Wild’s Triplet, Arp 248. Image is 30′ x 30′. Courtesy POSS-II.
[Note: this entry has been edited to include the second observation, which was inexplicably left out in the previous version.]
Two more observations before surgery; two more before unusually-relentless rains wiped out May and part of June.
April had already proven difficult, weather-wise. Where we usually had several days of clear Moonless skies during the month, we’d only had one day early in the month, and now only two toward the end. With a week before I had my foot cut open and three months of rehab afterward, I had no hesitation getting out when a halfway-decent forecast finally presented itself. Nor did most of the others, really—having been cooped up by the rain, the Irregulars were champing at the bit. And so we made the 45-minute pilgrimage out west toward the sandstone Linslaw crag, in pursuit of individual agendas but a singular goal: the capture of ancient starlight.
With the 20-inch Obsession and new ladder in tow, and galaxy season well underway, it was time for another round of chasing down flat galaxies. By the time I was healed up, it would be time for the flat galaxies of autumn, of which I had barely scratched the surface.
As darkness overtook daylight, our first actual target for the night was SN2022hrs, the brilliant supernova in NGC 4647 (the companion galaxy to Messier 60). This was one of the brightest extragalactic supernovae I’d ever observed, reaching better than 12th magnitude in our estimation [although officially only 12.3 at its peak]. EAS members would end up tracking this supernova all the way into July. Five scopes lingered on the supernova; Robert even viewed it in his 50mm binocular scope (“Magic”).
Two hours after sunset, it was time for note-taking and more-structured observing. I started with an object that I had previously seen from Eureka Ridge in the 12.5-inch scope, but which really deserved notes made through the Obsession.
4/22-4/23/23 LINSLAW POINT SUNSET: 8:05 PM MOON: 23 days (rose at 3:15 AM; 46% illuminated) SEEING: 7 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: 21.60 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to low 40s; humid with slight dew; air still; chilly OTHERS PRESENT: JO, DB, LR, RA All observations: 20″ f/5 Obsession Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (181x, 0.45˚ TFOV) or 7mm TeleVue Nagler (363x, 0.21˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:23 NGC 3044 (Sex): First for the night—probably the last night until September—is NGC 3044 in Sextans. I’ve seen this one before; I first got it in the 12.5-inch scope and made a note to come back to it because I was so impressed with it then. This is a huge, very underrated edge-on/flat galaxy, elongated 100° PA. It’s an irregularly-bright galaxy with no central brightening (or widening, for that matter), and there’s no real hint of a nucleus here. The galaxy is not razor thin; it’s 4.25’ x 0.4’. It seems as if the SF end is the brighter end; both of the ends fade out gradually, but the NP end is stretched out a little longer and more diffusely than the SF. 1’ N of the NP end of the galaxy is a 14.5-magnitude star. 6’ NP the galaxy is a 12th-magnitude star with a 13.5-magnitude star S of it by 0.5’. P somewhat N of the galaxy by 8’ is an 11.5-magnitude star; 3’ SF the galaxy is a 13th-magnitude star that has another 13th-magnitude star S of it by 2’. The brightest star in the field is 15’ N very slightly F the galaxy and is 10th magnitude; it has a 14th-magnitude star P very very slightly N of it by 0.5’. In the 7mm Nagler: the galaxy is huge at this magnification; there’s still no real nucleus or core visible. But it seems like on the NP end there’s a detached segment that’s very slightly brighter than the rest of it—I mentioned that it was irregularly bright, and that’s really coming out here. It’s hard to get a good read on that detached bit beyond its presence there. This is certainly one of the better objects in the Flat Galaxy Catalogue.
Loren had built a riser for his 18-inch Obsession, the better to track down horizon-scraping planetary nebulae like NGC 3132 and NGC 2818. He was unsatisfied with it on the evening, though, and while observing NGC 3044, I stopped to help him and the others lift his scope down from the riser. (It was quite a team effort, judging by the conversation in my audio notes.) Apparently, Dan had been observing the Draco Trio at the time, as I warned him about the “false trio” that I’d stumbled across several years before.
But back to the task at hand, with a galaxy significantly more difficult than the previous. (And speaking of hands, I’d already gone to my electric gloves for warmth; the evening was already well into the “hibernation” range of temperatures.)
10:50 UGCA 221 (MCG-3-28-15; Hya): A really difficult one here, UGCA 221 in Hydra, down near Alkes (Alpha Crateris). This galaxy is very wraithlike and difficult but pretty immediately noticeable when swept into the field; the eye definitely says there’s something there, even though it’s very difficult to detect and hold. It’s 2.0’ by 0.25’, with almost no real identifiable characteristics to it at all. Averted vision doesn’t really help it that much— actually, it’s almost as difficult in averted vision as it is in direct. I’m gonna say it’s 160˚ PA, but I’m certainly not gonna hold to it; it’s so faint you could probably convince me it was 90˚ if you wanted to. At moments, it seems like the S end is more diffuse than the N, although everything about this is diffuse and poorly defined. (You’d think a flat galaxy would be fairly well defined, but not this one.) It really is just kind of a glow. There are some vaguely noteworthy stars in the field, but the galaxy is so faint it’s even hard to get distances from it: 5’ due P the galaxy is the N-most of a pair, angled NP-SF to each other and separated by 0.67’; those are both 12th magnitude, with the one to the NP somewhat brighter than the other… maybe 12 and 12.5 magnitude. Due N of the galaxy by 2.75’ is the SP star in an arc of three; that star is 12.5 magnitude and has a 13.5-magnitude star 2’ F very very slightly N of it, and that star has an 11.5-magnitude star NF it by 2.5’. The brightest star in the field is 13’ SP the galaxy and is 8.5 magnitude. So let’s throw the 7mm on this one and see if anything improves; as we saw from NGC 3044, just adding the magnification doesn’t necessarily mean anything.… At this magnification, there still isn’t much to the galaxy: no core, no nucleus, no strip of central brightening… just a really weak wraith of a galaxy. I wish I had more to say about it, but there’s just not that much there.
I’d been planning for several Springs to return to Wild’s Triplet with heavier artillery, having first (and unexpectedly) seen this trio at Eureka with the 12.5-inch several years before. Since then, I’d forgotten about it, or put it on the back burner, or only thought of it when I had the 12-5-inch out. But the topic had reappeared on CloudyNights, and so I made sure to add it as a break from the flat galaxies in my agenda. And here it was:
11:20 PGCs 36733, 36723,36742 (Wild’s Triplet; Arp 248 [Vir]): After several years of forgetting about it and not going back to it, this is Wild’s Triplet. Once again, I’m impressed with how bright the “main two” of these galaxies are; the third one is very difficult. But I could see all of them in my 12.5-inch scope, one of the most-difficult things I’ve ever seen in that scope, and from Eureka Ridge no less. But here, the two more S galaxies are unmistakable; I’m really surprised at how easy they are (the third one is just a real bugger tonight), but it’s the second one from P [OK, that was a good momentary look at the third one], the largest one of the group, [PGC 36733], that’s the most obvious of the three. In the 14mm, it’s 0.5’ in diameter, with a distinctly obvious core and every now and then what looks like just the faintest flash of a nucleus. Even in averted, though, it doesn’t steady up. The galaxy’s not smoothly round; it’s kind of irregular-shaped overall, even if the overall effect is roughly round. (This magnification probably isn’t the best to use; this might be one for the Delos.) The P-most of the three galaxies [PGC 36723] is second in brightness, and it’s not particularly bright; the first one I noted is really bright relatively for what it is; this second one is much more diffuse, 0.5′ x 0.3′, and elongated somewhat P-F; it’s P very slightly S of the brightest one by 2.5’. It’s much more diffuse, much less defined, but does have a smallish brighter core to it; I know these three are all interacting, but I wonder if it’s being pulled in the direction of the other one and that’s the cause of the visual distortion. For a second, [36733] seemed to have a tiny sliver extending from the S edge of the core toward the F; this was more than illusory, it was almost certainly there. The third galaxy [PGC 36742] is very much an occasional averted vision flash about 1.75’ N slightly F [36733]. But I can’t do anything to get a good visual fix on it; it’s just a tiny faint spot. It may have a nucleus, though, which is what I’m picking up every so often. From [36733] N very very slightly P by 6.5’ is a 7.5-magnitude star that is a huge unavoidable distraction from the galaxies, and that star is the P-most vertex of a little isosceles triangle; the other two stars are F slightly S of it by 2.25’; the third one is 1’ S very slightly P that one (the second vertex that I mentioned is 14th magnitude, and the third vertex is 13.5 magnitude). 5.25’ S very very slightly P [36733] is an 11.5-magnitude star. So I’m going to go ahead and change eyepieces and see if I can pick that third one out a little bit better. There’s definitely a stellar nucleus to [36733]. The third [36742] is very slightly N-S elongated, but very small, and that was a nucleus that I was seeing in that one too; I know I saw that in the 12.5-inch, but I’m surprised as hell as to how. This is too much power for it. [36742] is super diffuse other than that nucleus, and might be 0.25’ x 0.125’. There’s another glimpse of a possible spiral arm or whatever off [36733]; it definitely seems to extend from the N to the P, which is the opposite direction from the earlier sighting I had of such an extension. That galaxy also seems to be extended P from the nucleus; or, rather, the nucleus is not centered in it. It’s good to revisit this group after several years with both more experience and larger aperture.
I suspect it won’t be long before I return to Wild’s Triplet yet again—a fascinating group.
One of my heated gloves had died; I had to switch it out for an unheated one with a chemical handwarmer in it. But to hell with inconvenience; this was SCIENCE.
12:08 NGC 4703; PGC 43343 (Vir): One that’s not as impressive in the eyepiece as it is in photographs: NGC 4703 in Virgo, P and N of Spica, and it is not as easy as one might expect from an NGC. (I know that generalizations like that aren’t scientific.) This one is surprisingly long in averted vision; in averted, it’s about 2.75’ x 0.3’ at the middle, and is elongated in PA 160˚. There is definitely a core there, a central bulge; it has obvious central brightening and central enlargement to it, and the overall appearance is clearly irregularly bright. The spiral arms just peter out completely—that’s why averted vision is so important on galaxies like this; without averted, this is only about 1.5’ long. S somewhat P the galaxy by 8’ is a 7.5-magnitude star; S of the galaxy by 6.5’ is a 12.5-magnitude star, and then further S of the galaxy, 10’ S, is an 11.5-magnitude star that has S very very slightly F it a diffuse little galaxy [PGC 43343] with a small, slightly brighter core to it and a very, very diffuse halo; that galaxy is no more than 0.75’ around. There may be a substellar nucleus, but it’s intermittent at best. In the 7mm, 4703 also seems to have a nucleus, a very faint stellar one.The arms definitely need less in the way of averted vision to see at this magnification, and that central region, the brighter central region, is much more obvious. That’s a really fine galaxy; I don’t have much more to say about it at 7mm, but the extra magnification really helped on this one, and it’s definitely got a good presence to it.
I noticed, while taking notes on NGC 4703, that Scorpius had risen; Antares flickered in multi-colored splendor through the haze circling low around the horizon. (The changing colors of a star low to the horizon meant that there was considerable turbulence to the atmosphere—not uncommon along the horizons at Linslaw, due to its proximity to the Pacific Ocean.) Would I even get to observe Scorpius again this summer? Several bright Lyrid meteors added to the evening spectacle throughout; I even saw a few of them.
Meanwhile, Robert was packing up to leave. I suspected most of us would be following fairly soon; four-plus hours after sunset, the chill in the air was substantial. For me, I’d been awake since 5 AM, having put in a full day at the factory. My caveman brain was going a million miles per minute, but I had to admit that the shambling corpse it was housed in was pretty run down already.
Robert left while I was taking notes on my last object for the night. This was more noteworthy than it seemed—the crag had space for six vehicles at most, and then only if parking and telescope setup allowed for that many vehicles to pass. I usually parked at the far end, setting up my scope on the eastern-most flat space in the observing area; this time, I was closer to the western edge, near the road up/down the crag. This meant that Robert had to negotiate his car between my scope and Dan’s, as well as Loren’s truck. The resultant maneuvering required headlights, which required covering our heads to preserve dark adaptation (for those of us still observing; Loren guided Robert through). It took several minutes, but he eventually made it, with Loren soon after him. During the course of Robert’s departure, I added a friendly “drive careful,” which drew snickers from the others; I warned them not to taunt the group linguist on his grammar (the words that I used were, quote, “I will roast somebody’s ass.”).
Meanwhile, my final galaxy for several months continually called me back to the eyepiece.
12:41 NGC 5073 (Vir): Another from the 160-170˚ PA club tonight, this is NGC 5073 in Virgo, and it’s a long, fairly-bright-as-such-things-go streak, maybe 3.0’ x 0.3’. It’s actually a really well-defined galaxy; there’s no real sense that there’s more to it that’s visible in averted vision or anything like that. This is a good example of how the visible profile of a flat galaxy creates a different expectation than that of a face-on spiral—even though it’s an NGC, you think it should be brighter than it is; it’s still certainly readily apparent, but not as it would be if it was more inclined, with the core visible. I’m gonna just average it and say it’s about 165˚ PA, with even illumination all the way along the major axis. This is one of the few that I’ve done where you can actually see the taper in the spiral arms to its full extent. N very slightly P the galaxy by 6.5’ is a 9th-magnitude star that has a 14th-magnitude star SF it by 1’, and then 0.5’ P slightly S of the 9th-magnitude star is a 15th-magnitude star. Then from the galaxy N slightly P by 3.75’ is a 15th-magnitude star, and from the galaxy P somewhat S by 5’ is a 12th-magnitude star with a 14.5-magnitude star 10” N slightly F it. 9’ S very very slightly P the galaxy is the N-most of a pair, which has S very very slightly F it by 0.75’ the second and brighter star; those are 13th and 12th magnitude. The brightest star in the field is P somewhat S of this one by 14’, just on the edge of the field, and is 8.5 magnitude.With the 7mm Nagler, I’m seeing a fair amount of irregularity to the surface brightness here, but again, it’s just a really well-defined object—there’s still no sense that there’s anything beyond the directly visible extent of it. There may be, in the galaxy’s N end, a very, very faint embedded star, just above threshold level. I’m actually suspecting a quasi-stellar nucleus in averted vision (despite talking about how everything with this one is apparent in direct). This is a really beautiful and classic, though not overly bright, flat galaxy.
Dan and I joked about my not using my 10mm Delos, which he refers to as “the Precious.” I was back to fearing for the eyepiece’s safety, and made it a Spinal Tap reference, in which Nigel tells Marty not to touch or even look at one of his guitars.
I drove home after a final, lingering look around the site. A lot could happen in the three months I was going to be laid up—what if, for some reason, I never made it to Linslaw again? We had fair warning that Eureka Ridge was going to be gated off, but what if someone gated off the road to Linslaw? What if the gun worshippers or the forest squatters made it unsafe or unusable? This was the best observing site I’d ever had. It felt like sacred ground.
Despite my self-assurances, the drive home seemed like a finality.
II. We had one more observation before the month closed and my foot got opened up and the unseasonal rains came.
The lot of us convened at the Oxbow that next night, as it was the site of best forecast—and a fairly middling one, at that. We could tell the transparency was mediocre, even in daylight; a literal purple haze colored the southern reaches of the sky, and there was a “softness” to the sky behind the rocky hills in every direction. Still, this was a final swing at celestial glory for a considerable while, and none of us was willing to pass it up. (Prescient for the others, given the amount of rain that was to come.)
There were three 20-inch scopes, an 18-inch scope, and Robert’s binoscopes arrayed in the observing area, all of them making use of the better conditions early; things were predicted to get worse sky-wise as the night progressed.
4/23-24/22 THE OXBOW SUNSET: 8:06 PM MOON: 22 days (rose at 3:15 AM; 48% illuminated) SEEING: 6 TRANSPARENCY: 6, 5 SQM: 21.2 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to upper 40s; slight dew; slight breeze, hazy; chilly OTHERS PRESENT: JO, DB, LR, RA, DR All observations: 20″ f/5 Obsession Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (181x, 0.45˚ TFOV) or 7mm TeleVue Nagler (363x, 0.21˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
While waiting for it to get fully dark, and hoping the transparency would be good enough for me to examine a few more flat galaxies, I stopped in on some of the familiar spring showpieces. Hickson 44, in Leo’s mane, was the most impressive I’d ever seen it; even the fourth galaxy, faint NGC 3187, stood out clearly from the background, and nearby NGC 3190 showed the barest hint of a dust lane. This was astounding—in such mediocre transparency, fine details and dim objects were still well within our grasp.
I continued on: NGC 2903, the Leo Trio, the Antennae Galaxies (accidentally sweeping up NGC 4027, a distorted one-armed spiral, along the way; I’d already taken notes on this one with the 12.5-inch), and the Sombrero (M104). But as I observed these galaxies, I could tell that we were already losing the already-tenuous transparency.
I started on my list for the night, but it was already too late. Each of the flat galaxies I’d made note to explore was fainter than the one before it. These were already difficult objects to observe; decaying sky conditions made them—if not impossible to take notes on—then certainly so diminished that it wouldn’t be “fair” to take notes on them now. I’m sure I dropped a few epithets off the ladder as my chances of taking notes came to an end for the season.
