Good session with galaxies and Jupiter mix

[John]

Nice session with my 12" dob tonight.

Jupiter showed lots of belt detail and a lovely GRS transit.

Did some galaxy hunting around Draco / Ursa Minor and netted NGC 6217 in the Little Bear and NGC's 6340, 6643, 6412 and 6503 from the dragons mid section.

As Virgo had got decently high I thought I'd have a crack at Markarian's Chain of galaxies and I was pleased to get 14 of them from my back garden:

M86, M84 plus NGC's 4387, 4388, 4435, 4438, 4402, 4425, 4413 (faint !), 4461, 4458, 4473, 4479 (faint !) and 4477.

At one point in the chain I had 7 of them in the same FoV of the 21mm Ethos, which was nice

Back in to warm up with some red Aussie plonk now !

 

 

 

[alan potts]

Nice report John, you did well from your garden as i know you have often said it has a fair degree of LP. I have a clear sky on the cards for tonight but we will have to see. It was beautifully clear at 3 o'clock but the bed looked warmer than the observatory.

Aussie plonk, you mind Scott don't see that.

Alan

[cotterless45]

Lovely night, glad you made the most of it. Galaxies were a bit of a struggle, some were really bright. Had the 10" Dob and 6" frac out. Very little difference with the fainter stuff. Caught the end of the GRS , then a very fine view of M5,

clear skies !

Nick.

[bomberbaz]

Nice bag there matey, I am going to a dark area tonight so I think I will try and emulate the Markarian haul you got there John. Which, if any gave the best structure ?

[Piero]

Nice report John.

I also have a question about structure. How do the galaxies in the Markarian chain look like? Are they all elliptical with similar shape, orientation, size, brightness or they differ at the eyepiece?

[FenlandPaul]

Great report John.  And a nice challenge on Markarian's Chain for tonight; just need to decide whether to do it from the back garden (easy access to tea, reduced pack-down time but restricted sky due to houses, trees etc) or the allotment outside the village (uniterrupted 240 degree horizon sloping to the south, but have to lug the dob into and out of the car).

[John]

One of the interesting things about the Markarians Chain is that there is quite a bit of variation in the visual size and shape of the galaxies that comprise that group. The image below illustrates that point better than I can describe it I think. All the labelled galaxies were visible last night although 2 were pretty faint and needed a degree of averted vision to get them to pop out. For scale, my 21mm Ethos in my 12" F/5.3 dob gives a 1.3 degree true field which seems to fit the triangle of M84, M86 and NGC 4388, the centrally placed NGC 4387 and the outliers NGC 4402, 4425 and the fainter 4413 into the same field.

Moving along the chain (down and right in my scope, up and left in the image) the pair of NGC 4435 and 4438 known as "The Eyes" are quite bright and can squeeze into the above FoV with the next pair along NGC 4461 and 4458. Of the last 3 on the image, NGC's 4473 and 4477 are reasonably bright but NGC 4479 was quite tough to catch last night.

Folks with larger scopes and darker skies can catch more of course but from the patio just a metre from my french windows and with the usual sort of light pollution that is found in residential areas I'm pleased to get what I can

 

[laudropb]

Very nice report of a very productive session. Clear skies forecast for tonight, so hopefully I can have a look for myself.

[Piero]

Cool Stuff John! really cool story. 

Last time I was out, I had a trip in the area hoping to spot M84 and M86. I didn't see any of them, but with a hint of imagination, I found amazing to think that over there there were so many distant targets that one could just get lost with sufficient aperture and under a reasonable dark sky.

Nice one! Thanks for sharing your observations. 

 

[Mark at Beaufort]

Great observing report John. I love observing the Markarian Chain and hope to be able tonight. I am also hoping to view the Whale and Hockey Stick which you and I viewed together on that wonderful observing night a few years back.

[John]

1 hour ago, Mark at Beaufort said:

Great observing report John. I love observing the Markarian Chain and hope to be able tonight. I am also hoping to view the Whale and Hockey Stick which you and I viewed together on that wonderful observing night a few years back.

I remember that night well and very fondly Mark 

I must have another look at the Whale and the Hockey Stick. My 12" scope at home might be able to see something of what our 6" scopes showed us under the dark Herefordshire skies. I guess the Calf next to the Whale is quite a challenge !.

 

 

[Paul73]

Sounds like a cracking night John.

The Markarian chain has got to be one of the best sights in the night sky! I can never resist a nudge to the left and down a bit to M87 and on to the Siamese Twins. 

Hoping for some nice clear views tonight. And to have a crack at your Ursa Major bowl 9 galaxy challenge.

Paul