Looking for galaxies

[mike.brightmore]

I've been enjoying Mark's (mdstuart) quest for galaxies and thought I would have another go in my light-polluted sky. Apart from the obvious ones like M31 (Andromeda) and its companions (M32 and M110) the strretlights and my eyesight conspire to make it very difficult to observe the fainter galaxies. But I can see M81 and 82 in Ursa Major and the Leo triplet when in season. I usually have to resort to attaching a video type camera to the scope and relaying the image to a TV screen.

Saturday 12 September, before the moon rose, was one of those all too rare clear nights when galaxy spotting was at least a possibility. Ursa Major was too low to look for Bode's Galaxies but Andromeda and company were very clear in binos, scope and camera. Then on to NGC 891 also in Andromeda. I prefer this edge-on Andromeda Galaxy because at about 10 million light years distance it all fits into the FOV and has a conspicuous dust lane along its equator.

Then popped next door - to Pegasus and the elusive Deer Lick and Stephan's clusters of galaxies. The lovely spiral, NGC 7331, was clearly visible on screen and I could just make out some of its smaller companions, though only as the vaguest of little smudges (NGCs 7335, 7336, 7337 and 7340).

Next - the real prize - Stephan's Quintet (NGCs 7319,7318A, 7320, 7317 and 7320C). There was no trace visibly but very definitely there on screen. This is a fascinating group of interacting galaxies but at 200 to 300 million light years away they are really difficult to see (the smudges in the middle of the image).

Only recently have I been able to see anything of the Triangulum Galaxy (M33) in binoculars but never anything through the telescope. It did however show up quite well on the TV screen.

These vast other worlds that we only see directly as fuzzies and smudges are mind-blowing when you start thinking about them in the quiet, peaceful hours - so I took a few quick snapshots just to share them. I was waiting to get a few more but no clear sky since.

[albedo0.39]

Hi Mike - this is impressive ! - an obs report backed up by images... Please don´t do this too often or you will start a trend I cannot follow

Nice report and don´t you think SQ are small ??

[mike.brightmore]

Hi Steve

Stephan's Quintet are small indistinct galaxies. Makes me want to be a proper astrophotographer to get a better look at them. I think images like these help to give a better idea of what to look for and what can be seen when observing. I have done a few others;

http://stargazerslounge.com/observing-reports/86127-24-25-august-planetary-nebulae.html

http://stargazerslounge.com/observing-reports/85959-few-globular-clusters-part-1-a.html

http://stargazerslounge.com/observing-reports/85888-auriga-clusters-smiley-face.html

http://stargazerslounge.com/observing-reports/85585-night-clusters.html

Certainly would welcome any feedback about whether including such images is useful.

[Andrew]

Hi Mike,

It's great to have images with your reports. What sort of video camera are you using? Are the images equivalent to what you can see on the TV are they several images stacked and processed?

[mdstuart]

Glad you are enjoying my galaxy searches. I will be on to Aries soon. I am really enjoying my trip. I now have a new 9mm Orion expanse eyepiece to try out so that will be fun...

I love your images they are much closer to what I see than many of the amazingly detailed longer exposure photos you see.

Regards

Mark from Bristol....with a cold!

[mike.brightmore]

Hi Andrew

I use a Watec 120N video cam. The images posted are stacked 30 second videos (in Registax) but are virtually the same as the immediate TV screen image. I've put some photos of the live TV screen image on this thread and the link it contains to a Picas web album; http://stargazerslounge.com/imaging-sketches-unconventional/79493-remote-tv-images-unconventional.html

Hi Mark - I'll be right behind you