Honey in the Beehive

[acey]

The Beehive Cluster M44 "contains" 5 NGC galaxies (distant background objects). I decided to try and hunt them down with my 12" f4.9 dob. Sky brightness was 21.5 mag/sq-arcsecond (limiting mag 6.3), the air clear and frosty.

Finding the Beehive at a dark site is easy: it's a naked-eye object. Through the finder it's a mass of stars: to find the galaxies in it I needed a detailed map. I used "Great Atlas Of The Sky", which gave me a chart large and deep enough to allow star-hopping between individual cluster members. A Baader Hyperion 8-24 zoom was used for homing in, and a 6mm TMB planetary (x250) for viewing the galaxies.

First up was the pair NGC 2624/5, on the western edge of the cluster. I got to the spot pretty quickly but there was nothing to see: I had to wait a while for my eyes to return to full dark adaptation, after having exposed them to my dim red map-reading light. But eventually with averted vision they came into view: two small, round, largely featureless galaxies, with 2624 possibly brightening slightly towards the middle. I rated 2624 (which is mag 13.9) "very difficult" and 2625 (mag 14.3) "extremely difficult". In fact these two would prove the easiest.

Next I tried NGC 2637 (NGC description "eeF") and NGC 2643 ("eF neb* "). No dice, even after letting my eyes adjust for some time. I had the DSS images at my disposal, in the "NGC-IC Photographic Catalogue", so I could see what I was after: two tiny, faint galaxies, nearly stellar. But they were beyond me.

Last up was NGC 2647 (mag 14.1). This time I succeeded, though again I found it "extremely difficult": a fleeting, slightly elongated patch, north-west of two foreground stars.

Not the most exciting objects, then, but a fun challenge. All five were discovered in the 19th century by Albert Marth using a 48-inch reflector. There are non-NGC galaxies in the Beehive too - I guess they're not honey but royal jelly, strictly for big-scope owners.

[msinclairinork]

Very intresting report Acey!

You certainly did set your self a challenge!

Good on ya!

Michael

[brantuk]

Smashing report Acey.

And for any interested Newbies - the Beehive is a fascinating object just using 10x50 binocs.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Very interesting reading. Never tried this myself, but then they should be well beyond my little C8.

[Hypernova]

A good read

I was unaware that there were galaxies visible beyond the Beehive, I suppose they're out of reach of my 8" dob from suburban skies with the brightest member being of 13-14th magnitude!!!