Some Galaxies After 3.25am

[cloudsweeper]

Looked out - clear sky, couldn't resist.  Set up the 10" Dob (lives in shed, nice and cool).

For starters (like lots of gazers, I'm sure) - M42 - good shape, subtle differences in shade, better contrast with the UHC filter, a little better again with the OIII, but no difference at all with the Neodymium.

Next, Cor Caroli (Alpha CVn) - lovely binary - mismatched, but both stars bright, good clear split at x64.

Then I aimed at Chara (Beta CVn) - recognised 9 CVn as part of a triangle - on to Chara itself - short hop to NGC 4490, the Cocoon Galaxy (barred spiral) - a faint, elongated wisp at x64, but thrilling to spot.  (No sign of the nearby fainter NGC 4485 with which it interacts.)  The Cocoon was clearer at x91, less so above, also at x42 (larger exit pupil).

Next target, M94, spiral galaxy, also CVn.  An easy target, forming a triangle with two bright stars.  It was smaller, rounder, clearer, brighter than the Cocoon, with the core very clear indeed at x64, bigger and clearer going in stages up to x159.  Dropping to x35, it was simply star-like.

Finished at 5.15am after a great session.  It's always a pleasure to succeed with fuzzies, more so when it's achieved without GoTo I suppose!

Doug.

 

Edited November 8, 2019 by cloudsweeper

[Saganite]

Very nice session Doug.

Transparency here was/is poor, but a quick binocular session is better than nothing.

[Stu]

Commitment to the cause as always Doug, much respect to you! Some nice targets there. I only managed a quick look at Vesta, M42 and M45 in the 72mm, too tired for anything more

[Knighty2112]

Nice work Doug. Always nice to see fuzzies in the EP. Must be nearly 2 weeks since i had a brief spell at the eyepiece, and even then didn’t get to see much ‘cos clouds were rolling in again. Hoping for some clear skies at the weekend fingers crossed.

[chiltonstar]

Well done Doug, very clear here, although judging by the view of M42, the transparency wasn't good enough to make it worth while looking for fuzzies. The E and F stars of the Trapezium were visible though, which made it worthwhile and worth battling the hard frost after the rain which left the driveway "glacial".

I had a lovely view of a near-bolide though at about 23:30 which travelled from o/head to NE and ended with a "head" like a cotton bud and a trail that stayed for about 5 secs. Not as bright as some, but spectacular.

Chris

[Littleguy80]

Your effort was once again rewarded with a nice session, Doug. We had some clear skies earlier In Norfolk earlier on. A quick look at M45 showed transparency was quite poor. I took a look at M38 and then tried for C/2017 T2 Panstarrs. No luck. Went onto Vesta, Uranus and then another asteroid called Metis. Another shot at the Comet. Sky looked better but still nothing conclusive. Definite haze in the right area but nothing that felt like an observation. Nice to get the dob out again!

[cloudsweeper]

Thanks everyone!  Yes, it was a buzz, especially bagging that faint, elongated patch (Cocoon Glx).  Thinking about it, once in the right region, the 100deg Myriad is great for spotting such objects - wide field, and exit pupil of 4mm (not so large that contrast is poor).

Still on a high now!

Doug.

[domstar]

Great. That's dedication for you. It's hard to beat the wonder of a galaxy.