What to do when the big scope is set up and the faint stuff just can’t cut through the haze? Look at brighter stuff. The seeing was still decent, at least, so I simply went back to the first object class to have captured my attention: globular clusters. Spring isn’t prime time for globulars, but enough of them were visible to make the rest of the evening worthwhile: the M53/NGC 5053 pairing, NGC 5466 in Boötes, M3, NGC 5634 in Virgo, NGC 5694 in Hydra (an object of great nostalgia for me, as it was the most-difficult object I’d seen with my 8″ SCT in Cincinnati, and I was proud of the observation), M5 in Serpens, and M107 in Ophiuchus. I would’ve ended with M13, but it was still thoroughly buried in the light-dome of Eugene (which was worse than usual because of the reflecting haze).
But the transparency continued to dwindle, to the point that even the globulars were visibly diminished. We yielded, as a group, to the failing sky.
I packed up more slowly than usual and was last one out for the tricky drive home.
The transition to summer observing, with its planetary nebulae and globular star clusters in abundance, accompanied several changes at ground level for me and the others in the EAS Irregulars. Being generally exhausted from work, I had time only to observe on the weekends; with sunsets being so late in the summer, observing couldn’t even really begin until 11 PM, and I needed to be awake for work by 5:30 to monitor the conditions of my digestive tract before spending the day at an injection press. This meant that at best, I got four nights a month to observe. So many targets, so little time.
The bigger transition was one of convenience. The great old Caveman-Mobile, which had served me so well for the last eight years in hauling telescopes up mountains and families cross country, had finally developed a chronic-but-incurable ailment; having put several hundred more dollars into replacing nearly everything on the dear old thing that could be replaced, we could no longer justify another $600 repair. It was time to retire the poor beast from active service while its dignity remained intact.
Enter the new Caveman-Mobile, a 2011 Ford Flex—an odd-looking beast that nonetheless somehow had room for the 20” Obsession and all of its paraphernalia and still drove like a luxury vehicle. Mrs. Caveman and her father tracked the monster down near Seattle and flew up to get it, taking it for a high-speed sojourn on the way home. Although I was somewhat dubious of this vaguely station-wagon-looking thing being an adequate replacement—-it seemed too pristine for the kind of heavy lifting needed to get to our sites of night-sky communion—there was no real turning back.
The Flex’s first excursion to an observing site actually occurred during the day, checking out a site that Dan B had been monitoring for some time. We had been searching for a site closer to town that could serve as a short-night site (i.e. one that we could conveniently use for a couple of hours, as opposed to hauling everything out to Linslaw for a full night’s work), and Dan had found this one—on rural Fisk Road—that appeared to pass muster. It was like a closer, mostly-paved Eagle’s Ridge, an intersection of a couple of gravel roads with a convenient widening to the side of the intersection where several telescopes could be set up. There were a few trees partially blocking the southern view, and the full light-pollution dome of Eugene/Springfield would be mostly visible, but the site seemed adequate for nights when we didn’t want the full drive time to and from Linslaw.
Two panoramas of the new Fisk site, directions added.
The weekend after our initial recon of the Fisk site, we headed there for a christening of sorts. With (waning gibbous) Moonrise coming shortly after astronomical darkness, we made it a casual evening; Dan and Alesha, Loren and Donna, and Jerry and Kathy and Dan R joined Mrs. Caveman and I for an on-site potluck to kick off the late May-early June Moondark phase. It was also a night for trying out a couple of recently-donated telescopes: a 130mm Celestron something-or-other that wasn’t a dreaded Bird-Jones-type scope, but was actually rather fine optically, and a really old (1976 vintage) 8” Celestron Schmidt-Cassegrain with the classic orange tube and all original accessories. I brought along my own black-tube 8” Celestron—my first telescope—to give it some dark-sky time.
It was a thoroughly enjoyable evening, with no expectations of serious observing to be done, but lots of high-spirited talk and telescope evaluation. (The 130mm Celestron has since been introduced into the EAS telescope-lending library, while the orange-tube classic 8” still needs some adjustments and fine tuning.) We left after Moonrise, with surprisingly strong winds howling up the road and plans to return the next night for somewhat more serious observing.
I. Jerry, Dan, and I arrived at Fisk well before sunset; Dan and I got there first and did some more exploring of the site, including climbing over one of the berms and checking out a large open field (which was slightly overgrown in patches) that lay beyond the accessible road. We’d never be able to haul larger scopes over the berm, but it was certainly a tempting possibility.
Jerry arrived a bit later, bringing with him one of his latest projects: a homemade electric guitar. He and Dan exchanged a few songs (Jerry had an amplifier running off of one of his 12-volt batteries), no doubt annoying some of the neighbors; I had visions of some of the nearby rustics trying to figure out where that rock-n-roll was coming from in the middle of the woods.
Dan B in concert. No Stairway!
The wind howled all night, apparently funneled up the road by the trees. Huddled into a corner of the clearing that was blocked from the brunt of the wind, we still had to deal with its effects, often hanging onto telescopes to prevent them from being buffeted about. The roaring of the wind made my audio recordings a chore to transcribe; in some ways it was fortunate that I only had three sets of notes from the evening. Conditions otherwise weren’t great, either; several intruding waves of cirrus caused temporary havoc as they passed through, and the seeing was particularly poor until after midnight.
In addition to working on the AL Planetary Nebula program, I’ve also undertaken to take notes on all of the 2450 objects that William Herschel catalogued during his spectacular and unequaled career. With the Herschel 400 and Herschel II programs already under by belt, and a number of others beyond those, I had at least 900 of Herschel’s discoveries in my repertoire. What was particularly welcome about the remainder of Herschel’s objects was that there were hundreds in every season; if I was stuck on another program, or didn’t have the motivation for, say, a list of flat galaxies on a given night, there were always more Herschels to dig into.
Tonight’s agenda consisted of both “the remaining 1600” of Herschel’s galaxies, clusters, and nebulae, and several of the planetaries on the Astronomical League’s program list. But I spent the first part of the night (and some time between Herschel objects and waiting for some of the needed planetary nebulae to rise) observing globular clusters, enjoying views of M13, M92, and NGC 6229 in Hercules, along with NGC 5634 in Virgo, M80 in Scorpius, and M71 in Sagitta. When all else is exhausted, globular clusters-—my first and ultimately foremost favorite type of deep-sky object— are a source of unending wonder and cosmic glory.
05/30-31/21 FISK ROAD SUNSET: 8:47 PM MOON: 20 days (rose at 12:44 AM; 71% illuminated) SEEING: 4, 6 TRANSPARENCY: 5, 6 SQM: 21.33 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to mid-50s; no dew due to strong winds; some cirrus waves throughout the night OTHERS PRESENT: JO, DB
All observations: 12.5″ f/5 Discovery Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) or 7mm TeleVue Nagler (225x, 0.36˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:55 NGCs 5468, 5472 (Vir):This is a Herschel object, while I’m waiting for planetaries to rise in Cygnus, Aquila, Lyra, and Draco; this is NGC 5468 in Virgo, seen in very variable transparency and strong wind. The galaxy is extremely diffuse; there’s no core to speak of, although in averted vision there’s a substellar nucleus that pops into view every now and then (or possibly a very tiny core). The galaxy is round, about 2.0’ diameter, very diffuse and poorly defined. It’s unevenly bright; the interior of the glow is kind of irregular; it appears that there may be a bar or something in it that’s just a touch brighter than the rest of it, oriented almost P-F; it’s hard to hold this for certain, but it’s always the same direction. NF the galaxy by 2’ is a threshold (14.5-magnitude) star. The brightest star in the field is only 4.25’ S slightly F the galaxy and is 8.5 magnitude. Due F the galaxy by 5.5’ is a 13th-magnitude star that has just P it by a couple of arcseconds a tiny faint glow (NGC 5472) that comes and goes with the variable transparency. It’s hard to get a fix on it; it may have a stellar nucleus, as there’s a hint of another stellar object there. From the star just F that galaxy, NP by 0.75’ is a 14.5-mag star. S very slightly F the 8.5/9th-magnitude star by 8’ is a 9.5-magnitude star; then S very very slightly P that star by 4.5’ is an 11.5-magnitude star that has a 14th-magnitude star 0.75’ S very slightly P it. From the 11.5-magnitude star P very slightly N by 6.5’ is an 11th-magnitude star.
11:07 NGCs 5427, 5426 (Vir): This is a really fine interacting pair in the back end of Virgo, NGCs 5427 and 5426, with -27 being due N and considerably larger; there’s a very faint (14th magnitude?) star right between the two of them. NGC 5427 is quite diffuse and not really well defined; it does have a distinctly brighter interior. It’s roughly round, with maybe a tiny bit of P-F elongation; this is indeterminate enough that I’m not going to say anything beyond the fact that it’s 1.67’ round. It’s roughly the same size as NGC 5468, actually, but considerably brighter. As with 5468, there is some inner irregularity to the brightness, if not outright mottling; there’s a very, very slightly brighter core that’s also very small; this is obviously a face-on galaxy. I’m actually going to say this is 1.75’ x 1.67’, very slightly elongated P-F. Every so often, there’s a flicker of a tiny, faint nucleus. (Immediately due S of the galaxy, exactly between the two galaxies, is a 14th-magnitude star that distracts from whether either galaxy has a visible nucleus, but I think they both do.) NGC 5426 is elongated N-S and has a brighter core that’s also elongated N-S within a 1.5’ x 0.75’ halo. The outer edges are pretty unevenly defined, but appear better defined to the S. It almost appears as if the two galaxy’s haloes are trailing slightly to the P, as if they’ve had material pulled off of them in that direction, but this is just an impression and I wouldn’t say anything about it with certainty. This would be a stunning pair in the 20”! At moments, with 5427, I get a feeling like the F edge has a little better definition, or a little more brightness, like there’s a subthreshold spiral arm on the F edge. 5426 also has the occasional flash of a nucleus. The core is 18” long (i.e. between 0.25’ and 0.3’). There is dark space between the two galaxies where the star lies, so they’re two distinct and discrete objects. Some very faint stars lie to the S; there’s a 14th-magnitude star S very slightly F 5426 by 7’; S very very slightly F 5426 by 7’ is another 14th-magnitude star. NF the pair, 11’ from 5427, is a 12th-magnitude star. SP 5427 by 12’ is an 11.5-magnitude star that’s the NP of a very thin flat scalene triangle, with a 12.5-magnitude star F somewhat S by 1.75’; from that star S very very slightly F by 1’ is a 13.5-magnitude star. There’s a very flat isosceles triangle F very very slightly S of 5426, actually a diamond, with the NF vertex very faint compared to the others; the point star in the isosceles triangle, the “roof-top” star, is a very close pair.
We took SQM readings about midnight, and were surprised to get 21.33s (on average) between us. The sky didn’t really seem quite that dark, due in large part to the unshielded light dome from the cities taking up most of the eastern half of the sky. The trees to the south weren’t a dealbreaker, at least.
With Cygnus and the higher-declination summer constellations well above the trees to the east now, I stopped by the Veil Nebula, the Dumbbell (which I’d already taken notes on), and the Ring Nebula (which I hadn’t, but I wasn’t willing to take notes on it in less than excellent conditions, as befitting its showpiece status). I also skipped taking notes on NGC 7027 in Cygnus, as it looked somewhat diminished from even my previous observations of it from the Giant City State Park visitor center parking lot. I didn’t want to go home empty-handed on the planetary-nebula front, though, so I revisited an object that I’d recently observed from The Oxbow. It, too, was diminished from its previous apparition, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, I pressed on with the observation.
12:09 NGC 6742 (Abell 50; Dra): After a huge amount of searching (it was a tough starhop from 16 Lyrae), this is the difficult (more difficult than it needed to be anyway) NGC 6742. I had found this previously at the Oxbow under apparently much better conditions, because here it’s a difficult object, really requiring averted vision to pick out at first, and that was not the case at the Oxbow when I saw the first time. It’s about 0.3’ across, round, just on the border between direct and averted vision (depending on the moment-to-moment sky conditions). It’s mostly just above the averted vision threshold, so it is visible in direct, but it’s not easy. It’s just a very round, very faint nebula with no obvious annularity, although the S rim in good moments looks to be a fair bit sharper than the rest. In the moments of much better seeing and transparency that we’re getting through here, the nebula looks substantially bigger; it might be 0.5’. There’s no central star, but it does have a faint star F slightly N of it by 0.75’; that star really interferes with the nebula, and is 13.5 magnitude. Also distracting from the nebula is the 8.5-magnitude star SP it by 3.5’; that star is the N end of a small zigzag of fainter stars; this zigzag is about 3.67’ long and has its second-brightest star (which is 11th magnitude) at the S end. There are a number of brightish stars in the field but the 8.5 to the SP is the brightest. N of the nebula by 9’ is the S end of another asterism of somewhat brighter stars, including a couple in the 9th/10th-magnitude range. With the UHC, the nebula is substantially “better” but pretty small, more like 0.3’ again (how does that work?). It’s significantly brighter now, a solidly direct-vision object. There’s still no annularity, but the S rim definitely seems a little brighter than the rest; it almost seems like the brighter part of the rim lies slightly inside the nebula and there’s some fringe around the S edge. The O-III filter really brings out the nebula! There’s a dramatic difference between the view in the two filters: now, the nebula’s substantially brighter again than in the UHC, which I didn’t expect based on the previous work I’ve done on the AL planetaries. The impression that the S end of the rim is brighter isn’t seen in this filter. Again, the nebula is distinctly round, and still 0.3’ diameter. The seeing’s gone to crap again, but I’ll throw in the 7mm Nagler anyway. Seeing is terrible at this magnification, but the nebula still pops right into view. I’m constantly amazed at how much just increasing the magnification is better than just adding a filter to the 14mm. With the 7mm, I’m still not getting a central star, but the nebula’s yet again much brighter. Adding the O-III makes the nebula almost unviewable in combination with the 7mm. Back to the UHC: it’s at least observable with this filter in the 7mm. The S rim still looks slightly more obvious and brighter than the rest; it’s obviously a UHC feature, and not merely a figment of my imagination. This is not a bad little nebula with the right combo; the 7mm and the UHC work pretty well.
Several times during the observation, a curiously warm (almost hot) breeze blew through, wiping out the seeing, drowning out my voice on my notes, and feeling as if—in Dan B’s words—we had “waded into someone’s pee spot in a swimming pool.”
About halfway through my notes on NGC 6742, Dan witnessed a brilliant fireball traveling west from Scorpius. As so often happens (to most of us!) during an observing session, Jerry and I were looking in the opposite sides of the sky, missing the meteor entirely.
The Moon crested the horizon, washing out the Milky Way entirely, completing the job the Eugene/Springfield light-pollution dome had started. We packed up our scopes, unsure of the long-term viability of the site due to the persistent winds, biding our time until weekend nights, Moonless hours, and clear skies coincided again.
II. The next weekend provided a better opportunity for observing, at least on the eastern side of the Valley (i.e. the Eagle’s Rest amphitheater, the only one of our Eagle’s sites that I was willing to drive to). Oddly, only Robert was willing to join me for observing; Jerry had his Friday book club, and Dan and Loren also had other plans. On this particular night, having some extra comrades would’ve likely made a big difference in how the night turned out.
The “amphitheater” was a roadside pullout big enough for perhaps four cars. Until two years ago, it had been hemmed in by trees to the north and west, and by hills to the east; only the southern horizon—the direction of greatest astronomical interest—was clear, overlooking a steep drop into the valley. Now, though, timber and real estate interests had combined to clear-cut the entire northern quadrant, exposing stargazers to the glare of the double city. In place of the trees, some company had installed a large metal gate, for keeping out anyone who might venture past the roadside and into the clearings they had made. Wind frequently blew from the north and through the gate, adding to the nuisance of the light pollution; to remedy this, we often (as tonight) parked near the fence and parallel to the road, using our vehicles as simultaneous windbreaks and light blockers.
My agenda was the same as the previous session: Herschels (mostly galaxies) until target planetaries rose. Most of the Herschels were chosen from Alvin Huey’s guide to the Herschel III list, an unofficial list compiled by Thom Lorenzin from the best of the remaining 1600+ objects not included in the Herschel 400 or Herschel II programs. The sky was a cirrusy mess, but was clearing fairly quickly. And exactly two hours after sunset, I got started with my notetaking.
