Not a Super Nova Discovery.....

[Paul73]

Hi Folks

I’m enjoying a warm up inside after not quite discovering a new super nova!

I really really hate Sky Safari right now.?????

What a great night. Clear Sky, no work tomorrow and a 16” Dob! Time for some galaxy action. Starting low, with the Spindle Galaxy (NGC 3115) at about 30° above the horizon. If you haven’t hunted out this little gem, it is a cracker. Bright core with a slender long streak. Really nice at 180x.

Next up was NGC 2974. Unremarkable sums it up. Some nice little doubles and asterisms during the star hop kept me happy. Then I noticed a bright star (mag 10 ish) embedded in the outer halo. This made me wonder if my navigation was off and I had the wrong galaxy; which is not uncommon in this part of the sky. There was no bright star shown in that postion on Sky Safari. A mag 12.3 neighbouring star, but no bright star embedded in the galaxy. I check and double check. And then check again. Excitement starting to rise. Could I have discovered a new Super Nova?? At mag 10. Unlikely. But, this was an unremarkable little galaxy that no one in their right mind would be studying. A quick check on the SN Bulletin board showed nothing..............However, stock images of NGC297#£&*ing4 showed a brilliant mag 10 ish beacon shining out from the little galaxy’s halo, exactly matching my observation. Damn......

My rather dark marked up screenshot:

The, rather brighter, image off the inter Web:

:

Back out now. The next one might be the one!

Paul

 

 

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Paul73 said:

Some nice little doubles and asterisms during the star hop kept me happy

Exactly !!!!

 

[Size9Hex]

Great report. I can relate to it with a galaxy session last year during which I got pretty excited at a possible discovery! In case you’ve not spotted it already, there’s a DSS viewer within Sky Safari itself that’s useful for this - I use it a lot for comfirming marginal observations in general too. Really useful feature.

[Paul73]

Too complete the report.

After the disappointment of the Non Super Nova, I braved the cold again. This time in search of the Antenna galaxies. The Sky seemed to have turned a bit milky so despite diligent star hopping. No luck. I consoled myself with the Sombrero galaxy (M104), which was a bit higher and showing wonderfully. Almost 3D with its bulging core and bright mottled halo.

A quick showpiece glob (M13) was splendid, but haze and a rising moon robed it of a bit of it’s sparkle. The cold was really beginning to bite. So pack up and bed by 4am. I’ll be feeling that later.

Paul

[Paul73]

10 minutes ago, Size9Hex said:

In case you’ve not spotted it already, there’s a DSS viewer within Sky Safari itself that’s useful for this - I use it a lot for comfirming marginal observations in general too. Really useful feature.

I didn’t know that. Thanks.

That is useful.

Paul

[Davesellars]

Aargh.  That’s annoying.  I use Sky Safari and found it to be very accurate generally.  I wonder how that star didn’t get included in the catalog.

[Paul73]

I guess that, with that much data, the odd error is inevitable. They are generally bang on.

Paul

[Guest]

Just wondering,  has anyone on SGL ever had an official claim to a nova.  Does anyone know somebody first hand who has spotted a new one ?