulty with M101... But as with most things, once 'seen' you know what to expect.

andrew

Elusive best sums it up.

Thankfully the skies over my garden are quite good. I do wonder after last night how many others have seen it without realising.

When I saw it in binoculars in better skies on the South coast, it appeared smaller (obviously due to less magnification) and more pronounced against the background sky.

Last night's viewing was subtle but with time definitely stood out. It was an object I didn't want to leave as I wander when I will next see it.

[Double Kick Drum]

Yes a nice collection of galaxies. There are so many DSOs around Ursa Major.

When you viewed the Whale galaxy did you have a go at the Hockey Stick (NGC 4656) which is in the same FOV?

Let us hope for another clear sky tonight

Mark

Interesting question to answer. I have tried but NGC 4656 proved too dim. However I could detect the bright element inset within the galaxy. NGC 4657 which is a condensed galaxy interacting with NGC 4656. This has a much more favourable surface brightness.

Definitely something I need to go back to.

[rory]

wooo,hooo ,its nice to see the report forum come alive once more. dkd, another great haul of galaxies ,and no red light failures !

i had a brief crack at m101 as my last object before packing up,no joy for several reasons.

fingers crossed for another fruitful evening/morning .

[Mike73]

Nice work DKD.

[David Smith]

Posted at 03:18. The mark of a great session. No doubt too excited to go to bed, just want to tell everyone about it!

[Double Kick Drum]

Posted at 03:18. The mark of a great session. No doubt too excited to go to bed, just want to tell everyone about it!

It must have been, I edited it five minutes later too.

I guess it had been a while, and I got excited.

[cotterless45]

Wow! Good selection.M101 can be difficult ,as you can see staright through it at higher mags.

At best we've seen it by eye, itis a vast object. Glad you caught the Whale. These galaxies in Canes venatici are easytofind and well worth finding, nice.

Nick.

[Double Kick Drum]

Wow! Good selection.M101 can be difficult ,as you can see staright through it at higher mags.

At best we've seen it by eye, itis a vast object. Glad you caught the Whale. These galaxies in Canes venatici are easytofind and well worth finding, nice.

Nick.

M101 did just about show up in the 25mm eyepiece but I found the contrast better when I went up (or down) to the 15mm eyepiece without magnifying the galaxy too much (ie. 42x).