06/04-05/21 EAGLE’S REST (amphitheatre) SUNSET: 8:52 PM MOON: 26 days (rose at 3:22 AM; 20% illuminated) SEEING: 7 TRANSPARENCY: 6 SQM: 21.26 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to upper 50s; no dew; mild breeze; cool but not particularly cold; considerable haze at sunset which cleared off by 11:30 OTHERS PRESENT: RA All observations: 12.5″ f/5 Discovery Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) or 7mm TeleVue Nagler (225x, 0.36˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:52 NGC 5690 (Vir): While waiting for some of my planetaries to get into a good observing position, we’re looking at some Herschel IIIs in the meantime; this one is NGC 5690 in Virgo, a nice edge-on spiral– not really a flat galaxy because it doesn’t have the right dimensional ratio; it’s about 2.5’ long and 0.67’ wide, elongated due NP-SF (so about 135˚ position angle) and has a very faint (I’m going to say 14.5 magnitude) star on the SF end inside the halo. Observing the galaxy is very difficult because it has a 6.5-magnitude star 3.25’ due P that’s hugely disruptive to the observing. I can’t really get that star outside the field enough to get a good eye on the details here; I can’t tell if the galaxy is mottled and irregularly bright along the length of it, or if it appears that way because it has that threshold star on the end. It’s a pretty fine galaxy, with a pretty well-defined halo. NP the galaxy by 7’ is a 10.5-magnitude star that’s also 5.5’ N slightly P the 6.5-magnitude star. Due SF the galaxy by another 6.5’ is the right-angle vertex of a small triangle; that star is 12th magnitude and has N slightly F it by 1.5’ an 11.5-magnitude star; and then F somewhat S of the right-angle vertex by 2’ is a 13.5-magnitude star. N slightly F the galaxy by another 6.5’ (so almost forming an equilateral triangle with the galaxy and the 10.5-magnitude star) is a 12.5-magnitude star; and F the galaxy by another 7’ is another 12.5-magnitude star that has 0.5’ due P it a 14th-magnitude star.
11:07 NGC 5792 (Lib): NGC 5792 is apparently in Libra, but it’s actually very, very close to the Virgo border; it’s also in the very close vicinity of a distractingly bright star which happens to be P very slightly N of the galaxy by 1.0’. The galaxy is elongated P-F; it’s about 2.0’ x 1.0’, and has a much brighter core region that’s 0.67’ across; every so often there’s a very very brief flash of an extremely faint substellar nucleus. The P-F extensions of the galaxy are very poorly defined and diffuse; they are revealed primarily with averted vision. That core region is pretty bright, though. The star that’s P very slightly N of the galaxy is 9.5 magnitude; there’s another 9.5-magnitude star NF the galaxy by 6’, and that star has a 13.5-magnitude star N very slightly F it by 0.3’, and also has NP it by 1.5’ an 11th-magnitude star. 3.25’ NP the galaxy (so between the galaxy and the 9.5-magnitude star) is a 14th-magnitude star. Also NF the galaxy by 12’ is a 9th-mag star. N slightly F the galaxy by 14’ is a 10th-magnitude star.
As I was observing NGC 5792, I watched a pair of brightish satellites cross the field, both on the exact same trajectory—most likely some of Elon’s Folly.
11:28 NGC 5921 (SerCap): This is our third Herschel III object while we’re waiting for Aquila and the tail of Scorpius to rise; this is NGC 5921 in Serpens, and it is definitely a more interesting galaxy than should be limited to the 14 mm; I tried the 7mm Nagler, but the sky’s just not good enough for it really; I think this one needs a bigger aperture for a good look. It’s in a pretty crowded field; there is an arc of four stars to the south of it, and the galaxy is also bracketed on the P very slightly N and F very slightly S by stars almost equidistant from the galaxy. The galaxy itself is elongated S very very slightly P-N very very slightly F, about 1.75’ x 1.0’. It has a brightish stellar nucleus and a core somewhat brighter than the halo; the core is extended N-S… I don’t want to say that that’s a bar, but (especially in averted vision) there are definitely hints that that’s the case. The halo is reasonably bright and fairly well defined, and that inner region here is fairly complex; this is one that really would deserve a good look with the 20-inch. (They all do, really.) The number of bright stars in the area of the galaxy makes it a little bit harder to get a focus on it as well: here in the 7mm, the brightest of those stars in the galaxy’s immediate vicinity is F very slightly S of the galaxy by 2.75’ and is 10th magnitude; there’s a 12.5-magnitude star the same distance P very very slightly N of the galaxy, and that star also has between it and the galaxy (so about 0.75’ F very very very slightly S of the star) is a 14th-magnitude star. The arc of four S of the galaxy begins due S of the galaxy by 4’ with an 11th-magnitude star; NP that star by 1’ is a 13th-magnitude star; N very very very slightly P that star by 1.67’ is a 12.5-magnitude star; from the 12.5 magnitude star NF by 1.3’ is a 12th-magnitude star; and that 12th-magnitude star is halfway between the previous star and the galaxy, in a perfect line with those. The brightest star in the field is SP the galaxy by 12’ and is 8.5 magnitude.
12:03 NGC 5962 (SerCap): NGC 5962 in Serpens Cauda is a bright little galaxy, and a pretty impressive one as these things go. It’s elongated P very slightly N-F very slightly S (about 100 degrees position angle) and spans 1.5’ x 1.0’. This one is actually more diffuse than most of the ones I’ve looked at tonight, at least halo-wise, and not particularly well-defined, but it does have a fairly small (0.67’) but gradually much brighter core to it and more than just a hint of a stellar nucleus—in averted vision, anyway; it’s not easy to lock it down, as it’s quite faint. The galaxy lies within a pretty attractive starfield, featuring a wide magnitude range. Due N of the galaxy by 3’ is a 12th-magnitude star; there’s a 13th-magnitude star 4.5’ N somewhat F the galaxy and a 10th-magnitude star 13’ NF. 11’ S slightly P the galaxy is a 10.5-magnitude star, and then F slightly S of the galaxy by 16’ is a 7th-magnitude star that’s kind of in the middle of a N-S oriented asterism; this asterism is about 12’ long and vaguely rectangular. 6.25’ P very very slightly N of the galaxy is the more S of a pair; that star is 11.5 magnitude, and it has a 12th-magnitude star almost due N of it by 1’. This is kind of a nice little galaxy to be relegated to the “other” 1600 Herschel objects.
By the time I finished with NGC 5962, Scorpius and Sagittarius had risen into a decent position for working through the remainder of their planetary nebulae. I had seen my target planetaries in those constellations numerous times before—especially the Bug Nebula, one of Scorpius’ showpiece objects—but either had no notes on them, or had notes that were inadequate for the fulfillment of the AL program. Whatever the case, it certainly wasn’t a chore to reobserve them (even though I had to be sitting on the ground at the roadside in order to catch them). The only negative was their extremely low declination; the Bug Nebula was only 6˚ or 7° off the horizon, and the two I had on my list after that were of similar declinations. The lousy seeing that low made the observation a challenge, but there was little chance of being able to do better at a future date; I could always observe them again if the seeing in the deep south was better at Linslaw, where we planned to be on Saturday night. Getting these low objects would enable me to work on the several I had remaining in Cygnus the next night. And I didn’t have much time for the Bug anyway, as it would be disappearing into a bank of trees in less than an hour.
Robert left just before I started taking notes on the Bug.
12:59 NGC 6302 (Sco): This is a difficult look way down low at the Bug Nebula, NGC 6302 in Scorpius, down here in the really poor seeing close to the horizon. The nebula is 1.75’ P-F by not quite 0.67’ N-S. It looks very much like a galaxy with a bright core that’s about the central 0.3’ and what looks like a central star visible as a nucleus in the galaxy analogy. The central star is hard to tweeze out from the rest of the brighter central region. The nebula’s very indistinct on the ends; on the P end it looks as if there’s something of a slightly brighter knot present. There’s no color to the nebulosity. SP the nebula by 10’ is what seems to be—it’s truly hard to tell because of the inevitable atmospheric extinction—a 9th-magnitude star. Due N of the nebula by 4.75’ is the N-most vertex of a scalene triangle composed of 12th-magnitude stars; there’s another SP the first by 1.25’ and a third 2.67’ due P from that first vertex. SF the nebula by 3.25’ is yet another 12th-magnitude star, and P somewhat N of the nebula by 2.5’ is an 11.5-magnitude star. Let’s try the UHC; I don’t know that the 7mm is going to be much use down here with the seeing, but we’re eventually going to try it anyway; I want to start with the UHC. The UHC really brightens the nebula. The supposed “central star” seems to be just a point in the brightness of the nebulosity, because it’s very, very bright now in the filter, and that shouldn’t be the case if it’s merely a star. The filter also helped to define the diffuse ends of the nebula: the P end has much better definition now; it’s much more distinct and tendril-like, while the F side is a little more diffuse and doesn’t really come to a distinct “sharpening” like the P side does. In fact, the P side seems a little bit longer, more extended, so the central region is kind of offset to the F. It really does look like a galaxy in this seeing. I think the view with the O-III filter is going to be roughly the same as in the UHC, given how low we are in the sky. With the O-III, the bright tendril on the P end twists N-ward a tiny bit; but the filter really brings out the F side too, the diffuse end which kind of fans out a bit, almost like a guppy’s tail. Again, that central region is almost glaringly bright, but that would imply that there’s not a central star that’s the visual driver of that, because it wouldn’t have brightened that much. So we’re gonna try the 7mm Nagler here. In the 7mm Nagler, that impression that the tendrils on the P end hook N-ward is well enhanced at this magnification. Adding the UHC first to the 7mm, that tendril to the P still gives that impression that there’s a tiny brighter knot at the end of it. It almost reminds me of NGC 772 in Aries, the way the one arm sweeps out, because that’s really dramatic how much more it is on the P than the F. In the O-III, the impression that I had in the UHC that there is more N-S depth along the middle, like there’s a vertical “stripe” there along the middle, is a little enhanced, but it’s really hard to get a focus on anything here. There also seems to be (and I noticed this earlier, both in the 14mm and the 7mm with the UHC) from the bright center NF, there’s just a tiny jut of brighter material out the top of the nebula heading NF, just a couple of arcseconds long; it’s not perfectly P-F and confined to that axis; it’s heading a little bit NF from there. That is a really fantastic planetary, even though the seeing’s not very good for it!
I wasn’t a fan of the amphitheater site as a lone observer. There was too much potential for an encounter with the locals; I was generally not afraid of observing alone, but close encounters of the two-legged kind always made me a bit leery, especially out in the hinterlands like this.
I had previously observed NGC 6563 at the Brothers Star Party in 2017, under much better conditions. Here, again, I had to sit on the ground in order to observe my target, while staring through the densest part of the atmosphere as seen from my vantage point.
1:25 NGC 6563 (Sgr): This one is right in the Teapot spout, and it is NGC 6563, a.k.a. the Southern Ring, although in the 14mm and this low in the sky, there is no real annularity to be had; certainly not in this seeing. (I should say, though, that the seeing really steadies down well, and when it does, even this low, it definitely makes a difference.) The nebula is about 0.67’ round… well, it’s elongated a little bit P-F, so 0.75’ x 0.67’, just a very very slight bit of elongation roughly P-F. Knowing that this is an annular nebula, I’m surprised at how evenly illuminated it is; it’s not like the Cheerio or anything… there may be a a very very very faint rim around the periphery; it’s very hard to hold that impression steady. There’s no central star, no color, but it’s an obvious nebula when you hit the field. A couple of very bright stars are in the field: about 12’ due S is a 7th-magnitude star, while 15’ P somewhat N is a 6th-magnitude star, and from the 6th-magnitude star due SP by 8’ is another 7th-magnitude star—
The galloping happened before the crash; I didn’t have enough time to get to my feet before something smashed into the metal gate with a loud CLANG. It was a full two seconds before I was able to focus enough to yell at whatever it was, which was my usual tactic when confronted by unwelcome wildlife (skunks aside; I usually just whistle when I know skunks are nearby… for obvious reasons). With the new Caveman-Mobile between me and the gate, I couldn’t see what had collided with the gate, or if it was still there… it seemed to have run off, but what if it hadn’t? It sounded large—bigger than me, anyway—and its footfalls had sounded more than a little like hooves. Perhaps a deer or an elk. But (as Jerry noted after I shared the incident with the other Irregulars) if it was indeed some sort of local ungulate, what had spooked it enough to cause it to run into the gate? Nor did I know, with the Flex in the way, which side of the gate said animal had run into.
Rattled by the incident, I lost both focus and interest in NGC 6563. I had no plans to leave, but I certainly wasn’t going to put myself at the disadvantage of sitting on the ground if the same creature—or its pursuer, had there been one—came back for a second engagement. I scrolled through my list via Sky Safari until I found a target that would keep me off the ground, one in good observing position and in an area of sky where the seeing was much better… an object that had bedeviled me the last couple of times I’d searched for it.
1:46 NGC 6807 (Aql): Here we have the utterly-stellar-and-completely-indistinguishable-from-a-star NGC 6807 which, at least in the 14mm at 112x, gives no hint whatsoever as to its identity; you have to really stare at this thing in order to realize it’s not a star, and in a crowded field like this there’s no way you would. It’s roughly the equivalent of a 12th-magnitude star, maybe 11.5, with very, very little to look at; it has just the tiniest bit—I mean, almost imperceptible—of non-stellarness; I had to flicker with the O-III filter in order to make anything out of it. It has a 10th-magnitude star N very slightly F it by 1.5’; there’s an 8.5-magnitude star F somewhat N by 11’. 18’ SP the nebula is the brightest star in the field, which is 6.5 magnitude, and F somewhat S by 20’ are a couple of clumps that could possibly be open clusters; I’m not gonna really do much with those, because I’m here with the nebula and I don’t want to lose it. So let’s go with the UHC, although I don’t think filters are going to have much effect other than brightening it, because it’s so tiny. So with the filter, the nebula is now the equivalent of the 10th-magnitude star N of it, but that’s it; there’s no fringe, no central star, anything, just a faint tiny stellar point. With the O-III, the nebula’s now brighter, considerably brighter, than the star N of it. So upward we go, to the 7mm Nagler, to see if there’s any detail or any improvement in size or anything to distinguish this planetary from a star. With the 7mm, focus is still really problematic; there’s still no distinct means of identifying this as a nebula; it’s just stellar. So we add the O-III… still nothing; still no identifying features; I can’t really focus it sharp enough to tell if there is a disk visible, but it’s now considerably brighter than the star next to it… but that’s all I get with the O-III in the 7mm.
My stomach rumbled while I was taking notes on NGC 6807. Or perhaps it was a cougar or a ravenous Bugblatter Beast or a sandworm or something. (It was loud enough to register on my audio notes.) Whatever the case, I was distracted enough by the earlier incident that further observing had lost its appeal.
I packed up earlier than I’d intended, leaving my agenda for the evening only half-finished.
III. I don’t recall (at this remove) why only Dan and I went out to Linslaw the next night; it might have been that the others went out to the amphitheater, or perhaps they just stayed home. Whatever the case, I needed to get out again, if only to put the previous night’s events behind me.
Linslaw was the perfect place to do so. I had no qualms about observing there alone, if need be; the sandstone crag at Linslaw was the only one of our active sites that was unlikely to be encroached on by other people during the night, and we had yet to encounter any wildlife there aside from the tiny, scampering lizards whose scamperings we heard but never saw (and the occasional bat, nighthawk, or owl). Dan was there, anyway, although I also knew that should a Smilodon or some such apex predator choose to add astronomer to its diet, Dan could outrun me by a substantial margin.
But none of that intruded on the evening as much as the mediocre conditions. By the time astronomical twilight officially ended and the “real” observing began, the SQM was reading a surprising 21.33 (better than the sky appeared), but the transparency and seeing were only passable. The air was cool and damp and clammy. And the sky was lousy with satellites, both to the naked eye and in the eyepiece, as I prowled among the early summer showpiece objects, waiting for darkness to finish falling.
Little matter, though—galaxies awaited.
06/5-6/21 LINSLAW POINT SUNSET: 8:52 PM MOON: 27 days (rose at 3:42 AM; 9% illuminated) SEEING: 6-8 TRANSPARENCY: 6-4 SQM: 21.33-21.54 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to mid-40s; heavy dew; air still; cold and clammy OTHERS PRESENT: DB All observations: 12.5″ f/5 Discovery Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) or 7mm TeleVue Nagler (225x, 0.36˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:58 NGC 5669; PGC 51945 (Böo): I’m working on Herschel IIIs for the time that we have available to us tonight, because I don’t think the conditions are great for doing “serious” stuff; I’m currently looking at NGC 5669 in southern Böotes, which is a large diffuse round glow of irregular brightness. The galaxy’s really poorly defined and large, at about 2.5’ diameter. It has just the barest hint of a core, which is largish but just slightly brighter than the halo; no nucleus is present, but there’s some SP-NF glow in the interior of the galaxy that could be a bar; there could be spiral structure here. The galaxy isn’t bright, certainly, but I’ve been tracking it for a while, and we’re about still about 10-15 minutes from full astronomical darkness; it showed up identifiably fairly early on and I’ve just been following it since then. It’s bracketed to the N somewhat P and due NF by field stars; the star on the N somewhat P is somewhat brighter at 11.5 magnitude and is about 6’ from the galaxy; the one to the NF is about 12.5 magnitude and is 7’ NF the galaxy, and is also the N-most vertex in a small right triangle: the right angle vertex is P somewhat S of that star by 1’ and the third vertex is about 1.3’ almost due S of the first; the right-angle vertex is 14th magnitude; the third vertex is also of 14th magnitude. NF the galaxy by 15’ is a 10.5-magnitude star; there’s also a 10.5-magnitude star P somewhat S of the galaxy by 17’. This galaxy is an impressive sight; I’ll have to re-observe it with the 20 inch. I had an impression that there’s another galaxy [PGC 51945], a really small one, SP of the star to the N slightly P the galaxy by 3.75’ and P somewhat N of 5669 by 6; there’s just a very very very difficult diffuse spot, and that’s really all it is; it’s just a spot that really comes and goes. Averted vision really helps bring it out; I thought I’d seen it early on, but I kind of dismissed it because I couldn’t replicate it, but now it definitely seems like there’s something there.
