NGC 1502 Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Hi all. The Leo Triplet is of course a much viewed/imaged set ofgalaxies, M65, M66 and NGC 3628. They are all an easy catchvisually from my clubs dark site. But from my back garden, NGC3628 has always eluded me, even with the much easier Messierpair as a guide. I've tried for years to do that.However, taking advantage of a rare clear night, I finally saw allthree in the same 1.5 degree field at 44x with my 10" scope, frommy back yard, at 02.30 hrs on 8th Feb. Viewing at 85x darkenedthe background sky, and I could make out the elongated shapeof the NGC galaxy.Light pollution is a pain, but with a bit of persistance ( well a lotactually ! ) a lot can be seen.So don't give up on astronomy from a town Best regards, Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.h.f.wilkinson Posted February 10, 2011 Share Posted February 10, 2011 Good one! I only managed M65 & M66 yesterday, but not NGC 3628, try as I might. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swamp thing Posted February 11, 2011 Share Posted February 11, 2011 Nice one Ed:hello2:There's something specially fun about bagging galaxies from LP skies.Good hunting and clear skiesSteve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WayBig Posted February 12, 2011 Share Posted February 12, 2011 I've just come in from spotting the two brighter ones...just...the third wasn't visible though from my garden. Still, as meatloaf says, 2 out of 3...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGC 1502 Posted February 12, 2011 Author Share Posted February 12, 2011 ...the third wasn't visible though from my garden.....Hi Chris, yes, exactly what I found on so many occasions.I think that what may have tipped the balance for me on 8th Febwas the fact it was 0230 hrs. All the neighbours were in bed,lights out, much less traffic on the nearby A127, maybe amore transparent sky & no moon.Keep trying Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.h.f.wilkinson Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Two out of three is better than what was possible here these last few nights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollypenrice Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I never saw 3628 from the UK. It is clear here in the big Dob and photographically has a long tidal tail which is one of my imaging ambitions for this spring... I think you did very well to catch it from an imperfect site. Wonderful, the Triplet.Olly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I can only see NGC 3628 after I have had a black out blanket over my head for 20 minutes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiriusB Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I'm another who's yet to conclusively see NGC 3628- so well done Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m_j_lyons Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Congrats - from my suburban home in California I have light pollution on the 6-7 Bortle scale so trying pick out the Leo Triplet from home is all but impossible. I drive 30 minutes to a more secluded spot and was stunned to pick out the triplet - faint, but definitely visible. And I agree - one must not give up hope - they are there waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.h.f.wilkinson Posted February 15, 2011 Share Posted February 15, 2011 Congrats - from my suburban home in California I have light pollution on the 6-7 Bortle scale so trying pick out the Leo Triplet from home is all but impossible. I drive 30 minutes to a more secluded spot and was stunned to pick out the triplet - faint, but definitely visible. And I agree - one must not give up hope - they are there waiting.I should do that more often. I got the triplet in the distant past with my old 6", but don't find time to get the scope to a darker spot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nexus 6 Posted February 23, 2011 Share Posted February 23, 2011 Excellent Ed, bit late in posting this but well done in having 3 dso's in the same fov! Agree with your comment, don't give up because of lp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LukeSkywatcher Posted February 24, 2011 Share Posted February 24, 2011 I've seen 2 of the 3 with my 20X90 bins. Not sure which 2 of the 3 i have seen (the 2 brightest i guess). In my bins they were very definitely galaxies..............but at first i did think maybe one of them was a comet. I can see how Mr. Messier got confused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
omega3 Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 From the discussion, I presume the Triplet is difficult where there is light pollution. I tried last night with my 10" dob from my back garden with the lights of Slough in the same direction about 5 miles away. I presume the Triplet would be difficult from my location. I thought I saw one very small fuzzy patch when I agitated the scope. How dark must the site be in sky magnitude before one can easily see one or more of the galaxies with a 10" dob?Alan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdstuart Posted February 27, 2011 Share Posted February 27, 2011 Well done 3628 is a tough one. If you enjoy galaxy groups...If you can see 3628 then try the Leo pair 3607 and 3608. They are midway between two bright stars. Both are brighter than 3628.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NGC 1502 Posted February 27, 2011 Author Share Posted February 27, 2011 Hi Alan, difficult to say how good your sky needs to be to see allthree. My limiting naked eye mag is about 4.2 approx on a moonlessand transparent night. I had tried very many times to see all threewithout success, until this one occasion at 0230 hrs, which is whatmay have tipped the balance (neighbours all tucked up & lights out,less traffic on nearby main road) The two M galaxies are much lessdifficult, and all three are easy from my clubs dark site.Regards, Ed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdstuart Posted February 28, 2011 Share Posted February 28, 2011 Part of the challenge with light pollution is lining the dob up correctly if there are less stars to star hop.Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluemarkus Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 same here, observed the triplet a couple fo nights in a row now, M66 and M65 are always there below the backfoot star of the lion, but the third one is not always visible, depends on seeing conditions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.h.f.wilkinson Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 I got the triplet last night (along with 27 other galaxies ). Even from the suburbs the third member showed up clearly once Leo was due south (less LP in that direction). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mdstuart Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Michael - 27...I spend 15 minutes on each one to find it draw it and log it. Either you were out for a long time or you spend less time on each one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.h.f.wilkinson Posted March 7, 2011 Share Posted March 7, 2011 Michael - 27...I spend 15 minutes on each one to find it draw it and log it. Either you were out for a long time or you spend less time on each one!I was out a long time (10-11:30 PM, and 1-3:30 am), but did not draw them. At 4 hours observing time, this boils down to 8 minutes per galaxy. However, don't forget in Virgo and Coma you get four or five in a single FOV frequently, so if you spend 16 minutes on observing the four in the FOV you have only spent 4 minutes per galaxy. I did not use goto, so star hopping time is included in the 8 minutes, but every time I was bang on target (big finder scopes rule!). Besides, many of these I had seen and drawn before. I will draw up a fuller report later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollypenrice Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 We had a go for fun last night in the Tak FSQ85. And by Gad we got all three! I was really surprised. The NGC member was right on the limit of my vision and that of our guest astronomer, but again a dark site is everything. It just made a faint streak of dark grey against the blackness.It's good using small apertures to see what you can tease out.The GoTo on the visiting iOptron IEQ45 was very accurate.Olly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael.h.f.wilkinson Posted March 11, 2011 Share Posted March 11, 2011 I got the triplet from a darker location a few nights ago (with the C8, so it is easy to spot), and much more detail was visible. I got M65 and M66 in the 70mm finder, and internal detail stood out in the C8 with the Paragon 40 mm. NGC 3628 showed a slightly sigmoidal shape and hinted of a dust lane. The latter was even clearer in the 22mm Nagler. I even got NGC 3596 and NGC 3593 nearby.Olly: what is the IEQ45 like. I am thinking of saving up for one, so I am interested in your opinion of it. Is it really a lot lighter than the EQ6? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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