Observing Report- Fornax Cluster + a few other galaxies

[SAB]

Had a rare clear night on Sunday, and with the moon not rising until 2:30am I took the chance to hunt some galaxies.

Spent an hour and a half in the Fornax cluster observing each GX individually, then moved on to a few nice groups. Scope used was the 12" dob with Vixen LVW eyepieces.

Seeing was pretty atrocious, transparency was alright.

Scope: 12" F/4.6 dob

Time: 10:30pm - 2:30am

Seeing: 3/10

Transparency: 4/5

FORNAX CLUSTER

NGC 1399

Fornax, Size= 3.2x3.1', Mag V= 9.6, SB= 12.0

Largest and brightest of group. Round, nearly stellar core at 283x, faint 13th mag star at NE edge just O.3' from core.

NGC 1404

Fornax, Size= 2.5x2.3', Mag V= 10.0, SB= 11.7

Second brightest member of group. At 283, a stellaring was seen in the core, galaxy slightly elongated N-S, with a mag 12 star at SE edge.

NGC 1387

Fornax, Size= 2.4x2.2', Mag V= 10.7, SB= 13.3

283x - small, round with a condensed core.

NGC 1379

Fornax, Size= 2.0x1.9', Mag V= 10.9, SB= 12.3

283x - round, nearly stellar core, smaller and more diffuse than NGC 1387.

NGC 1381

Fornax, Size= 2.9x0.8', Mag V= 11.5, SB= 12.3

A nice spindle at 283x, oriented NW-SE. Stellar core.

NGC 1374

Fornax, Size= 1.8x1.8', Mag V= 11.1, SB= 12.2

283x - Small, Round with a stellar core. Forms part of trio with 1375 and 1373.

NGC 1374

Fornax, Size= 1.9x0.6', Mag V= 12.4, SB= 12.1

Smaller and fainter than 1374, slightly elongated E-W with a stellaring in the core intermittently visible at 283x.

NGC 1373

Fornax, Size= 70x67", Mag V= 13.26, SB= 14.3

283x - Tiny, faint, round with a condensed core.

NGC 1382

Fornax, Size= 68x65", Mag V= 12.9, SB= 12.9

Faint, small and round at 283x, forms a right angle triangle with a pair of 14th mag stars to the north.

NGC 1380

Fornax, Size= 4.9x1.9', Mag V= 9.93, SB= 13.3

Large, bright and elongated N/S at 283x. Condensed core. A faint star lies at western edge.

NGC 1380a

Fornax, Size= 156x33", Mag V= 12.4, SB= 13.4

A small, faint, diffuse spindle at 283x.

IC 335

Fornax, Size= 108x34", Mag B= 12.9, SB= 12.7

A lovely little spindle at 283x with a relatively high Sfc brightness. Southern edge slightly better defined than the northern edge, bright core region with fainter extensions. Hints of stellaring in core. Located north of the main complex.

NGC 1389

Fornax, Size= 2.1x1.4', Mag V= 11.5, SB= 12.4

Bright, condensed core, slightly elongated NE/SW. A mag 10 star lies 3' north.

NGC 1386

Fornax, Size= 3.1x1.5', Mag V= 11.23, SB= 14.4

Bright, stellar core, small, round. Two faint mag 14 stars lie 2' NW of galaxy. Lies south of main complex.

NGC 1427

Fornax, Size= 2.8x2.0', Mag V= 10.86, SB= 12.6

Stellar core, Sfc brighness increases towards core with a faint outer haze. Elongated E-W. 1427 may not be a true cluster member as it exhibits a smaller redshift and recessional velocity in relation to the other galaxies.

NGC 1428

Fornax, Size= 1.8x0.8', Mag B= 13.74, SB= 13.9

Small, faint, elongated NW/SE with a stellaring in the core visible. A faint star marks the western end. Located well NE of the main complex.

MCG-06-09-008

Fornax, Size= 61x57", Mag B= 14.8, SB= 14.5

Located on the hypotenuse of a right angle triangle bound by NGC 1381/1387/1379. At 283x, Extremely faint, very small, round, took lots of perseverance to spot.

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ESO 490-41

Canis Major, Size= 2.9x1.1', Mag B= 13.45, SB= 14.5

Faint, small elongated glow at 176x. Better view at 283x.

MCG -05-15-008

Canis Major, Size= 3.0x0.5', Mag B= 13.33, SB= 13.5

Very faint, narrow streak of light at 176x. Better view at higher power using 283x, with a slight brightening of the core visible. A mag ~10 star lies to the SE.

NGC 2292

Canis Major, Size= 4.0x3.5', Mag V= 11.83, SB= 14.4

Part of an interacting system with NGC 2293. The 2292 component appeared very faint and much smaller than 2293 at 283x.

NGC 2293

Canis Major, Size= 4.0x3.2', Mag V= 11.2, SB= 14.6

Large and relatively bright at 283x, with a bright condensed core. Round. Forms an interacting system with 2292.

While observing this galaxy, I was stunned to discover than a couple of the field stars I've seen have magnitudes of 16.3 and 16.5 according to Wikisky! I've attached an image with the stars in question. I'm 100% sure I spotted these stars, so I'm quite stumped here. Anyone got any comments regarding these? Possible that these values are errors?

NGC 2295

Canis Major, Size= 1.5x0.4', Mag B= 13.56, SB= 12.8

Somewhat faint at 283x, an NE-SW elongated low Sfc brightness patch of haze wedged between two mag 13 stars. Located 4' W of NGC 2292/3.

NGC 1721

Eridanus, Size= 2.2x1.1', Mag V= 12.3, SB= 13.7

283x, Condensed core, slightly elongated NW/SE. Forms part of a close trio with NGC 1725/1728. A Mag 15 star was seen 1' NE of core.

NGC 1725

Eridanus, Size= 1.9x1.2', Mag V= 12.3, SB= 13.6

More diffuse than 1721, round, faintest of 3 with 1721/1728.

NGC 1728

Eridanus, Size= 2.0x0.7', Mag V= 12.9, SB= 13.1

Elongated N-S at 283x, brightest of 3 with 1721/1725, which is odd as it has the lowest V mag, however the SB is higher.

NGC 1723

Eridanus, Size= 3.7x2.3', Mag V= 11.7, SB= 14.6

A faint round glow at 283x. Located between a 10th mag star 2' N, and a 11th mag star 1.3' S. Another 10th mag star lies 3' east.

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Now I had a crack at the rich galaxy cluster Abell 754 in Hydra, however the member galaxies are extremely faint and only the central elliptical was visible.

ABELL 754

2MASX J09083238-0937470

Hydra, Mag B= 14.3

Took lots of perserverance to spot this giant elliptical at the core of Abell 754. Very faint, small at 283x. The galaxy is located 750 million light years away. Easy to find with several mag 11-14 stars in the area which are usefull for orientation.

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I've attached a pic of the faint stars I've seen near NGC 2293 - anyone got any comments about this?

[jarbi]

What a nice report there, and you have good eyes as I see ! How long did it take to go through this impressive amount of objects ?

I cannot see this area from here unfortunately... Maybe when I go to south France..

cheers,

Janos