In planning for the evening, I had flipped through Alvin Huey’s free PDF guide to the Herschel III objects, a subset of the brightest Herschel objects remaining after the Herschel 400 and Herschel II programs. Due to the unpredictability of the lower altitudes at Linslaw, I planned to stay higher in the sky; this led to wandering the galaxy fields of Boötes and Canes Venatici for the night, rather than trying immediately to finish my planetary-nebula wanderings in the lower reaches of the sky.
My next target, although I had forgotten so until I actually had it in the eyepiece, was popularly known as the Heron Galaxy, due to its obvious appearance on photographs.
11:34 NGCs 5394, 5395 (CVn): I’ve gone off the path a little bit, because my SkySafari doesn’t have the entire Herschel III in it, but this is the interesting interacting pair NGC 5394 and 5395; 5395 is kind of dominant here because of its size and brightness compared to 5394. This is a really excellent pair of interacting galaxies this has got to be an Arp [Arp 84]. I’ve discovered that a lot of these Herschel IIIs are really kind of crying out for the 20” Obsession to do a little more investigating on them. NGC 5395 is a long N-S slash that’s pretty well defined and has a 13.5-magnitude star just off the S end; it’s about 2.0’ x 0.75’, with a long streak of central brightening down the major axis. There’s nothing really resembling a standard core or nucleus, though. It seems as though the F side is a little better defined than the rest; it’s not a poorly-defined galaxy, but the F edge seems a little sharper, and it’s more diffuse on the P. The central brightening seems offset to the F edge as well. NGC 5394 is 1.75’ N slightly P from the center of NGC 5395. 5394 has a much more concentrated, very small core and a probable substellar nucleus. It’s only 0.3’ diameter. I don’t see actual contact between the galaxies, although I suspect it’s there, just out of reach in the 12.5”. (All field-star distances are from NGC 5395.) N somewhat P NGC 5395 by 10’ is a 10.5-magnitude star; there’s another almost due N of the galaxies, 15’ from NGC 5395. SP the galaxy by 17’ is another 10.5-magnitude star; there’s a 9.5-magnitude star SF the galaxy by 18’. SP the galaxy by 5.75’ is an 11th-magnitude star. S very slightly P the galaxy by 11’ is the N-most of a line of three; that star is 11th magnitude and has an 11.5-magnitude star S very very slightly F it by 0.75’, and then from the 11.5-magnitude star S slightly F by 2’ is a 12th-magnitude star.
I should’ve observed this one with the 7mm Nagler, or at least the 10mm Delos (the best eyepiece I own), but didn’t do so; the excuse I gave myself was that the transparency wasn’t good enough. What really wasn’t good enough was my list of excuses.
I stayed in Canes Venatici the rest of the night. The seeing improved even as the humidity—an infrequent problem up on the crag—increased; the stars shone with a rare steadiness through a visibly-apparent haze.
12:04 NGCs 5112, 5107 (CVn): NGC 5112 is another very diffuse, large, probably close to face-on spiral. (There’re probably a lot of unknown extra galaxies up there in that region that didn’t make it in the Herschel 400 or the Herschel II.) This is a big one, but still fairly bright; it’s elongated F somewhat N-F somewhat S and covers 2.25’ x 1.25’, with a very very diffuse halo and a somewhat-brighter core but no nucleus. It is brighter along the minor axis as well, but in a much more diffuse manner, which is odd for a face-on or inclined spiral and may mean there’s a bar there. (Right now, the seeing’s sharp as a tack.) The galaxy is really poorly defined; its light just falls away into space with no clear boundary to it. The galaxy has a distracting star about 1.75’ S slightly F the center, and that star is 13th magnitude; there are a number of other bright stars in the field that are difficult on the observing. F very very slightly N of the galaxy by 6.5’ is a 9th-magnitude star that has a 10.5-magnitude star F very very slightly N of it by 2.25’ and a 12.5-magnitude star S slightly F the 9th-magnitude star by 3’, and that star has NF of it by 1.5’ a 13.5-magnitude star. N slightly P the galaxy by 10’ is a yellowish 7th-magnitude star that has P very very slightly S of it by 6’ a 10th-magnitude star. P very very slightly S of the galaxy by 17’ is a 9th-magnitude star. Almost due S of the galaxy by 12’ is a 13th-magnitude star, and due P that 13th-magnitude star by 4’ is another galaxy [NGC 5107] which has almost the same orientation as NGC 5112 but is much smaller and somewhat more concentrated; it’s 1.25’ x 0.25’, oriented P slightly N-F slightly S, a thin little short streak of a galaxy. This smaller galaxy is much better defined and fairly faint but still reasonably obvious; it’s well-defined and fairly even in brightness. The 13th-magnitude star that’s due F the second galaxy also has a 13.5-magnitude star F it by 2.75’.
With the transparency failing, I checked the SQM, expecting no better than a 21.2. The 21.52 it registered was far beyond both what I expected and what the sky appeared to show. I then shone a red light on my scope’s secondary mirror, expecting it to be covered with dew; that too exceeded my expectations by being perfectly clear.
The sky was clearly diminished from its usually summer clarity, and even from the level it had been as it got dark. I flipped through Huey’s Herschel III guide for another—likely final—target in the vicinity of NGC 5112, something to close out my notetaking for this Moon-dark phase, finding several to choose from and picking the best of the lot.
12:35 NGC 5301 (CVn): This is the interesting not-quite-flat galaxy NGC 5301, which I saw in Alvin Huey’s guide to the Herschel III and assumed would be super easy, but it’s surprisingly… it’s relatively easy, but it’s not quite as impressive as one would expect from the photograph, which kind of gives the lie to the idea of photographs as good indicators, although it’s still a fine sight. The galaxy’s elongated N slightly P-S slightly F, about 2.5’ x 0.75’, so pretty much an edge-on galaxy, but not quite flat; based on the strict definition of a flat galaxy, I don’t think it qualifies. But it’s reasonably bright; there’s no straining to see it. The galaxy is a little brighter on the N end than the S. It’s well defined and not at all diffuse; it has just a strip of central brightening, with a faint substellar nucleus but no core. Due S of the galaxy by 2.75’ is a 12.5-magnitude star; there’s an 11.5-magnitude star SF the galaxy by about 2.5’. The S and slightly brighter of a pair lies NF the galaxy by 4.25’; that star is 12th magnitude and has a 13th-magnitude star N of it by 0.75’. There’s also a 14.5-magnitude star NP the galaxy by 2.67’. The brightest star in the field is 18’ F somewhat N of the galaxy and is 9th magnitude, and it has a 10th-magnitude star due P it by 2.75’. There’s a bright isosceles triangle P the galaxy: P somewhat S of the galaxy by 9’ is a 9.5-magnitude star; there’s a 10th-magnitude star P somewhat S of that star by 5’, and those two form the base of the triangle, and then from the first star NP by 6’ is another 10th-magnitude star; that one’s maybe just a touch fainter than the others.
I checked in on some of the summer globulars, then tore down my gear. Dan was already loaded up, starting down the mountain. I followed a few moments later, the galaxies still wheeling above, their feeble light crossing the vast expanse of space to fall unseen on the sandstone crag.
May was a busy month, both personally and astronomically. I had ended up starting yet another new job—one much more physically demanding than I’m probably capable of at this point in time, and one that has ended up confining my observing sessions to weekends (generally no more than two per month, given the lunar cycle). Meanwhile, the night skies above transitioned from nearly-endless galaxy fields to the advent of the summer Milky Way and its plethora of “nearby” galactic objects (star clusters and nebulae). This was a chance at some last few flat galaxies until the fall, and the relatively-few planetary nebulae that dotted the spring skies before the rich hunting grounds of the summer took hold of the night.
I. The second weekend in May brought with it our first observing opportunity. Although several members of our group-within-a-group (which we’ve sort-of informally dubbed “The EAS Irregulars”) had plans, those were quickly adapted to allow for some guerilla astronomy on the familiar sandstone crag at Linslaw. With my now-truncated observing schedule, every opportunity was one to be taken. Jerry would arrive after his book club meeting was finished, while Loren and Robert arrived at roughly the same time I did. Feet aching from a week on cement floors, I stayed with the old workhorse Bob the (12.5”) Dob, rather than standing on the ladder beside the 20” Obsession all night.
05/07-08/21 LINSLAW POINT SUNSET: 8:24 PM MOON: 26 days (set at 4:29 PM; 11% illuminated) SEEING: 6, 7 TRANSPARENCY: 6,7 SQM: 21.64 (did not look as good to the naked eye) NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to upper 40s; some dew; cool and clammy OTHERS PRESENT: JO, LR, RA All observations: 12.5″ f/5 Discovery Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) or 7mm TeleVue Nagler (225x, 0.36˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:25 NGCs 3501, 3507 (Leo): We’re starting off what may not be a short night with NGC 3501; I wasn’t going to bring the 12.5” scope to do flat galaxy work, but at the end of a long workday I also wasn’t about to bring the 20” and then spend the whole night on the ladder murdering my feet. This is a pretty fine flat specimen here: it’s about 2.75’ x 0.25’, elongated in PA 30˚. The galaxy has fairly even low surface brightness along its major axis. There’s an occasional trace of a nucleus, but not much in the way of a core; in better moments, the nucleus has some distinct presence. It has a neighboring galaxy in the field with it, which I’ll expound on in a bit. There are also some very faint threshold-level stars (as opposed to bright threshold level stars, I guess) F it and NF the galaxy, but they’re very difficult to pin down. NP the galaxy by 7’ is the brightest star in the field, which is 9th magnitude and has N somewhat P it by 3.25’ a 12th-magnitude star. NF the galaxy by 10’ is a 10th-magnitude star that has an 11th-magnitude star N of it by 3’, and that star has just P it the second galaxy (NGC 3507); that star is in the halo of this smaller galaxy, very close to the core. This second galaxy is 1.5’ across, with a very diffuse halo and a somewhat brighter core; in averted vision, it looks like it’s got a stellar nucleus to it, but the nucleus is hard to hold, due in part to the 11th-magnitude star there.
Jerry had arrived while I was working on NGC 3501; he and Robert were in the background discussing Elon Musk (and his SNL hosting gig) while Jerry was setting up his scope. The temperature had already plummeted after sunset, becoming surprisingly cool for May, and it was already more humid than usual at Linslaw. With the clammy weather, it was already time for gloves.
11:00 NGCs 3454, 3455 (Leo): NGC 3454 is not an easy target here in the 12.5”; the neighboring galaxy is much, much brighter and much more obvious. The two galaxies bracket an 11th-magnitude star. 3454 is a little needle; it’s pretty small, only 1.25’ long and maybe 10” wide at center, angled in PA 110˚. It has pretty even and low surface brightness; it’s fairly obvious when you know it’s there, but…. The galaxy is about 1.67’ N very very slightly P that 11th-magnitude star. There’s really not a nucleus or a core, anything that flashes out; it’s a fairly evenly bright (evenly dim is more like it) galaxy. Due S of that 11th-magnitude star, by 1.75’, is the companion galaxy (NGC 3455), which is considerably easier to see. It’s 1.0’ round and diffuse; it seems to have some P very very slightly S-F very very slightly N extension, like a bar in it, with a very slightly brighter core in the middle. This extension is slight, and the galaxy spans 1.25’ x 1.0’. F very very slightly N of this galaxy by 5.5’ is an 11.5-magnitude star, and from NGC 3545 N very very very slightly P by another 4.0’ is a 13.5-magnitude star. I like that S-more galaxy a lot; it’s an interesting target, maybe even more so than the galaxy that’s actually on my list. I’ll need to revisit these with the 20” when Leo rolls around again.
Although I often reached for the 7mm Nagler for higher-power views of my targets (more often with planetary nebulae, but frequently with galaxies as well), the chill, damp weather helped squelch my interest in doing so this particular night. Even though I was taking notes, I was more inclined to keep my gloves on and my equipment arsenal minimal than I was to be as thorough as I usually was. Obviously, I’ll want to revisit some of these galaxies under better conditions and greater aperture. I could complete the AL’s Flat Galaxy program entirely with the 12.5-inch scope, certainly, but that wouldn’t really do justice to the galaxies I was observing.
11:15 NGC 4019; PGC 37931 (Com): Just following Denebola here with NGC 4019, which may actually be over the border in Coma. It’s not a bright galaxy, but it has some presence in the field. It’s in position angle 135˚, pretty much due NP-SF. It’s fairly small; 1.0’ x 7” or so (these are all so infinitesimally thin… all less than 0.25’, so I might as well just give the major axis on some of them). It’s fairly evenly dim; there’s not much going on visually here regarding core, nucleus, or any distinctive features.. S slightly F the galaxy by 3.5’ is a 14th-magnitude star that has due S of it by 2.5’ a 10th-magnitude star, and every so often in averted vision I get a flash… yeah it’s definitely there, F very very slightly N of the 9.5-magnitude star by 2’ is another tiny faint fuzzy spot [PGC 37931] that forms an almost equilateral triangle with the two stars, the 13th and the 9.5. It’s just a speck. Also P 4019 by 3.5’ is a 12.5-magnitude star.
11:26 NGC 4517 (Vir): A great contrast with the previous, this is the very impressive NGC 4517, inside the arms or the head of Virgo, and it’s a massive galaxy compared to what I’m usually after with these flat galaxies. It’s not a super-bright galaxy, but it’s very, very diffuse and long, elongated in PA… 90˚ (?); it almost reminds me of NGC 3109, the “other” (disputed) Local Group spiral. This is no less than 8.0’ x 1.25’; it’s tapered at the ends, especially the F end, and seems to peter out more in the F half. It’s brighter in the center, but there’s not really what I would actually call central brightening; there’s no core or nucleus or anything. The galaxy shows hints of being irregular in brightness; the S edge is much more distinct and cut off (is this a possible dust lane?). The most noteworthy feature, aside from its hugeness and flatness, is the 11th-magnitude star on the N edge just F center, just on the edge of the halo. Just P the 11th-magnitude star is a kind of a darker vein that runs more P-F (?). That P end, from the 11th-magnitude star P-ward is very irregularly bright or mottled; it seems to have a brighter patch just on the P end before it fades out. Just inside the P end is a threshold star. There are several other noteworthy stars here; F that star, toward the F end of the galaxy and very very slightly N (also outside the halo but by a bit more than the 11th-mag) is a 13.5-magnitude star; those are separated by 3’; 3’ F very slightly S from the second star (so just past the end of the galaxy) is a 14.5-magnitude star. From the 11th-magnitude star due S by 4.5’ is a 12th-magnitude star that is the right-angle vertex of a triangle with the 11th; F very very slightly N of the right-angle vertex by 3.5’ is a 13th-magnitude star; from the right-angle vertex N very very slightly F by 1.3’ is a star of 14th magnitude. That’s a fantastic galaxy!
Although these are good notes on NGC 4517—yet another galaxy that needs the extra aperture of the Obsession (really, they all do)—I managed to somehow miss NGC 4517A in the field. Perhaps its surface brightness was too low, or perhaps I rushed too much in my observations.
By midnight, we’d all had our fill of photons. It had been a fine night’s observing, but the weather won out. I took time for a final object before joining the others in tearing down and heading back to our light-swamped city.
12:19 NGC 4197 (Vir): Remaining up here in the head region of Virgo with NGC 4197, and it’s back to the relatively-smaller galaxies like those I was looking at earlier. This one is pretty faint but fairly unmistakable; it’s immediately noticeable in the field. Position angle about 40-45˚; 1.75’ x 0.2’. There’s not a lot of central brightening but what there is is more toward the S end; the NF end, is much more diffuse than the rest. It’s somewhat-irregularly bright, but not what I would call “mottled.” 1.5’ S of the galaxy is a 14.5-magnitude star; due F the galaxy by 3.75’ is a 12.5-magnitude star that has due S of it by 3.75’ an 11th-magnitude star. Even further due S of the galaxy by 9’ is an 11.5-magnitude star. There’s also a small right triangle whose 12.5-magnitude right-angle vertex is P very slightly S of the galaxy by 6.5’. This is a fairly faint but fairly obvious flat galaxy for this aperture.
II. A week later, it was back to planetary nebulae; these would turn out to be among the most difficult planetaries I needed for the AL Planetary Nebula list owing to their deep-southern declinations. I hadn’t realized, when I initially went through the AL’s list, how many of these there were lurking among the crowded, horizon-hugging fields of Lupus and southern Scorpius; they were a challenge not only because of their low altitude but for the brief period of time each of them remained observable. I had just a month or so for NGC 5873 in Lupus, for example. With opportunities limited, there was no time to waste.
