Galaxy hunt

[Dob]

Hi all, this is my first observing report here. The observation was made on night 28-29. of December 2013., with my 8"  "little 8"  Dob.

Until then i've never done any systematic observations, but for that particular night i've prepared a list of objects to be seen. There were some 20 M's and NGC's combined, but when i arrived to my observing site (a countryside house, not much LP) i realized that  i have forgotten a list of objects at home.   Alright, not the first time it happens to me, i always forget something. So i had to improvise.

I' ve started with M31 and its surrounding, haven't observed them in a while. M31 stretches through the whole field of view of the 17mm Hyperion, but not much of a details (like dark dust lanes etc...)

Cassiopeia

NGC185, galaxy, mag. 9.2.

Averted vision almost not needed. Nice view in 2" 10.5mm Hyperion, bright center and surrounding disk can be seen.

NGC278, galaxy, mag. 10.9. 

Sweet little galaxy. In 32mm SPL appears stellar like, almost like a planetary nebula. Small and unusually bright (for a galaxy, that is). Can be seen with a direct vision, averted vision doesn't show much. I've double checked whether was it a galaxy or a planetary nebula.

NGC281 Pacman nebula,

Nothing, didnt see.

IC10 mag. 10.3 galaxy,

Nothing, didnt see.

Big Dipper, Ursa Major

Well, this is where the systematic "thing" starts. All the suddenly it came to my mind that there are many galaxies in and around Big Dipper, so why not give it a try.

M81 and M82 galaxies

Until then, i have never seen them. Shame on me, being into amateur astronomy for 3 years and not seeing on of the most beautiful views of the universe.

Stunningly beautiful sight indeed. M81 appears like a smaller version of Andromeda, bright center and surrounding disc can be seen. In M82 i could see the dark areas within the galaxy structure. 10.5mm 2" Hyperion shows them the best, almost photo quality. I came to the conclusion that our view of M81 and M82 might be the same as the view of Milky Way and Andromeda Galaxy from M81 or M82, The galaxies can also be seen in an 9x50 finder, so i have used them as an "orientation mark" when starhopping for NGC galaxies around them.

NGC3077, galaxy, mag 9.9, right above M81. Averted vision is needed. Appears smaller than M81. 17mm Hyperion is very good on this one. Bright center can be seen, for the moments surrounding disk too. Center appears somewhat irregular.

NGC2976 mag 10.2 galaxy, right of M81. Seems to have an interesting shape, similar to M104 Sombrero. Can't see the center. There is a small star on the lower edge of the galaxy, and appears as if it is supernova within the galaxy. An interesting sight.

NGC2985 mag 10.5. galaxy, it appeared to me that that it has the "follower" (dwarf galaxy or something like that), but i came to the conclusion that the "follower" must have been a star from our own galaxy. Under this galaxy there are two mag.12 galaxies, but i'm not sure whether i see them or not.

NGC3147 mag 10.7. galaxy, a bit harder to find, Stellarium confuses. Averted vision is needed, much fainter the the previous galaxies. It appears as if it is face-on oriented towards our galaxy.

NGC2787 mag 10.8 galaxy, above M81&82, nothing special about this one.

IC2547 mag 10.6. galaxy, nothing, didnt see.

NGC4236 mag 9.7 galaxy, nothing, didnt see.

NGC4125 mag 9.8 galaxy, nothing special, bright center and a faint disc.

NGC4036 mag 10.6 i NGC4041 mag 11.1., both galaxies fit into the field of view of 17mm Hyperion. There is a slight difference in brightness between two galaxies.

NGC4036 seems to be edge-on oriented, while in NGC4041 bright center is visible, not much of a disc.

NGC3945 mag 10.6, galaxy, nearby the latter, it appeared to me like M51 galaxy. Cant say much of a detail. Actually a double-barred galaxy,

NGC4605 mag 11. galaxy, edge on oriented

That was it for the night. There are plenty of galaxies yet to be seen around the Big Dipper. Unfortunately since that night of 28.-29. of December, i had no opportunity for continuing my galaxy hunt. Whether was it bad weather, or other obligations that prevented me from enjoying under night sky,

Cheers, Dob.

[cotterless45]

Lovely report and some beautiful galaxies there. Glad to hear another fan of Hyperions at f6.

Such a change to have a observing report, even from last year !

Hope that you 've revisited and spotted the supernova in M82. There are a huge amount of galaxies in the bowl of U Ma, at the moment it's very difficult to see anything except clouds here.

My favourite area is Canes Venatici, under the tail of UMa and down to Coma Bernices. Hoping for clear skies,

Nick.

[rory]

Smashing report dob . I remember letting my son who was about 13 at the time , hunt for m81/82 for me as I was not having any luck and I went in to get a brew. I came back out to hear my son wowing and gasping . Very proud of himself as he tells me he's found them .

I put my eye to the scope and have to say , what a stunning pair of galaxies , so bright and obvious. Two of my favourite messiers for sure.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very nice report. Great list of objects found.

[andrew63]

Thanks for posting - you had a few fruitful nights over the Christmas period.  

As Nick has said, if possible try to see the supernova in M82 -  it's bright for another week and sure to be memorable.

andrew

[Dob]

As Nick has said, if possible try to see the supernova in M82 -  it's bright for another week and sure to be memorable.

andrew

I hope so, weather forecast for my area doesn't look very promising. That would be my 2nd supernova, the first one was really hard to see, mag 13 in M95 under heavy LP from half Moon-a.k.a. The Terminator.

[Astro Imp]

Great report Dob, I saw M81/82 for the first time a few weeks ago under not very transparent skies, must give it another go when these pesky clouds relent.

Good luck.

[Special K]

Excellent report and look forward to more! That's a nice comprehensive list of targets and findings. I also have a hard time with the Pacman Nebula so might give up with my scope from the backyard. Perhaps a really dark location is the trick with this one. NGC3077 is an interesting one and I also had to use averted vision to see anything.

Interesting idea of what we must look like from M81 or M82.

[Dob]

Pacman requires nebula filter, and a dark sky too. I didn't use UHC on that occasion, and LP was not very favorable too. I might as well get my self an airgun and start shooting that pesky street lamps.

[AlexB67]

A lovely bag of goodies, sounds like a good time that seems like weeks now with the rain here.  Lots of nice stuff around the big dipper.  Amongst my favs probably the whirlpool, and the lovely pair of M97 and the surfboard galaxy  M108 in the same view.