Galaxies in the mane of Leo

[WaveSoarer]

Inspired by the report of Jonathan (Bodkin) from the 9th of March (http://stargazerslounge.com/topic/210431-galaxy-groups-in-leo/?hl=%2Bngc+%2B3190) I had an attempt at viewing the galaxies NGC 3193, NGC 3189, NGC 3190, NGC 3185 and NGC 3187, which are all nestled in a neat little cluster in the man of Leo roughly half way on the line between Adhafera and Algieba. They are just below the stars HIP 40444 and HIP 50364, which I found easy to locate in the finder scope. I then used my 15 mm EP to have a view with little expectation of seeing anything. Much to my surprise the brighter galaxies of the set were fairly obvious although no detail could be seen. NGC 3193 was a tight fuzzy ball next to a companion star, which marked it out very neatly. The edge on NGC 3190 was a dim fuzzy line and fairly reconisable. NGC 3187 was just dimly in view as a bearly discernable patch of light and yielded no real detail. The other galaxies were a bit beyond me but perhaps going to a higher power (10 mm EP) would have improved the contrast. Still very happy with this and thanks to Jonathan for the heads up on these.

[mdstuart]

Well done. I cannot spot that NGC 3187 so you must have a good sky!

That is a lovely group of galaxies..

Try NGC 3681/84/86 and 91 near the back of Leo.. They are also a rewarding find.. 

MArk

[WaveSoarer]

Thanks Mark. I'll go look for these the next time I get a chance. Our skies are quite dark to the south though there is more LP in other directions - especially to the North towards Didcot, Abingdon and Oxford. The west has the Harwell lab which has avery well lit car park - must try to talk to people about this especially as the Euroean Space Agency will soon be setting up shop there. I really enjoy viewing galaxies as they are full of surprises and unexpected challenges.

[Paul73]

This "Inspiration" is infectious!

This little bevy of lovelies is now firmly on the list. With no local Messier, I hadn't explored this part of Leo.

It Took me a few minutes to find them on Stellarium as I have always thought that the pointy end was the lion's head. I am, as we speak, scanning my previous posts on this part of the sky really hoping that I haven't referenced Leo's nose as a star hopping start point..........

Paul

[Bodkin]

I have just twigged that this grouping is Hickson Compact Galaxy Group #44.  I think I will have to track down some more Hickson Groups now.

[WaveSoarer]

I also did some imaging a couple of nights later. The results were better than I expected. The final image is composed of 26 subs of 2 min duration and I've cropped it slightly. I've also labelled the galaxies.

[Paul73]

Got them! Thanks for the tip guys?

Thursday night gave a clear hour, seeing was good, M44 a comfortable naked eye object. There was a bit of moon pollution about but nothing too obtrusive.

Limbered up on the Leo triplet before moving on to the M95/96/105 group. Not quite as asthetically pleasing as the triplet, but still a nice sight in, just about, one field of view. I took a closer look at M105 and was surprised to see a close neighbours emerging as I looked (NGC 3384). A bit more magnification improved the contrast enough to bag (just) 3389 to complete the group.

Inspired by my success and remembering this thread, I had a crack at this group in Leo's mane. A nice easy star hop to the right bit of sky. To say that they jumped out of the eyepiece would be an exaggeration. They were small, faint and took a bit of work but definitely there and demanding a rematch on a moonless night!

That was it for the night. A surprise hour of clear sky grabbed with both hands and made doubly good by seeing galaxies that I thought would be beyond my sky/scope/eye ball combination.

For all it's frustrations, this hobby can sometimes be really rewarding.

Paul