Needing flat, low southern horizons, Linslaw was the only choice to observe from. (Had we not been effectively banned from using Eureka Ridge, it would’ve served just as well, if dewier.) I gave Alan a lift out; Jerry was setting up as we arrived. Mark, of course, was already set up, and was running his imaging rig through some preliminary paces as I parked the Caveman-Mobile, while Loren was on his way over after work.
Conditions weren’t great. The transparency—the clarity of the air—was average at best, with strands of cirrus drifting through; this also affected the seeing (the steadiness of the air). One of these cirrus tides went through as I was taking notes on my first object. The temperature wasn’t unpleasant, though, especially compared to the previous excursion. The waxing crescent Moon was still in the sky, too, and would be until past midnight.
I had my old phone with me, rather than the newer one with the better battery. This meant that I needed to conserve battery power in order to get through the list of objects I’d assembled. And I needed a good run of planetaries tonight, to keep on pace with the AL list; as I intended to reobserve all 110 of the planetaries on the list with the 20” (giving me multiple observations of each), I really needed to get through all of them in the 12.5” scope this year.
Ironically, although my first target was indeed a planetary nebula, it wasn’t actually on the AL list.
05/15-16/21 LINSLAW POINT SUNSET: 8:33 PM MOON: 4 days (set at 12:32 AM; 16% illuminated) SEEING: 5 (3) TRANSPARENCY: 6 SQM: 21.58 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to mid-40s; no dew; mild breeze, cool to cold OTHERS PRESENT: JO, AG, LR, MW All observations: 12.5″ f/5 Discovery Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) or 7mm TeleVue Nagler (225x, 0.36˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:15 IC 972 (Vir): IC 972 here, in Virgo, is the first one of what hopefully is a productive evening of planetary nebula hunting here at Linslaw. The Moon is still being a bit of a problem right now. This is a very indistinct not quite 1’ diameter glow with some slightly uneven brightness. It’s very diffuse and quite difficult here in direct vision in the 14mm unfiltered, with the Moon still being problematic; averted vision helps a great deal. I suspect this is actually not a bad little nebula when the moon isn’t a problem. The nebula has NP it by 3.67’ a 12th-magnitude star, and it has 2.5’ N very very very slightly F it another 12th-magnitude star; continuing 6.5’ N very very slightly F the nebula is a 9.5-magnitude star that has an 11.5-magnitude star SF it by 1’. NP the 9.5-mag star by 5’ is an 11th-magnitude star; from the 9.5-magnitude star 6.5’ almost due N is another 9.5-magnitude star, and there’s a 10th-magnitude star NF that star by 3’. Going to go ahead and throw the UHC in the UHC pops the nebula out well, but it’s still diffuse and undetailed. Maybe 0.67’ or 0.75’ diameter. Every now and then in averted, it looks like there’s some “shape” to it other than just being round. There’s no central star or anything at this magnification. The O-III definitely bumps the contrast on the nebula way up: the edges of the nebula in the O-III have more distinctiveness or definition to them; I’m still not 100% sure of annularity, color, or any other detail. This is the only view where the nebula is a little “crisp” around the edge. Averted vision still really helps. There seems to be something at threshold level on the NP edge, even in the filter (so it wouldn’t be a threshold star), a little stellaring of nebulosity that’s very tentative.
The International Space Station made a spectacular pass overhead as I was observing IC 972; earlier, the Chinese equivalent had made a scene itself, traveling in a roughly-perpendicular trajectory. Jerry tracked the ISS in his scope, announcing that the solar panels were quite visible on this pass. (In fact, the number of naked-eye satellites visible on the night was kind of ridiculous… and would become even moreso quickly.)
I wandered about the sky for a while, waiting for my next target to reach a favorable position. With Ophiuchus well placed, I took a tour through some of its globular clusters, also stopping by its brightest galaxy, NGC 6384. I also paid a visit to an old friend, NGC 5894, a small, visually-unremarkable globular cluster in the tail of Hydra. One of the Milky Way’s most distant globulars, NGC 5894 was also one of the prized observations from my early days as an observer, when I found it from the garishly-overlit skies of Cincinnati with a “mere” 8-inch scope.
I heard a shout—from Robert, I think—and turned toward the direction the shouter had indicated. It took no time at all to see what the commotion was about: across the northern sky wormed a greenish glow, at least three, maybe four, degrees long, changing shape as it crawled from east to west. Although it was dark, I didn’t need light to tell that all eyes on the crag were glued to the weird, squirming green coil making its way through the sky.
The telescope wasn’t necessary to identify this particular flying object—or series of flying objects, as we all knew it to be. This was a chain of Starlink satellites, recently launched, the folly of our recent Saturday Night Live host. Bob the Dob split them with ease, a whole string of fast-moving starlike specks flashing through the eyepiece field. I lost count; there were sixty in the chain, but I didn’t stay with them that long in the scope. The naked-eye view was the most compelling; we followed the chain until it faded from sight behind the small copse of trees atop the bluff and into the dome of the city, blocked from our view by the sandstone crag.
Fifteen minutes later, we had only just gotten back to our individual tasks when a glorious meteor fireball gashed its way across the southern sky, almost completely east to west, leaving a persistent smoke trail behind it. I’m pretty sure we applauded; whatever successes we each had on the night, just being at Linslaw for the night’s fireworks was enough. We’d hit the most dramatic man-made and natural sights imaginable in the night sky—how could those be topped?
We followed up with an observation of the brilliant nova in Cassiopeia. Not as spectacular to our eyes as what we’d witnessed already, but even moreso when the astrophysics involved were weighed in. It was astonishing that this nova was still a going concern to such a degree; discovered in March, the nova had continued to flare, reaching naked-eye brightness the week before this.
Then it was back to my list, and an object far off the beaten path. The Moon was still present, low in the west. More intrusive was the flickering screen on the back of Alan’s camera, a neon-sign glow straight ahead that (albeit dimly) lit up the ground in front of me every few seconds.
12:40 NGC 5873 (Lup): This is one of the more difficult sightings I’ve done, ever: a planetary in Lupus, NGC 5873, which is tiny and faint and difficult in the poor seeing down this low… and we are really low, a couple of degrees above the horizon tops [8˚ from the horizon, 6˚ from the mountaintops], about a Telrad and a half diameter off the horizon. The nebula is faint, but it’s also identifiable fairly quickly as being just barely non-stellar. The nebula serves as the NF vertex of a diamond having a star of equal magnitude (and I’m actually gonna say that equal magnitude is 11th) P very very very slightly S of it by 1.75’; S very very very slightly P by 2’ is a 12th-magnitude star, and from the nebula SP by 3.25’ is a 12.5-magnitude star; those stars comprise the diamond. Due N of the planetary by 4.25’ is a 12th-magnitude star, and then from the nebula due NF by 5.5’ is a 9th-magnitude star. F very slightly S of the nebula by 15’ is the N-most of a pair of nearly equal-magnitude stars oriented N very very slightly P-S south very very slightly F to each other, separated by 0.5’, with the N one the brighter; those are 9.5 and 10.5 magnitude; SP the brighter one by 2.75’ is another 9.5-mag star. I suspect that with the filters, there still won’t be much to look at, and this is a very difficult object anyway; it’s so far south to be notable as a planetary of the stellar variety, and I don’t think anything’s going to be much useful for it. Wow, did the UHC filter just blow that up! The nebula’s a rival for the brightest thing in the field now. There’s still no detail, but it’s definitely a remarkably bright little thing with the filter in.. I don’t think I would’ve ever known that this was down here (or bothered with it) without it being on the AL list. I’m not even going go to the O-III; I’m just going to put the 7mm in here and see what happens. The seeing is just terrible down here… OK… there’s almost no way to get a focus on anything down here with the 7mm; still, it’s slightly larger than stellar. It may be a little bit elongated, maybe, with some SP-NF elongation. Adding the UHC in here with the 7mm… with the UHC, it’s still really bright, but anything detail-wise is washed out by the low altitude and crappy seeing.
Jerry and I took SQM readings with the Moon now set; it was useful to occasionally use both his SQM and the one owned by EAS (currently in my possession) to keep track of their calibration with each other. We each had several readings of 21.57 and 21.58 over in the vicinity of Corona Borealis (a useful part of the sky for such readings, due to the relative sparseness of the starry background there), the close agreement likely demonstrating that both meters were in good working order.
1:40 NGC 6072 (Sco): After a side detour to poke around with M5 and Seyfert’s Sextet, this is NGC 6072, again way down scraping the horizon, and it’s a much more impressive specimen that it has any right to be down that low. It’s about 0.75’ around and irregularly bright across its dimensions; it’s brighter more N-S than P-F, with the F edge especially kind of vague and ill-defined. The nebula is very irregularly round, and not well defined at all (this is with no filter); it’s very obvious even with no filter, and even down this low (it’s less than 8° from the mountaintops here). It’s surrounded to the roughly P and roughly F by a bunch of fainter stars in the 12th/13th magnitude range. Due N of the nebula by 7’ is an 8.5-magnitude star (I probably need to account for extinction more than I am). That 8.5-magnitude star is actually the point of a narrow isosceles triangle, and has F somewhat N of and NF it by 6.5’ each a pair of 10th-magnitude stars, and those are themselves separated by 2.5’. P slightly N of the nebula by 2.25’ is a 12.5-magnitude star that has another 12.5-magnitude star almost due P it by 1.5’. F by 4’ is a 12.5 magnitude star that has NF it by 1.67’ a star that looks to be an actual double and has a fainter companion S very very slightly F by 15”; those are 12th and 13.5 magnitude; and the brighter of that pair has a 12.5-magnitude star N very very slightly P it by 1.25’. This seems well worth taking the time to examine; it’s by far the best planetary of the night so far, so we’ll go ahead with the UHC: it’s hard to get focus down here, but the filter provides a nice contrast boost, although the seeing’s still so poor. This planetary almost resembles a small, very distant globular, not like a galaxy like some of these other fainter, mid-sized ones do. The O-III really brings out the brightness of that N-S axis in a way that the UHC did not. I want to say that it’s elongated that direction, but it isn’t; it’s almost like the Dumbbell, round but much brighter in one axis, almost like a bar across the middle of a rounder general glow. Aside from that, there’s just not much else coming through, so we’re going to head on to the 7mm. [Going to pass on Ton 2, which I’d hoped to scout for, because the sky isn’t good enough. The advantage to working this low in the sky: I can use my chair as a table, as I’m sitting on the ground.] So the 7mm… seeing is crap down there, and I don’t know that the 7mm is bringing out any more detail. (I feel like these notes are poor quality, but I can’t do much with nebulae this low.) The S edge seems more well delineated, a little sharper than the rest of the nebula; the interior brightness is quite irregular. 1/3 of the way from N-S, there’s a roughly P-F kind of dark slash or occlusion against the brighter part of the nebula. I don’t know at this point if filters even have any use, what with the terrible seeing this far south. There’sa kind of vaguely Dumbbell-ish impression in terms of overall shape, but… it’s really, really hard to make out anything in the way of detail, other than the fact that there’s detail to be had that I can’t make out.
On some of these nebulae, I feel like I have to wrack my brain to come up with enough of a description, particularly when the sky conditions won’t support the observation. This is how I end up with long sets of notes on some of the tiny, stellar objects like NGC 5873. NGC 6072 was a considerably more impressive object, but I still found myself sometimes grasping at barely-relevant thoughts while trying to make this one seem more memorable than it might have really been.
Note to self: get a new, better O-III filter. It’s past time.
2:06 NGC 6153 (Sco): NGC 6153 is showing up really well considering its closeness to the horizon; I would be willing to say it’s less than 4° above the horizon here, because we’ve got a couple of hills that rise a couple of degrees above the actual horizon. (I starhopped from NGC 6139, the globular up there, to find it; we’ve hit this nebula right at the meridian by sheer luck.) The nebula is very obvious; it’s smallish, roughly 0.3’ around, maybe 0.4’, but it’s the southern vertex of a very compressed diamond which is longer in the P-F axis than the N-S axis, at the S end of which is the nebula. The middle of this nebula is pretty nicely bright, but there’s no central star to speak of, although it kind of hints that there may be. The F side of the nebula’s a little bit sharper defined, but that’s all relative down in this muck. The N-S axis on this diamond is about 2.75’, and the star at the N end of that axis, again with no accounting for extinction, looks to be of 10th magnitude. The P-F axis is about 4.25’; the star at the F end of that axis is the brightest not just in the field, but certainly the brightest in the diamond at 8th magnitude; there’s a 10th magnitude star at the P end of the P-F axis. The 8th-magnitude star is NF the nebula by 2.67’ and the star at the P end of the axis is 2.75’ from the nebula. The 8th-magnitude star is also the primary of a pair/double, with a 14th-magnitude star FvvsS by 15”. From the P end of the diamond, P slightly S by 3.75’, is an 11th-magnitude star that may be double, but I can’t tell in the seeing, and SP that star (the supposed double) by 2’ is an 11.5-magnitude star. The UHC filter does basically nothing; the field looks almost unchanged. So out with that filter and in with the O-III; I think this nebula will shine a bit in the 7mm, as I’m still impressed with how good the nebula looks despite the conditions. In the O-III, it’s really bright, but the focus just isn’t happening. It’s more evenly illuminated with the O-III. The 7mm Nagler doesn’t let me focus at all down here, but it does show some irregularity to the outside of the nebula’s rim; it’s definitely more indistinct. No central star is visible at either magnification; the seeing is so poor I’d never be able to focus on it if there was one. The S arc of the nebula is a little brighter than the rest, but only very vaguely; certainly the S half is a bit brighter and better defined than the N. I’m sure this would be a really nice object even from 10˚ farther south.
Loren began packing up for the drive home, citing the wounded pride that comes with difficulty in finding some of one’s targets for the evening. He was doing far better than I was at the same stage of our observing careers, having completed the Herschel 400 only two years after getting involved with astronomy, and currently working on carbon stars; finding an individual, specific star in an out-of-the-way starfield in some obscure constellation takes a lot more skill than one might think.
“The Universe is a harsh mistress,” I replied, citing a much-loved (and very true) aphorism on amateur astronomy.
I’ve often likened astronomy to fishing—sometimes the process is the only reward a session provides. The fish aren’t biting; the faint glimmer of a galaxy just eludes even a skilled observer. There’s the enjoyment of the search, or of being on the water, but the fisherman or observer ends up with an empty bucket, and the communion with nature is the only takeaway. Regardless, it’s a more-rewarding pursuit than being blasted with televised nonsense or frittering away slivers of one’s lifespan (and intelligence) on Internet detritus.
Time and energy were running low. All that remained on my agenda for the evening was a re-observation of a planetary I’d caught before from Eureka, but on a much better night than this one; unsatisfied with my notes from that (seemingly-ancient) session, I’d resolved to do better. The results were mixed, to say the least. I’d hoped to also get the Bug Nebula, NGC 6302, only a few degrees away from my current target, but my phone battery had also dwindled to a minimum.
2:29 NGC 6337 (Sco): This is not an easy find compared to the last two, but it’s there and distinctly so; it’s much better in averted version. This is NGC 6337, the Cheerio Nebula, and with the greyness of the sky down there and the poor seeing, it’s a tough catch. It’s a very ill defined… I shouldn’t say ill-defined, because the edges are decently defined, but the glow itself is not really an easy one to hang on to. Moving the field, or moving the scope, helps a great deal, but it’s still pretty ghostly; you can barely see it in direct vision, and averted helps a great deal—in averted vision, it’s quite apparently round. But it’s just a ghostly disk about 0.75’ across. It’s relatively easy to see that there’s a nebula there; it just might catch the attention without knowing that it’s there, as it’s fairly obvious though quite faint. A number of faint field stars are nearby and detract from the view; the brightest of these are SF and NF, with the one to the SF the brightest in the field at 10th magnitude, while the one to the NF is 11.5 magnitude. The 10th-magnitude star is 3.5’ from the nebula, and the 11.5-magnitude star 2.75’, and those are separated by 4.25’. There’s a very, very thin scalene triangle of stars to the N slightly F of the nebula by 13’; the brighter of the two P stars is the brightest in the field, 18’ N slightly F the nebula, and it has SP it by 0.3’ the second star; those are 8th and 10th magnitude respectively; there’s a 9th-mag F very very slightly N of the brighter star by 2’, and that triangle is the signpost for finding the nebula. In the poor seeing, all of the stars look like they’re all underwater. The UHC just pops this sucker right out! The nebula is 0.75’ across, and with the UHC one can definitely suspect the annularity. The ring itself seems to stand out a bit more from the darker interior. Averted vision is still a big help in observing the nebula. There seems to be a star on the SP just outside the nebula that wasn’t possible to separate from the glow of the nebula without the filter; that’s unusual. But the central star and the other stars that I know are “within” the nebula aren’t visible at all. With the O-III, the view is roughly similar to that in the UHC, but the O-III brightens the center of the nebula to an extent that the annularity is harder to pick out. There’s no color, no central star… but in averted the annularity seems reasonably strong. The rim seems strongest on the NP. Using the 7mm Nagler, unfiltered, it’s still visible. There’s definitely a star on the SP just outside the nebula; there’s also one on the N very very slightly F as well. With the UHC/7mm, the nebula’s barely visible. The annularity now seems as if the F edge is better defined than the rest. The O-III doesn’t do a good job with it; especially in the poor seeing, although it does make the annularity stand out.
