Frozen Fuzzies

[faulksy]

lovely report, keep em coming 😁

[Pixies]

9 hours ago, faulksy said:

lovely report, keep em coming 😁

You asked for it!
Another clear night, so I thought I'd try and finish off any remaining Messier objects in and around Virgo. The transparency wasn't great in the southerly direction tonight. Local light pollution. The galaxies were going to be faint.

M98 - Very faint. Averted vision and dob-wobbling required

M91 - Faint and averted vision needed. It's small core visible.

M59 - Another bright one, visible in direct view.

M60 - Ditto.

M49 - Quite bright considering its location. Getting lower...

M61 - Much fainter, this one. Averted vision required for this low target.

Now for some darker skies nearer the Zenith:

M108 - A long streak with direct vision. Some mottling possibly seen with averted vision.

M109 - Just a faint haze, barely visible with direct vision.

M40 - Bright double star. 

M102 (Spindle Galaxy) - Core bright with direct vision. Wider structure seen with averted vision.

Finished off by checking the state of the Nova in Cassiopeia. It looks the same magnitude as it did last week. While I was in the area, a quick observation of:

M103 - easy in the ST80. Just a small cluster of 3 or 4 stars at x13. Higher magnification showed a triangular patch of fainter stars.

 

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by Pixies