April 7, 2011: Galaxy-hunt in UMa

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Yesterday the sky was reasonably clear, with the occasional wisp of hazy cloud (and a thin crescent moon at the start). I set up the scope at 10:30 and started hunting galaxies (mainly from the Herschel 400 list in UMa).

NGC 2841 was first, as it was listed as mag 10.5 in the Herschel list, 10.1 in Wikipedia. This was indeed an easy one. A bright, compact elongated hazy blob stood out well in the 40mm FOV, and even better in the FOV of the 22mm. It showed a slightly clearer edge on the right-hand side than on the left, which could be caused by a dust lane, but the difference is too small to be sure.

I tried nearby NGC 2587, and seemed to see the faintest hints of an extended, slightly lumpy hazy patch, with a near stellar feature right at the limits of averted vision. It hinted of a low surface brightness, face-on spiral. Though this does match the description in Arp, the observation was so marginal I will have to revisit on a better night before I log it (APERTURE, I NEED MORE APERTURE;)).

NGC 3079 was next, and it was spotted just above a tight trio of stars as a faint elongated blob, appearing nearly vertical in the FOV. The right-hand edge again seemed more distinct than the left. The effect was more striking than in NGC 2841. Hallmark of a side on spiral with dust lane.

NGC 2950 was spotted quite easily, high surface brightness core (near stellar) and some fuzziness around it.

NGC 2880 was harder (the only one not on the Herschel 400). Visible in averted vision only, it popped in and out of sight as a slightly elongated elliptical blob, close to a star

NGC 2768 was easy by comparison. A compact, elliptical, fuzzy patch of high surface brightness. Nearby NGC 2742 was not picked up (try as I might).

NGC 2681 was also easy: a compact, near circular fuzzy patch, which could be mistaken for an unresolved globular cluster. No internal detail was seen (might need better skies and larger scope).

NGC 3184 lies right at the lower end of UMa, and was difficult to pick up to the right of a bright asterism. It appears as a low surface brightness structure with a star superimposed on it, and just below hints of a core. Galaxies this difficult to see are "clearly" face-on spirals.

NGC 3198 lies a bit closer to the "pan". It was visible as a very elongated patch in averted vision only. Near edge-on spiral by appearance.

NGC 3310 was even closer to the pan, near Merak. It easily showed as a compact, near spherical blob. There were some hints of fuzziness beyond. It is a near face-on spiral, but of surprising surface brightness.

I then moved into the pan itself. NGC 3613 showed as a compact fuzzy patch (not very bright, but quite easy), in the middle of the left-hand edge of a trapezium-like asterism (reminiscent of the trapezium in Hercules). A somewhat elongated patch could be seen in averted vision quite easily, more faintly in direct.

Below the trapezium, still in the same FOV lies NGC 3619. This was much more difficult. Using averted vision I could just make out a fuzzy patch, near circular, which moved with the stars as I twiddled the declination of the scope. Very hard, but as I learned later, it is Mag 13, but as I consistently found it in exactly the right spot, and no other fuzzies of similar brightness are near, that must have been it. Second mag 13 galaxy listed, and tenth Herschel 400 object .

As it was now approaching 1 AM, I just had a quick look at Coma, spotting NGC 4494 (always a great sight). I finished of with a look at Saturn in the 22mm. Even at 92x magnification the seeing at low altitude was bad, so I did not bother to get out the Radians for a better look.

Still, a nice end to a successful session: 11 new galaxies, 1 old friend, and one marginal observation. 10 added to the Herschel list isn't bad either. If I get just six more this evening (and the forecasts are good), I will have bagged 100

[Andrew*]

A whole night, only galaxies! I always have to break it up with some objects closer to home! Kudos.

Very nice report. Thanks for sharing.

Andrew

[Nexus 6]

Another very enjoyable read Michael, your not doing bad considering your crying out for more aperture

mag 13 galaxies? must be tricky to pick those out

thanks for posting

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

A whole night, only galaxies! I always have to break it up with some objects closer to home! Kudos.

Very nice report. Thanks for sharing.

Andrew

I did also have a look at Saturn (OK right at the end ). I like to focus on a single area in the sky now and then; it really let's me get to know the sky better. Besides, I am really bitten by the galaxy bug.

[michael.h.f.wilkinson]

Another very enjoyable read Michael, your not doing bad considering your crying out for more aperture

mag 13 galaxies? must be tricky to pick those out

thanks for posting

Mag 13 is very tricky, and only very compact galaxies of that magnitude are within range of the C8, and only then if conditions are good. I find that moving the scope slightly (easiest in dec for me) helps pick out such faint blobs.

Cheers,

Michael