Loren left first, with some trepidation. Living in Springfield, he had a longer drive home than any of us. And none of us knew of any 24-hour gas stations along the way. I always made sure to keep the van at least ¾ full when driving out to Linslaw, but I’d also run afoul of the fuel gods while observing. It wasn’t a comfortable feeling. We only half-kiddingly promised to give him a lift home if he ran out of gas along the way; I offered to let him spend the rest of the night at the Caveman Cave if he didn’t think he could make it all the way home. My voice was thoroughly hoarse from all of the notetaking and chatter of the evening, and the need to talk above the considerable breeze that rumbled in the background (and frequently the foreground) of my audio notes.
And so closed May’s first Moon-dark phase. When we reconvened at month’s end, it would be under significantly-different circumstances.
(Loren made it home; the gas station on the far west outskirts of Eugene was indeed a 24-hour stop.)
Our first observing session of the April Moon-dark phase happened without me; Robert and Jerry stopped by the Eagle’s Rest “amphitheater” on the 9th to catch a few photons before the clouds rolled in. It was two nights later, on Sunday the 11th, that I was able to come down from the trees and gather up some starlight. Of the rest of the EAS Irregulars (as we dubbed our little group-within-a-group), only Jerry was undeterred by the weather forecast.
I.The Clear Sky Chart forecast called for clear, mostly-transparent skies with poor seeing and 12-16 MPH winds, but that wasn’t quite what we got. Some high clouds drifted through during the early part of the session; this was common at Linslaw, with the ocean less than a half-hour’s crow flight away. The seeing wasn’t great, but wasn’t as terrible as expected, although the transparency wasn’t quite as good as the prediction, either—at least early on. The wind was another matter, though; it rumbled and roared on my audio recordings of the session, and occasionally drowned out my voice. It also made it difficult to work on planetary nebulae, as I had to let go of the scope at times in order to swap out eyepieces and nebula filters, leaving the scope at the mercy of the wind. (You wouldn’t think a 75-pound telescope would be vulnerable to a 20MPH wind, but such a finely-tuned and –balanced instrument is easy to blow off course in an unexpected gust.)
But we prevailed, as we had to in order to glean ancient starlight from the sky we were given.
04/11-12/21 LINSLAW POINT SUNSET: 7:52 PM MOON: New SEEING: 6, 7 TRANSPARENCY: 6, 8 SQM: 21.78 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to upper 30s; no dew; very windy; high clouds early OTHERS PRESENT: JO All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) or 7mm TeleVue Nagler (225x, 0.36˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
9:06 Struve 742 (Tau): Up here at Linslaw with Jerry on what’s turning into a breezy night, looking at a Struve double star I’ve stumbled across between the Crab Nebula and the outer horn of Taurus: the two are not quite equal magnitude; the preceding of the two (they’re roughly P-F) is a little bit fainter. I’m gonna say those are 7th and 7.3 magnitude, separated by about 7” [actually 4”].
I don’t normally take notes on double stars, unless they’re on the Astronomical League’s double-star list, and then there’s a sketch involved with the note-taking. But this one was pretty striking, and well worth the effort; I swept over it while looking at the Crab Nebula. And then it was on to planetary nebulae, and one that I’d started back in March only to give up for a better night; tonight wasn’t great, but was better than my previous attempt.
The wind and the cold combined to make the observing rather uncomfortable; I was already stopping to put my gloves on.
10:01 Abell 21 (Gem): Abell 21 is the first object on tonight’s agenda here at Linslaw, on a not horrendously cold, but very gusty, windy night so far on the crag. Seeing and transparency are a little bit iffy, or a little bit variable, rather, so things have come and gone a little bit; at the current moment it looks a bit better than it did earlier, so we’re gonna presumptively go ahead and start the notes here. The nebula is a very, very indistinct gossamer glow some 12’ roughly SP-NF, and is definitely weakest on the NP. I unfortunately know a little bit more about this nebula visually than I like to know before I find something, but it is definitely distinctly not a full annulus—rather a crescent—with the opening to the P, especially the NP. The brightest portions of the nebula are those to the F and SP. The F-most (and brightest) portion lies between a 10.5-magnitude star 7’ S very very slightly F the nebula’s center and an 8th-magnitude star 18’ N very very slightly F the center. Those two stars are about 24’ apart. 9’ N of the 10.5 magnitude star (so between the two stars) is an 11.5-magnitude star, and one of the brightest portions of the nebula is 4’ N slightly P that star; it’s a very ill-defined slightly-brighter patch roughly 1.25’ diameter; it’s very very very indistinct and tenuous. Running from that brighter patch and through the 11.5-magnitude star for 8’ is one of the brighter arcs of the nebula, helping to define the nebula’s F edge. 6’ NP the 10.5-magnitude star is the middle of a 6’ long spray of ten 13th/14th-magnitude stars; that spray runs NP-SF. N of the middle of that spray by 3.67’ is another very ill-defined patch of nebulosity; it’s on the nebula’s SP quadrant and due N of the middle of the spray, and is roughly 1.67’ diameter. There’s not really anything that could be identified as the central star; it’s so poorly-defined that it’s hard enough just to identify the center of the nebula. At the moment, the F arc of the nebula is a little bit more apparent, running along through the 11.5-magnitude star.
With the UHC… that’s really impressive! One would expect the glow of the nebula to pop out more, and it really does; the arc on the F side, in particular, takes on a whole new life. The filter almost completes the arc of the whole nebula, from the F side all the way around; the brighter patches I’d noted previously are considerably brighter still. In averted vision, the whole area of the nebula seems filled with nebulosity, as opposed to being a crescent shape; it seems more completely filled-in than it is in reality. The arc to the SP is substantially brighter and runs 3’ x 1’ P slightly N-F slightly S. It’s gained a lot of “bulk”; this is the area the filter improves the most, even more than the F-most. From the 11.5-mag star on the F arc up to the brighter node on the NP is significantly brighter as well—not quite as much as the SP portion, but it makes the whole F arc of the nebula substantially more impressive. Rocking the scope back and forth really brings out the interior of the glow, where the annulus should be. (Got a lot to talk about for something so indistinct and vague.) This is really impressive with the UHC. The NP quadrant, where the nebula’s kind of broken open, almost has a straightish edge across it, that edge of the really faint nebulosity; it’s not razor-straight but generally so from the N edge down to the SP. The O-III really brings the whole nebula into view. Those two brighter chunks are quite obvious now, especially for an Abell planetary. The F (outer) rim of the F arc, between the 10.5- and 11.5-magnitude stars, is a little better defined, a little bit sharper than the rest of it (I didn’t notice this with the UHC). This is not at all an obvious object, but averted vision and rocking the scope make it stand out from the background.
While I was taking notes, Jerry and I also discussed a couple of extragalactic supernovae that were currently visible: one in NGC 3310—which Jerry looked for with his 12” binoscope, but couldn’t find; and the one in IC 3322A, which he did find, and which I would visit later.
And then it was off on an extensive hunt for another planetary rather similar to Abell 21. The wind continued to rage (somewhat mildly, admittedly, but it felt like rage to those of us on the sandstone crag).
11:05 JnEr1 (Lyn): After a great deal of searching and having to start over a couple of times during the search, using 27 Lyncis as the “home star,” I have finally—and only through the use of the UHC filter—been able to extract Jones-Emberson 1, the Headphones Nebula, from the background. It’s being very difficult tonight; I’ve seen it before, under slightly worse conditions darkness-wise, and it appeared better than this, but we’re gonna take what we’ve got. The nebula–and I have the UHC in at present–is a glow of approximately 6’ diameter. It has a couple of embedded stars in it: a 13th-magnitude star just outside the N edge of the nebula, and a 13.5-magnitude star to the S that’s somewhat inside the nebula. F slightly N of the nebula by 7.5’ is a 10.5-magnitude star that serves as the F-most vertex of a small isosceles triangle, the N and S sides of which are 2.25’ and the P side of which is 1.67’; the NP vertex is 12.5 magnitude and the SP vertex is 14th. N very slightly P the nebula by about 9’ is an 11th-magnitude star. Due P the nebula by about 6.5’ is an 11.5-magnitude star, and then almost due S of that star is another 11.5-magnitude star which lies 8’ from the middle of the nebula. Every so often the transparency seems to improve a little bit, and in averted vision a hint of annularity to the nebula becomes visible, with brighter portions along the rim to the NP and SF; these are very indistinct though—this nebula’s actually worse than Abell 21 in that regard; the outer edges here are much less distinct than they were in the Medusa. With no filter, I’d be really hard-pressed to tell there’s anything in the field, even in averted vision. [There’s a bright asterism that I’ve used as “home” for the nebula, consisting of an almost-equilateral triangle of 9.5/10th-mag stars, and that is 1.3/1.75’ on a side; S and SP that triangle is an arc of three, the N-most of which is the brightest in the field at 9th magnitude, and then P very very slightly S of that by 4’ is an 11.5-mag star; from that star P somewhat N by 2.67’ is a 10.5-mag star.] With the O-III, the disk of the nebula is visible in direct vision, but there’s not even the sense of annularity there was in the UHC; I’m still getting a little more definition on the NP and SF arcs, where the “headphone cups” must be, although this is in part an averted-vision thing. Even though it doesn’t show a regular annulus, there’s definitely irregularity in the interior brightness, but it’s very indistinct as to discreet details. (Rocking the scope helps.)
Jerry was currently observing one of the many galaxies dubbed “The Needle Galaxy,” this one NGC 4424 in Canes Venatici. I turned my attention to an object I’d attempted to find several times over the years, unsuccessfully, and one not on any of the AL lists I’d been working on. It had been discussed recently online, and that discussion had refueled my determination to find it. With clear(ish) skies and some extra time, I wasn’t going to let it go this time, even with the wind howling in the background.
11:34 Frosty Leo (IRAS 09371+1212; Leo): One that’s not on the Astronomical League list, but has been much discussed on CloudyNights this week; this is Frosty Leo, IRAS 09371+1212, and boy, is it a tiny little bastard, but one that’s considerably bright. Even in the 14mm it’s clearly non-stellar: it actually looks extended N very very very slightly P-S very very very slightly F and perhaps 8” x 5”. N slightly F this protoplanetary by 0.75’ is a 12.5-magnitude star, and that star is the S-most vertex of a diamond that consists of two other 12.5-magnitude stars and a 14th-magnitude star: N slightly P that first 12.5-magnitude star by 2.5’ is another of the same magnitude, and then NF the first star by 2.75’ is yet another of magnitude 12.5, and then 3.5’ N slightly F from the first 12.5-magnitude star is the 14th-magnitude star. The brightest star in the field is N slightly P the nebula by 12’ and is 8th magnitude, and it has 2.5’ N slightly P it an 11.5-magnitude star, and then S of the nebula is a line of four stars that’s about 10’ long and consists of three 12th/13th-magnitude stars (actually two more of magnitude 12.5 and a pair that’s almost due S of the nebula; the pair consists of 13th- and a 14th-magnitude stars, separated SP-NF each other by 10”, with the SP star the brighter), and an 11.5-magnitude star which is at the SP end of that line; the line is actually angled P somewhat S-F somewhat N and the F-most star (one of the 12.5-mags) is F somewhat S of the nebula by 5.75’. This nebula definitely needs the 7mm Nagler, but first… I know it’s a protoplanetary but I’m going to try the UHC anyway, even though I don’t think it’ll do much of anything. And my suspicions are confirmed; the UHC doesn’t really do much of anything to improve the view. It’ll be a function of magnification to make any difference. So because the UHC did nothing, I’m going to skip trying the O-III and just plop the 7mm in here. In the 7mm, every so often the transparency clears, giving the nebula a distinctly bilobed character. It’s clearly elongated NsP-SsF, and big enough that I might’ve given this a second look while sweeping the field. The N lobe looks a little smaller than the S one, and in moments of great clarity, there’s a (possibly illusory?) trace of space between the two lobes.
Jerry had somewhat miraculously tracked down Hoag’s Object—a perfect ring galaxy in Serpens, and a difficult target even in much larger scopes—in his binoscope while I’d been taking notes, but he did stop over to check out Frosty Leo. (It’s called “Frosty Leo,” by the way, because of the amount of water ice that’s been detected within the nebula.)
One character flaw that had been bothering me in my recent observations was my unwillingness to use more of my eyepiece arsenal in observing some of these difficult objects. In addition to the 14mm and 7mm eyepieces (the latter belonging to EAS), I had at my disposal a 6mm Radian, a 4.8mm Nagler, and my prized 10mm Delos… none of which I used with any regularity, and all of which would be useful on these varied planetaries. Why wasn’t I using the 4.8 Nagler on these tiny objects? Why didn’t I use the 10mm Delos on the larger ones like Abell 21, where the 7mm was too much power but where the 158x the Delos offered might be perfect? Part of this was the constant worry of having to clean the prized Delos if it was to get dirty somehow, but that didn’t explain my reluctance to use, say, the 4.8 Nagler, which would be eminently useful in gleaning extra detail from the stellar and barely non-stellar objects I was running across. I made a mental note to do so in the future, as there was no good reason not to.
I spent a fair amount of time searching for Abell planetaries 35 and 36—the former in Hydra, the latter in Virgo. These are huge nebulae, among the biggest in the sky, but devilishly faint and vulnerable to imperfect sky conditions. Neither was able to grant me even the faintest trace of their existence, even using my 24mm Meade SWA eyepiece. Of all of the planetary nebulae on the AL list, these were proving to be beyond the 12.5” scope and my eyes; it wouldn’t be until my sojourns in Cygnus that I would strike out again so thoroughly to find one of these dead star remnants.
Jerry had already observed the bright nova in Cassiopeia, which was remarkably still visible, and had moved on to another extragalactic supernova—this one in NGC 5018. Meanwhile, I was aiming my own scope at the previously-noted IC 3322A, which in addition to currently hosting a supernova was also a member of the Flat Galaxies Catalogue.
12:32 IC 3322A; SN2021hiz; NGCs 4365, 4370 (Vir): Having struck out with the last couple of planetaries that I needed (Abells 35 and 36), I’m taking a bit of a detour to get a couple of nice flat galaxies in, starting with a really impressive one that is hosting at the moment a very bright supernova. We’re in the head of Virgo, where everything is of course galaxies; this is IC 3322A. The galaxy is 2.67’ long by about 10” wide, and the supernova is very much at the N tip, possibly 8” from the N end of the galaxy on the inside of the galaxy’s halo. The galaxy is elongated 150˚ PA. It has the classic flat-galaxy brightness profile to it: little in the way of nucleus or central bulge; arms fading out at the ends. There’s mottling evident along the galaxy’s length, which isn’t often enough the case with these flat galaxies. The S end is much less distinct than the N, but it could just be the supernova drawing attention to that side; the supernova is as bright as 12th magnitude. This is definitely one of the more impressive extragalactic supernovae I’ve seen. There’s no nucleus, but 1.67’ F the middle of the galaxy is a 14.5-magnitude star; that star has another of the same brightness due P by 0.75’. NP the galaxy by 5.5’ is a 10th-magnitude star, and then P very slightly S of the galaxy by 4’ is a 13th-magnitude star. 20’ P somewhat N of the galaxy is a much larger, brighter galaxy [NGC 4365]; very bright and unmistakable, with a stellar nucleus and brighter core; the core is 0.3’ diameter but gradually arrived at; the halo is 2.75’ x 1.75’ and is elongated P slightly S-F slightly N. That galaxy is bracketed by a 12th-magnitude star to the N slightly P by 3.3’ and an 11th-magnitude star S somewhat F of the galaxy by 5.75’. The larger galaxy doesn’t come to a crisp halo/core distinction and is not well defined; the edges just fade out into the background. NF that galaxy by 10’ (and therefore NP IC 3322A by 18’) is a smaller, much more diffuse galaxy [NGC 4370], with a very poorly-concentrated core, a diffuse poorly-defined halo and no visible nucleus. This galaxy is elongated P very slightly N-F very slightly S, 1.67’ x 1.0’. [I could probably go on for hours about all the galaxies up here!] In the 7mm, the large galaxy doesn’t show much more detail. The smaller one is a little irregular in brightness across its halo. IC 3322A is just a really nice edge-on galaxy, although the supernova kind of overshadows the rest of it. At this magnification, the galaxy extends N a little bit beyond the SN. A nice flat galaxy for the 12.5-inch scope!
I had previously observed NGCs 4365 and 4370 before, but had made no mention of IC 3322A; I had either not seen it, or had ignored it because it wasn’t part of my agenda that week. This time, I missed IC 3322 to the due N of IC 3322A, which was also in the field, despite panning around looking for other galaxies. So much for being observant!
Having had a productive observing session, and having had enough of the cold and the wind, we decided to save some energy for the next night (i.e. later that day), which also boasted a clear forecast, albeit with somewhat better seeing… and even more wind. We called it a night, having seen multiple extragalactic supernovae and a few of the larger planetary nebulae that I was already late in getting to.
