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A galaxy fest in Virgo


AlexB67

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I sure can't wait to star focussing on this little area as soon as skies are clear and moon not in the way.  Yesterday and day before I set the alarm clock only to be welcomed by clouds after moonset, but this area is now staring to move in a good position and will come to me soon for the first time.

This has to be a galaxy heaven.

I love those faint fuzzies, even If often there is not much detail to see at times, 2 or 3 galaxies in view in a juxtaposition of stars is an artwork. There is something about those faint galaxies that makes them very attractive even under my LP skies, in spite of that,  a lot of galaxies are now in good reach for decent viewing when conditions allow in the 10 inch at home. 

My new beloved 28mm Maxvision is very good at doing the 2 or 3 galaxies in one view thing that I adore so much  :smiley: On a tangent, I can highly recommend  the owl M97 and M108 if you have around 1.5 degrees FOV to play with and get up at the right time, a marriage made in heaven for a 10 inch Dob at around 1200mm focal length and a 28mm eyepiece.

Any favourites you can recommend in this area throw them in :smiley:

post-30537-0-42422400-1389726783_thumb.j

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8 :eek:  At home that could be a stretch, at least I find at my modest skill levels anyway.  Drive out a few miles a lot more is possible to see already I find, I've not yet tried the 28mm under good skies yet though, can't wait for that, but this eyepiece has shown its worth already I can say that :smiley:

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I'll see when I get to  this area, it is an interesting benchmark to see how I far I can go at this stage Michael.

Personally I find eyeing multiple galaxies tricky at times to see them simultaneously. When I hop around in the same FOV using averted vision best I can, one or two will pop into view, but the other one goes when looking at more near the edges at opposite sides, does that count in your record of 8 as one viewing ?

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I'll see if I can rise to it and bag a few and do a report when the time comes :smiley: . If I only get a lot less I know I must be really bad , or the numerous lamp posts living in the suburbs excuse will be at the ready :0) 

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Thanks Michael, indeed it is not a competition and feel very much that way. I don't even count how many things I observed of the top of my head.  I know I am approaching 70 in the Messier catalogue, I don't even know the Caldwell count without adding them up in my notes, some I entered initially with their NGC entry. That's is since I stared in May, most of that was done with the 5 inch so I am happy with my progress. No doubt it could have been more if I took the race through the catalogue approach that I wouldn't enjoy anyway.

The more I observe these day the less number of objects I go through with a bit  more equipment that I own now, often testing magnifications and the eyepieces I have so far.  Only recently did  I spend most of one session just observing M97 and M108 for several hours, all the mags, filter and without, see what I can tease out of it.  I do the accounting afterwards to see how predictions compare with my calcs I like to play with, look at other reports and sketches to compare, and so on.

Another night it may just be Jupiter for a whole  session. These days that is how I like to do most of my observing. When a new bit of sky comes along I always like to do a survey of  finding a handful of new ones, and then concentrate on them one by one, so it is slower I am getting these days, but I am getting more out of it. :smiley:

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Thanks for the markarian chain, I had never heard of it before and had to look it up, looks like a real treat. :smiley:

Ogling the mags and sizes a lot of these are possible from home I feel on a good night. I've seen galaxies at that listed mag quite easily just checking the surface brightness of a couple of them.

This should wet the appetite.

http://www.deepskywatch.com/Astrosketches/markarian-virgo-cluster-sketch.html

:smiley:

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Thanks for the markarian chain, I had never heard of it before and had to look it up, looks like a real treat. :smiley:

Ogling the mags and sizes a lot of these are possible from home I feel on a good night. I've seen galaxies at that listed mag quite easily just checking the surface brightness of a couple of them.

This should wet the appetite.

http://www.deepskywatch.com/Astrosketches/markarian-virgo-cluster-sketch.html

:smiley:

Thanks for the link. I've seen some fine images on here of this area, but a sketch gives a better impression. I will have a look at this field on one of those transparent nights - perhaps 6 might be possible in a small telescope.

andrew

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+1 Markarian's Chain.

Had only one session of this last year and ready to have another go as soon as I can. "The Eyes" [iC4435 and IC4438] are supposed to be a great sight but I struggled to see them last year. I'm more interested in Galaxies this year, so ready for another shot at it.

At a recent dark site session, I only had the 10x50's but scanned the area by sweeping from Denebola to Vindemiatrix. Might have been my expectant eyes, but I thought I could detect some mottling in the background. I wasn't steady enough to see a galaxy for sure and a telescope is definitely required in my opinion. However, it was nice just knowing I was getting some light from this rich area of sky and where that light is coming from is fantastic.

By the way, while you're in this neighborhood, and if you have bins handy, check out Melotte 111 in Coma B. This is a nice, very wide cluster!

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Good luck working out which blob is which. An amazing view. But, First contact confused the hell out of me. I'm looking forward to the rematch once the moon and the clouds are out of the way.

Here is the detailed map!!!!

http://www.atlasoftheuniverse.com/galgrps/wvir.gif

I've got pretty much the same kit as you so am looking forward to comparing notes (in a non competitive way of course).

Paul

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Nice chart! Gets even more confusing to find your way with the inverted views in a newt, plus a smattering of dim stars to trick the eye. Venturing into this area is certainly a safari!

I shall wear my safari hat - Humane big game hunting!

Paul

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This was my galaxy fest in Coma and Virgo last Aprilpost-6974-0-54445100-1389819447_thumb.jp

Out of 121 searches I managed 75 . The few with double ticks or more are worth a visit. I've eased back on these mega sessions, preferring just to go to my lists of reasonably achievable targets,Nick.

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Alex - sorry for throwing question into your thread - I hope that it isn't out of place/order.

Nick

With such a profusion of objects. How on earth do you work out which fuzzy blob is which? Any tips gratefully received.

I had a go and got thoroughly confused. I now have a wider FOV eyepiece which I am hoping will help and am researching charts with the right level of detail (Moonshane advice from a related thread - 28mm eyepiece arrived today and is yet to see first light).

Paul

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