Hunting Galaxies in Leo

[David Smith]

Had a couple of good clear nights over the last few days which, quite remarkably, have coincided with some time off work! Inspired by an article in Sky at Night magazine I set about looking for galaxies in Leo. I used S&T's Pocket Sky Atlas to draw up a list of targets and then split into two sessions - West and East halves of the Lion.

Session 1 (Monday night / Tuesday morning) - West half, started with M65, M66 & NGC 3628. Followed this up with NGC3596, 3705, 3810 then 3681, 3684 & 3686 which are all in a close group. NGC 3655, 3607, 3608 & 3626 were all picked out. The only object that eluded me was NGC3646. At mag 11.2 it shoud have been observable but alas not so.

Session 2 (Wednesday night / Thursday morning) - East half, started at Rho Leonis and worked my way over to M95 and M96. From here I located M105 and NGC3384. Not on my list but just visible in my ES11 ep was a misty patch close to 3384 which turned out to be NGC 3380 (according to Stellarium). Went on to find NGC 3412, 3367, 3377, 3489, 3370. NGC's 3226 & 3227 make a nice pair of easily visible objects as they are comparatively large and bright (as compared to most of the objects I had seen). NGC's 3190, 3193 & 3185 make an attractive group as they sit in a field with some brightish stars in the lions mane. NGC 3162 was next up and then 2903. These two are a good contrast to each other, 3162 was described in my notes as "a misty patch [of light], possibly irregular in shape" where as 2903 is much larger and brighter with hints of some detail visible. The only object to elude me on the second night was NGC 3507. Searched long and hard for this one, confirmed I had the right field but could not see it. Again, given it's magnitude and size I was expecting to be able to pick this one off.

Two rather cold, very late nights but worth every minute!

[Double Kick Drum]

A great report. Nice to see abit more activity in the observing forums.

I was looking at NGC 3190 and NGC 3193 the other day. they are close to my limit and so couldn't tease out any detail. Nearby NGC 3185 was beyond me.

The group are quite easily found as they are signposted by an asterism between Zeta and Gamma Leonis.

[David Smith]

With all the LP where I am detail is hard to come by as you can never really get properly dark adapted. Having said that the 250mm mirror does a good job of picking out galaxies doen to almost mag 12. Generally I can distiniguish if a galaxy has a bright core or not but not much else unless it is quite a big object.

[cotterless45]

Neat, I use a 10mm Hyperion, this gives x120, enough to blast through light pollution and tease out some detail.

The Messiers are a good starting point, they'll help with sky orientation as where the others live,

Nick.

[David Smith]

I have an 11mm. ES. that is my workhorse at the moment. Puts my Revelation of similar focal length to shame. Have today emailed a dealer in the US ref obtaining more!

[KevUU]

What great sounding couple of nights, thanks for a nice report.

I've just traced around them in my PSA as I read through, can't wait to get a look in this area.

PSA doesn't show it, but my observing guide mentions 2905 as a mag 10 glob within 2903, and says it's resolvable. Did you notice it, or does anyone know if it's achievable?

[David Smith]

I didn't notice it specifically although I did note a "brightening at the southern extreme" as well as a darker area to the north. I may have to revisit now.

[kirkster501]

Excellent and inspiring report. Thanks for sharing!

My Dob scope was made for Leo and Virgo galaxy clusters. Simply fabulous from a clear, dark sky. A dark site makes a colossal, massive, humongous difference....

[crashtestdummy]

i managed about 10 new ones in leo last night but the sky wasnt dark enough to make out most of the others.the leo/coma/virgo section of sky is imense with 500+ galaxies easily viewable by normal sized scopes from dark sites

[David Smith]

Coma / Ursa Major / Virgo are on my to do list, although I have visited the main Virgo group before. Sky is not so clear tonight and the wind is blowing strong so spent the evening looking at PSA and planning my next session with a glass of red .

[mdstuart]

Amazing report. I was also looking at the area and found five new galaxies inc NGC 3507 which you mention. Try for it again..look for three stars in a row in the FOV and then look around the middle one. I can see the glow of the galaxy around the star. This is what makes it hard to spot!

Mark

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[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very nice report. I haven't spotted NGC 3646, but I have found that some mag 11 galaxies are very hard indeed. It is the surface brightness that is the most important factor, I find.

[David Smith]

...look for three stars in a row in the FOV and then look around the middle one. I can see the glow of the galaxy around the star. This is what makes it hard to spot!

Yep, found the three stars but could not see the galaxy. I will definitely try again to see those that I failed to pick up.