II. Frank joined Jerry and I later that night at Linslaw. I think we might have bailed on the night—or gone elsewhere—had we anticipated the even stronger winds that awaited us when we got to the crag, although the conditions weren’t enough to deter us from setting up.
I had brought along the 20” Obsession this time, having decided to take a break from planetary nebulae to focus on flat galaxies (and other objects, some just for the hell of it). You might expect the 20” to be more stable in the wind than the 12.5”, but this doesn’t account for the amount of surface facing the wind and the even-greater smoothness of the 20” azimuth bearings. Several times I had to hold onto the scope to avoid it blowing around in circles. Jerry’s binoscope was heavier and less-slick in azimuth; it also didn’t have a wind-catching shroud around it like the Obsession did. Frank’s own binoscope (which he had brought of his myriad scopes) was similarly more solid in the wind, although Frank himself was fairly displeased with the conditions on the crag.
04/12-13/21 LINSLAW POINT SUNSET: 7:53 PM MOON: 1 day (set at 8:41 PM; 1% illuminated) SEEING: 7 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: 21.58 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to upper 40s; no dew; very windy; wind eventually drove us off mountain OTHERS PRESENT: JO, FS All observations: 20″f/5 Obsession Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (181x, 0.45˚ TFOV) or 7mm TeleVue Nagler (363x, 0.21˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:16 IC 2531 (Ant): We’re back at Linslaw for Round Two and starting off with an obscure one way down low in Antlia, IC 2531. The seeing is pretty crummy down here—it of course has moments where it’s a little bit better; the scope collimation isn’t great, either, as this is the first session since we cleaned the mirror and disassembled the scope. This galaxy is a huge kind-of-a little-brother to NGC 891 in Andromeda. Certainly in the pictures that’s what we’re looking at here; it’s a long thin streak with a noticeable central hub. (I actually “discovered” this one first on photographs and decided that I had to look at it.) But the dust lane that helps make it a clone of 891 is nowhere near visible… or at least obvious; the seeing down that low is no better than a 4, so it’s not the best of conditions, but this may be the best chance I get at it, given how low it is and how briefly it’s visible from this far north. The galaxy is no less than 5’ long; it’s 0.5’ wide at the hub. It looks as though there’s texture to it that should be visible but is just out of reach, because of the seeing and transparency at this altitude; it kind of hints, especially in averted vision, that there’s more detail that’s just below the threshold of visibility right now. It’s situated in a surprisingly active field for being in Antlia, which is always thought to be pretty desolate (Luginbuhl and Skiff refer to it as “the astral Empty Quarter”). The galaxy is pretty close to due P-F in elongation; might be 85° position angle, maybe even 90°. It’s really hard to get a fix on because of the altitude/declination and the poor seeing. There are several notable groupings of stars around the galaxy, starting just off the P end, 3.5’ P very very slightly S of the Galaxy’s center, at a 13.5-magnitude star with another of the same magnitude P very very slightly S of it by 0.67’. NP the central hub by 2.25’ is a 14th-magnitude star with another of the same magnitude N slightly P it by 0.75’. There’s another 14th magnitude star FsS of the hub of the galaxy by 2’, and there’s also, 3.3’ F very very slightly N of the galaxy’s central hub (so just north of the F end of the galaxy from the central hub) a 14.5-magnitude star. 6.5’ due N of the galaxy by is the middle star of a roughly N-S arc of three stars; that star is 12th magnitude and has another of the same magnitude 1.25’ S very slightly F it, and also has an 11.5-magnitude star N very slightly F it by the same distance. The S-most of that bend of three, the second of the 12th-magnitude stars, also has another of equal magnitude F it by 1.5’, and that star has a 13.5-magnitude star 0.67’ N very slightly P it. There’s a bright right triangle of stars that I actually used to help find the galaxy; this is SF the galaxy, with its S-most (and brightest, at 9th magnitude) vertex actually 10’ due SF the galaxy; the right-angle vertex is N somewhat F it by 1.75’, and the third vertex is 1’ NP the right-angle vertex; those two are both 10.5 magnitude. There’s no point in using higher magnification given the lousy seeing down here, but I’m plenty impressed by the view in the 14mm.
Jerry and I both commented on how fine a galaxy IC 2531 was, and how being so far north kept us from winnowing out the fine objects in that part of the sky.
Having extracted the gorgeous galaxy from the reaches of Antlia, I spent the remainder of the evening on the ladder, observing targets in parts of the sky more suited to the conditions, even as being on the ladder was less confortable due to the regular gusts of cold air that billowed around our little “mountaintop.” To say the wind was howling by this point would be underselling it a bit; the noise on my audio was a constant roar. (Perhaps because of the winds, Frank was discussing air shows he’d been involved with, as well as some pretty harrowing tales of his time in Vietnam.)
11:19 Hickson 40 (Hya): In the 20”, this couldn’t be more obvious, and considering that it’s a bunch of PGC galaxies, that’s pretty impressive. A great little compact group! It’s located roughly halfway between two 10.5-magnitude stars. There are three distinct objects here: the brightest galaxy [HCG40A] is approximately in the middle [wind blows scope away from my hands]; it has a stellar nucleus (a bright one), a compact little core, and a pretty well-defined 0.3’ x 0.25’ halo elongated N-S. NF that galaxy by 0.75’ is the second brightest [HCG40D], and that one has a brighter core and a PvsS-FvsN halo that spans 12” x 10” and is more diffuse than that of the brightest of the group; it also seems that there’s a threshold star on the F slightly S side of this second galaxy but no visible nucleus. Just S of the largest of these galaxies is a larger indistinct glow that consists of multiple galaxies, including two edge-ons [HCG40C/E] that I’m not able to separate/resolve at this magnification. That glow is very generally NsP-SsF oriented and in very brief moments, it looks separable into its constituent galaxies. At the S end of the group, in moments of better seeing/transparency, there’s an identifiable core and a very very faint substellar nucleus, but the two edge-on galaxies are just a diffuse indistinct glow between that last, S-most one [HCG40B] and the largest one. That third group (the two edge-ons and the S-most discrete object) is 1.25’ x 0.67’ in total. The brightest of the galaxies is almost exactly between the two 10.5-magnitude stars, 10’ from each. The 10.5-magnitude star to the SP is the S-most vertex (and SP vertex) of a right triangle, with its right-angle vertex NF that star by 2.67’; NvsP the right-angle vertex by 2.3’ is the third vertex, which also lies exactly in line with the brightest galaxy in the group and the star to the SP; the right-angle vertex is 12th magnitude and the third is 11.5. Due S of Hickson 40 by 16’ is another 10.5-magnitude star. [I have to let go of the scope for a second to get the 7mm Nagler so I can split the galaxies apart; this is risky in the wind. I’m impressed that I could let the scope go that long and the wind didn’t blow away the galaxies!] The two N components are very much separated out in the 7mm, with a star on the SsF edge of the N-most; that N-most galaxy has both a threshold star on its NP edge and a stellar nucleus. The glow between the “big” galaxy and the one to the farthest S definitely has a definite shape to it, although it couldn’t be identified as intersecting edge-on galaxies; the more P of the two in that glow has more “presence” to it than the other. I can definitely see three main galaxies, while the fourth and fifth blur together. The third, the one to the far S of the group, has the occasional flash of a very faint substellar nucleus and a tight core that bleeds out into its compact halo.
I called Jerry over for a look at HCG 40; Frank had already started packing up.
12:44 NGC 3365 (Sex):NGC 3365 is set in one of the most barren fields I’ve seen in a long time. It’s a big flat galaxy with almost nothing within 10’ of it; it’s pretty close to N-S in elongation; it looks to be 170° in PA. It spans 3.5’ x not quite 0.5’. No nucleus is visible, and there’s not much in the way of a central bulge; the illumination is pretty even except at the very ends of the spiral arms. 4.5’ NF from the center of the galaxy is a 15th-magnitude star; SF it by 8’ is an 13.5-magnitude star, and then from that star P somewhat S (so SvsP the galaxy) by about by 10’ is a 14th-magnitude star. This is how much I’m for reaching for field stars here! There are a couple of brighter ones on the periphery, and there’s also a triangle within a triangle outside the N edge of the field, whose N-most vertex is the brightest star in the area at 9th magnitude. I don’t know what’s more intriguing about this: the flat galaxy or the absolutely barren field immediately around it; the emptiness of the field definitely makes the galaxy hard to miss. The galaxy seems to be a little bit more diffuse on the S end than on the N, but the galaxy doesn’t really seem to have any mottling or anything else to it detail-wise; it’s a very smooth brightness gradient.
While I was taking notes on NGC 3365, Jerry was observing M92, the “other” globular cluster in Hercules. We traded views during a lull in the weather.
Just as on the previous night, I struck out on Abell 35, the large planetary in Hydra. Either I was going to need perfect conditions to find it (and Abell 36), or I was probably going to have to head south to view them above the horizon muck and the distant (but prominent) glow from Roseburg. So I wandered around the sky a bit, observing familiar targets with the huge scope, and finally settling on one that I’d never bothered with before.
1:56 NGCs 4676A, 4676B (ICs 819, 820; The Mice; Com): We are pretty close to the end of the night here; it’s been a good night despite the wind and the chill. We’re closing out with an interesting sight, The Mice in Coma Berenices, which aren’t on any of my lists except the mental one I keep. (These are pretty close to the meridian, so it’s a long way up the ladder.) These galaxies are both pretty small; they’re actually quite similar in appearance. The more P of the two, which is elongated roughly due N-S, is quite diffuse, reasonably well-defined, and has a somewhat brighter core but no nucleus; the main “body” of the galaxy is 0.3’ long, but the tail (it’s the only visible tail between the two of them) is elongated due N-S, but bends P just a tiny bit at the very N end; the tail is 1.25’ long. The second galaxy is brighter and more concentrated, with a more-obvious core than the first, and is slightly-better defined; the core is reasonably large compared to the halo. The galaxy is elongated 0.3’ x 0.25’ and is elongated SP-NF; it has no tail visible. These two form an almost-right triangle (as the right-angle vertex) with a 10th-magnitude star almost due F (a bit S) by 5.75’ and a 12th-magnitude star 9’ almost due S of the galaxies. The 12th-magnitude star has a 14th-magnitude star NsP it by 2’; the 10th-magnitude star to the F has a pair of 15th-magnitude stars SsF it by 0.5’ and 0.1’, so those are roughly in a line. In the 7mm Nagler, the galaxies blur out badly, but the extra magnification does yield a bit more detail. The more F of the pair may have a tiny very, very faint stellar nucleus that flashes every now and then, and definitely has a better-defined core that the P galaxy; in the P galaxy, the core is smeared into the halo with little definition. There’s about 0.3’ of space separating the two galaxy cores.
Having survived the conditions until after 2 AM, we agreed that it was time for lower elevations and warm drives home. My notes said that “the wind drove us off the mountain,” but considering that we’d been there for more than five hours already, that would’ve been hyperbole.
III. Two nights later—after having thawed out—I joined Dan B back at the crag. The CSC forecast was mixed with regards to sky conditions, but showed little dew and even less wind. With the previous session’s gale still fresh in the memory, Frank and Jerry opted for the amphitheater rather than the darker but more “elemental” observing to be had at Linslaw Point.
So we made it a bit of a competition, texting across the Willamette Valley to compare notes on the observing conditions. Not long after we’d gotten set up, Dan and I knew we’d gotten the better end of the deal; the amphitheater crew was already dealing with partly cloudy skies. We could see those same clouds low in the east from the edge of the crag; it was only a matter of time before they arrived our way.
With the Moon still present early, I turned the giant scope toward it, spending considerable time examining areas along the lunar terminator—specifically the region around Mare Fecunditatis, and especially the chain of three deep, shadow-ridden craters on the N side of the mare. I’m not much of a lunar observer, and am pretty unfamiliar with most of the surface features—I know the Straight Wall, and the Lunar Alps, and the craters Tycho and Copernicus, and that’s about it. Yet another question I should answer: given that the Moon makes deep-sky observing impossible at least two weeks each month, why don’t I spend some time observing the nearest world whose surface we can see?
As the Moon sank toward the horizon, it was evident that the sky crud Jerry and Frank were contending with was having some impact as it spread west, toward where Dan and I were set up. I’d taken some readings with the SQM, only to disagree with them from just eyeballing the sky; it didn’t look as good as the numbers indicated. But we were already set up, and I wasn’t going to abandon the session just because of some high cirrus haze… at least not while we weren’t totally clouded out. So it was time for deep-sky, and making do with what the sky-gods gave us.
04/14-15/21 LINSLAW POINT SUNSET: 7:56 PM MOON: 3 days (set at 10:46 PM; 8% illuminated) SEEING: 6, 7 TRANSPARENCY: 6 SQM: 21.51 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to upper 50s; no dew; slight breeze, high cirrus haze to the E that became problematic later in the session OTHERS PRESENT: DB All observations: 20″f/5 Obsession Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (181x, 0.45˚ TFOV) or 7mm TeleVue Nagler (363x, 0.21˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:24 NGC 2997 (Ant): I had not intended to take notes on NGC 2997 tonight, but I’m gonna do it anyway—this is too good a look at it to pass up, even as down in the muck as it is; the transparency’s not awful down there, but the seeing is pretty atrocious. This is such a wonderful galaxy in photographs, and this is a really nice look at it here, despite everything working against it. The galaxy is elongated P-F and covers a considerable 8.0’ x 5.0’. It’s difficult to trace the outer halo here; I know it’s face on, obviously, but I didn’t notice a lot of the halo at first so I overlooked it in the eyepiece. It’s very diffuse and poorly-defined, with a 0.5’ core that is not particularly well defined, and every so often it seems as if there might be a very broad nucleus in there, but I’m not sure that’s true. From the middle of the core, about 2.67’ SP, there’s an 11th-magnitude star that’s inside the edge of the halo there, and halfway between the core and that star there’s a darker gap in the halo that has to be space between the spiral arms; that gap stretches from S of the core counter-clockwise up to the N and is about 3.5’ long—from S of the core it sweeps NP, N, and NF. The halo itself is quite mottled or irregular in brightness. Due F the core by 3.25’, toward the outer edge of the halo, there’s a very very very faint (14.5 magnitude?) star that doesn’t quite seem totally stellar; this could be just the effect of being inside the halo. That star has SF it by 1.75’ a 14th-magnitude star that is the right angle vertex of a triangle, with the star in that edge of the halo and a 13.5-magnitude star due NF the RA vertex by 2.25’. F somewhat S of the core [??] by about 1’ there’s another glimmer inside the halo that’s hard to define; it also looks non-stellar. I’m losing some of my definition of the galaxy here, probably due to the high cirrus crud that’s over in the west; the moon is still up which is not helping either, although it’s in a much better position than it was when I started. The part of the halo from N of the galaxy’s core and sweeping down toward that star on the F edge is just a tiny bit better defined there; this may be the edge of that spiral arm. (There’s quite a lot of detail to be had here.) Almost due P the galaxy, near the P edge of the field (so 12’) is an 8.5-magnitude star; there’s a 9.5-magnitude star F slightly N of that one by 4’. F slightly S of the galaxy, also by about 12’, is a 7.5-magnitude star that is the right-angle vertex of a very bright triangle of stars; 5’ due S of that one is an 8th-magnitude star, and F the right-angle vertex by 7’ is a 7th-magnitude star. From the 8th-magnitude star, S very slightly F by 4’, is a 10.5-magnitude star. The northern arm of the galaxy that sweeps down to the F side seems to be significantly better defined in moments of better sky, and that dark gap between the core and the star to the P somewhat S edge is quite well defined, especially in averted vision; the arm that the gap is separating from the core is not really that well-defined, and seems to be the weaker of the two arms.
By this point, some honest-to-Crom clouds had rolled in, although they were fairly confined to portions of the sky I could avoid. (Of course, the clouds one could see usually meant that there was a lot of higher-altitude stuff we couldn’t see.) Jerry had texted Dan: he and Frank were reduced to observing through sucker holes (clear “windows” in the sky that promised some fleeting observing, only to cloud over just as the observer pointed his scope that direction). The wind had also picked up a bit, although it was still bearable and had little impact on the observing.
11:19 PGC 36026 (MCG-3-30-3; Crt): I’m here in Crater with the somewhat difficult, diffuse PGC 36026; this flat galaxy has some decent size to it, but no real concentration or internal structure or much of anything anything detail-wise to it at all: no nucleus, no central bulge, just a very evenly illuminated streak (and faint at that, at least in the 14 mm). The galaxy extends 2.0’ x 0.3’ and is pretty much 180° PA, maybe 175° at least. It doesn’t look 100% straight; there’s a little bit of a kink to it on the N end where it bends very slightly F. (Averted vision is your friend with this one, especially as the seeing’s still not good down there.) It has a number of faint stars nearby: 1.67’ due P the galaxy is a 14th-magnitude star that has a 14.5-magnitude star P very veryslightly S by another 1.3’; the first star also has a 15th-magnitude star S slightly F it by 1.3’. 2.5’ SF from the center of the galaxy is another 14.5-magnitude star. N very very slightly P the galaxy by 4.5’ is an 11th-magnitude star; there’s an 11.5-magnitude star NF the galaxy by 7’. 13’ N of the galaxy is a 9.5-magnitude star that’s the brightest in the field. With the 7mm Nagler, the extra magnification almost kills the galaxy; the 14mm is a much better view.
I lost the galaxy during the eyepiece switch, while trying to wrestle the 7mm Nagler into the focuser; I ended up pushing too hard and throwing the scope off target. Fortunately, it was a minor matter to get back on target.
And as with the planetary nebulae, I don’t understand my reticence in using the 10mm Delos, which would’ve provided a better view of the galaxy. I need to move past this; the Delos isn’t doing any good just sitting in my eyepiece case.
I took twenty minutes to try to track down the eye-bleedingly faint globular cluster Palomar 3 in the dim constellation Sextans. Try as I might, though, I couldn’t ferret out the cluster from the dark grey background, even though I knew I had the field exactly correct. I suspect the poorer transparency was to blame (at least that’s what I’m going with). I planned to make another attempt on the cluster when I next had the 20” scope out at Linslaw, but we all know what happens to such plans.
I stayed in the borders of Sextans for my next target, but it was harder to track down than I’d anticipated; I’d accidentally left the comet tracking on in Sky Safari, which filled the screen with spurious objects that looked like stars at first glance on the screen. I also had to swap out my two-step stepladder for the bigger 6’ ladder, which surprisingly felt more stable than the smaller one. (I never thought I’d say that.)
12:10 UGC 5708 (Sex): Going for some higher-declination galaxies now, so I can stay out of the murkier reaches of the sky.This guy is UGC 5708 in Sextans, and it took quite a while to figure out where it was. I’m still thinking that the transparency’s going to hell on us here… but the galaxy is another one of those that’s almost due N-S in orientation; it’s pretty much 180° PA. This galaxy’s difficult to observe because it not only has a bright star on the due N, it also has a faint one just P it toward the S end. The galaxy is 2.0’ x 0.25’ and is pretty diffuse but not a difficult find. I noticed it right away, but it’s almost even harder to study it when it’s centered in the field better—the star on the N end just really screws up the observing; it’s about 11.5 magnitude and really makes it hard to get a good read on the galaxy; the star just P the galaxy near the S end is much closer to threshold, probably 15th magnitude. The galaxy doesn’t have a classic flat galaxy profile (no nucleus, no central hub); it’s even a little bit mottled, a little bit irregular in brightness. SF it by 4’ is the F-most star in a P very very slightly S-F very very slightly N elongated diamond of 12th-magnitude stars: from that star 4.25’ P somewhat S is another of 12th magnitude, maybe slightly fainter than the first; from that star 2.75’ P somewhat N is an 11.5-magnitude star; from that star 2.75’ F slightly N is another 11th-magnitude star that has one of 15th magnitude 0.75’ N very very slightly P it; the galaxy lies N very slightly F of the 15th-magnitude star by 2’. With the 7mm Nagler, the galaxy is even more difficult—the extra magnification is not doing the galaxies any favors tonight; I’ve got a lock on the star P the galaxy’s S end, but the galaxy is wiped out by the extra magnification; even in averted vision, it’s hard to see.
Dan had work the next morning and had to leave; he’d packed up while I was observing UGC 5708, apologizing for his departure, then headed off down the tricky gravel road that spiraled down the side of the crag.
12:45 UGC 5341; UGC 5339 A/B; PGC 28676 (Leo): At a really interesting field here near the Sickle of Leo, almost exactly halfway between the end of the Sickle and the star just above Regulus. My primary target is the flat galaxy UGC 5371, and of the ones that I’ve done so far tonight, this is definitely the most difficult; although I’ve often passed on the really-difficult flat galaxies in favor of those that are more “worthy” of taking notes on, I’m doing a note on this one anyway because of the excellent field it’s in. The galaxy is elongated about 45° PA (so due SP-NF), and is just a faint diffuse glow about 2.0’ x 10”, without much of any detail to be seen in it; it’s very, very difficult to pick up anything visually. It’s halfway between and just P the point halfway between two stars of 14.5 and 14th-magnitude, with the fainter to the S very slightly F and the brighter N very slightly F, each by 2.25’. N somewhat F by 9’ is an 8.5-magnitude star with a 13th-magnitude star 1.3’ NsF it; F slightly S of the galaxy by 8’ is a 9.5-magnitude star. What’s really interesting here aside from the main galaxy—which is really just a phantasm of a galaxy—S very slightly P the galaxy by 10’ is the brighter pair of a trio of galaxies; these two are obviously in contact; these are brighter than the third member of the group and lie S slightly F and N slightly P each other; the one S slightly F [UGC 5339B; MCG+4-24-005] is 0.25’ and has a brighter but more diffuse core and a not particularly well-defined halo; every so often there’s a trace of a stellar nucleus; this galaxy is 0.3’ x 0.25’, elongated P slightly N-F slightly S (position angle was hard to acquire given the faintness and size of the galaxy). The galaxy to the N slightly P [UGC 5339A; MCG+04-24-004] has a little more concentration to its core but no nucleus, and is generally even less defined than the previous. The cores of these two galaxies are separated by 0.3’, center-to-center. 2’ P somewhat N the more N of the pair is another galaxy [PGC 28676] of the same size, this one fainter and even more diffuse, with a slightly-brighter core; this galaxy is much more difficult than the pair. Those three galaxies make up the F edge of a diamond: 2.75’ S of the S-most of the three is a 14th-magnitude star; there’s a 13th-magnitude star 2.5’ P very very slightly S of the S-most of those galaxies; those two stars and the three galaxies make up the diamond. Back to UGC 5341 with the 7mm (even though haven’t had good results with it tonight): UGC 5341 has roughly faded into the background, and is now a very, very difficult catch; the others are somehow still present. The more northern member of the pair is elongated S very slightly P-N very slightly F and has a fainter core than its companion. Every so often, 0.67’ NF the N member of the pair, it looks like there’s another galaxy or a threshold star: very small, brutally faint… I think it’s another galaxy. No, it’s a threshold star. An excellent field!
Having worked through several denizens of the Flat Galaxy Catalogue, I ended the night—and the month, given the current Moon phase—with my second new Hickson group in as many nights.
1:45 Hickson 67 (Vir): My last one for the night: this is Hickson 67 in Virgo, a fine little group. It’s only minutes past the meridian, so it’s in good observing position, and the seeing is kind of good right now; at the moment, though, in the 14mm, I’m only seeing two obvious galaxies: there’s an elliptical [NGC 5306;HCG67A] and then 3.5’ NP the elliptical is an edge-on [HCG67B] that’s much bigger and is elongated not quite SP-NF, maybe 20° PA. There’re also some distractive elements here, because due S of the elliptical galaxy by 5.5’ is an annoying 9th-magnitude star, and then NP the elliptical galaxy by about 0.67’ is a 14th-magnitude star, and then P slightly S of thatstar by 1.25’ is a double star or pair, NP-SF to each other, with the brighter one to the SF, and those are separated by about 15”; those are 15th and 14.5 magnitude. The 9th-magnitude star to S is part of a kind of a funky T-shaped asterism that stretches from a 14th-magnitude star P very very slightly S of the elliptical galaxy by 6.5’ and stretches SF, runs through the 9th-magnitude star, and the top of the T is formed by two pairs that are SF and due F the 9th-magnitude star. But the elliptical galaxy is 1.0’ round, with a thin, poorly-defined halo and a somewhat-brighter core that takes up at least a third of the galaxy’s diameter; there’s a fairly smooth transition from halo to core, and there also seems to be a very faint substellar nucleus there. The edge-on galaxy to the NP is 2.25’ x 0.3’ and in keeping with the rest of my flat galaxies tonight (I don’t know if this is considered an official flat galaxy or not; it’s got the right ratio of dimensions [7:1]), it’s pretty evenly illuminated across the way; there’s not a lot in terms of central brightening or anything noteworthy; it’s pretty dim but fairly obvious (especially in averted vision), and when you look toward the elliptical you see the edge-on unmistakably there. I don’t believe I pick up a third or fourth galaxy there (and Hickson groups have at least four members, so they have to be here somewhere). So let’s go ahead and put the 7mm in here… with the 7mm, it’s again hard to focus; the jetstream has parked itself over us, making the seeing really crappy at this magnification. With the 7mm, I’m getting a very difficult third galaxy [HCG67C], N of the elliptical but almost in contact. This one is really, really diffuse; there’s almost nothing to grab onto. It’s only 0.25’ or 0.3’ diameter, with no central brightening; it just looks like an extension of the elliptical. Exceedingly difficult in the poor seeing! I know there has to be a fourth in there, but I can’t see it. Wait a minute… Got it! The fourth member [HCG67D] is SP the elliptical by 0.5’, and a little easier than the third, perhaps 0.25’ diameter at best; in averted vision, it looks like it might have a little central concentration; it forms a not-quite-isosceles triangle with the elliptical and the star to the NP the elliptical. This fourth member lies outside the halo of the elliptical, while the third member, the one to the NF, looks like it could be just a contact artifact or a distended streak of the halo pulled N-ward.
Although I’d only managed three nights’ observing for the month, I was pretty pleased with what I’d been able to observe; I’d made headway on three of my projects and had seen some fascinating sights. This—more than checking objects off of a list—is the true reward of observing: being able to explore forgotten corners of the universe, studying objects that had only ever been seen by a relative handful of people, and appreciating them for the magnificent natural structures that they were, from the ghostly shells of dying Sun-like stars to the basic building blocks of the Universe itself (the galaxies) and the smallest structures those building blocks could form (the compact galaxy clusters). And the next month would bring yet other strange lands for observing and contemplating, some hundreds of millions of light-years away, others closer to home.
May came and went in an unexpected wash of rain and general grey cloudiness, in keeping with a year in which the weather patterns (and indeed, nearly everything else) made little or no sense. Usually, we could count on the skies of May being mostly free of nearly every kind of astronomy-preventing condition save forest fire smoke, yet it wasn’t until mid-June—nearly two months to the day since our last observing session—that we were able to return to our explorations of the universe.
COVID aside, we had another major headache to deal with. Due to the inability of our local yee-haw 2nd-Amendment worshippers to keep from damaging life and property down at Eureka Ridge, the Bureau of Land Management had slammed the door (or, more specifically, the newly-installed gate) on our access road to Eureka. This closed us out of our favorite (and nearest) observing site, pretty much permanently. Jerry had put in some queries to the timber company that owned the land, but had heard nothing back from them as yet. Without their permission, we’d done our last stargazing from Eureka.
In a moment of synchronicity, Loren had recently discovered another potential new site, in roughly the same direction as Eureka Ridge, but another 50% more distant. This was a turnout in a very winding section of road, not far from the site Mrs. Caveman and I had explored in April. It had a number of positive qualities: the road was paved all the way to the site, the site itself was paved but overlaid with gravel, there was room for at least eight vehicles, and it promised to be very dark indeed. The southern horizon was better than Eagle’s but not a clear as Eureka or Linslaw Point; the west and east were more than adequate, but the north was (just as Linslaw) mostly blocked by a rocky hillside. The drive was somewhat difficult, but somewhat less so than the Eagle’s region.
I. Our chance to give the new site—which we discovered was called Oxbow Summit, and we shortened to “the Oxbow”—a test run was on the 18th of June, well into the Moon-dark phase. Our last time out had been on April 19th. Conditions weren’t as good as we would’ve hoped, and not a totally fair test of the site, but they were good enough for traveling along the Milky Way.
I’d hoped to bring the 20″ Obsession, but hadn’t had the time to load it up. So it was up to Bob the Dob to inaugurate the new site for me, along with Jerry and Kathy’s 20″ Mel-scope and Loren’s 18″ Obsession. I’d already planned to work on open clusters and planetary nebulae for the AL programs on each, but I left a few flat galaxies on my observing list as well, despite generally reserving those for the Obsession.
06/18/20 THE OXBOW SUNSET: 8:59 PM MOON: 27 days (set at 6:39 PM; 9% illuminated) SEEING: 6 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: 21.44 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to low 50s; slight dew; air still
OTHERS PRESENT: JO, KO (20” TriDob), LR (18”)
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:04 NGC 5496 (Vir): We’re flat galaxy-ing at Loren’s new spot, The Oxbow; rather than using the 20” as I’d planned for the Flat Galaxy program, I’m using the 12.5” (I’d intended to do mostly planetary nebulae and open clusters here, but this target is a good one for the “smaller” scope). This particular galaxy is oriented 175-170˚ PA and about 3.5’ x 0.3’, a little “beefier” than many of the flat galaxies I’ve done. It’s quite ghostly and faint; I overlooked it the first time through the field, several minutes ago, but as the sky darkens more, the galaxy becomes more visible (funny how that works). Its halo is almost mottled or irregularly bright, with a few specific sections of interior brightening; one of these is more toward the N end [a threshold star?], then there’s a gap, then a very very weak core. The S end of the galaxy is more diffuse and harder to trace, less well defined. No nucleus is visible. A number of 13th/14th-magnitude stars lie in the vicinity; one is N very slightly F the galaxy by 6’ from the galaxy’s center and is 14thmagnitude, and there’s a star of 13.5 magnitude NF the galaxy by 10’; between those two, 2.75’ F very very slightly S of the first star, is a 14.5-magnitude star. The brightest star in the field is F very slightly S of the galaxy by 18’ and is 10.5 magnitude. S very very slightly P the galaxy by 11’ is the more N of a faint pair, which is 13thmagnitude and has a 13.5-magnitude star S very very slightly P it by 0.5’.
Target two was a fun departure from both thin galaxies and NGC open clusters. I’d long planned to trawl through the 90+ objects in the Berkeley catalogue of open clusters, and the placement of Aquila in the sky gave me an opportunity for one of the more notable entries.
12:28 Berkeley 80 (Aql): A very intriguing open cluster outside the NGC/IC realm. It’s pretty small, no more than 2.5’ x 1.0’ P-F, with a powdery, almost nebulous appearance. On the P edge of the cluster’s main “body” is a 14th-magnitude star; 1’ P slightly N of that star is one of equal magnitude, at the end of a P-ward “extension” from the main mass of the cluster. At this magnification, the majority of the cluster is not readily resolvable. 3.75’ S of the star on the main cluster’s P edge is a 10th-magnitude star that’s the middle of an arc of three; 3.67’ P somewhat S of that star is an 8.5-magnitude star; there’s one of 9.5 magnitude F very very slightly S of the first star, which is the F-most in arc, by 4.5’. Almost due N of the cluster by 11’ is a 9th-magnitude star. With the 7mm Nagler (and waves of transparency-killing crap rolling in): a couple of individual stars are visible in the middle and on the due F edge of the cluster and some granulation of the overall glow is apparent, but that P-ward extension is just dust, still not well resolvable. Four or five stars are suggested over the top of the cluster but nothing else is resolved; the whole seems just on the edge of resolution, with some very small background glow behind it. The cluster is surprisingly-well detached and unified, but it’s hard to decide its level of richness, (probably great); the mag range is considerable, with 14th-magnitude stars and many unresolved.
Between targets on my list, I did a fair amount of browsing, checking out the usual summer suspects from the new site. M22, M28, M80, M4, M8, M17, M20…. It made for a relaxed evening between the new objects on my list. Such as the next one, an easily-located planetary I’d sought many years ago, but hadn’t found (then, using my 8″ scope from Cincinnati). It was easy from the Oxbow with the superb 12.5″ scope.
1:11 NGC 6751 (6748) (Aql): This smallish planetary nebula lies just east of the Eagle’s head; SkySafari 5 uses 6748 as its NGC number. It’s a small, fairly dense-centered nebula, bracketed very closely to the P and F by very faint stars just outside the halo; the halo is a thin envelope around a much-brighter central region. The nebula spans 0.3’ x 0.25’ and seems elongated P-F, but some of that elongation may be due to the presence of those 14.5-magnitude stars in those directions. The central star is visible among all the interior brightness. The planetary marks the SP-most vertex of an almost-isosceles right triangle with two faintish stars as the other vertices; the right-angle vertex is a 12th-magnitude star F very very slightly N of the nebula by 2’; the third vertex is a 13th-magnitude star 2.3’ N very very slightly P the right-angle vertex. From the nebula SP by 14’ is a double star or pair, the brighter component of which is 14’ from the nebula and is 10th magnitude, and it has SF it by 0.3’ a 13th-magnitude star. 18’ due P the nebula is a 9.5-magnitude star. S of the nebula by 5’ is a small (1’) knot of 7 stars. With the 7mm: the extra magnification blows the two stars (the ones P-F very very slightly N) way out; the star to the P may be double, with a faint companion P very slightly N of the primary. This is a nice little nebula. With the OIII, the field is way too dark! Using that filter with this eyepiece is a non-starter, at least for this object. Using the OIII with the 14mm, the nebula’s edges are crisper, like the halo has either “strengthened” or has completely disappeared, and the central region is now much brighter.
Others began the process of tearing down, and though I felt like I was just getting started, I also knew that the drive home was going to be challenging. The wind had also picked up, and my audio notes were a mess of wind rumble and ambient sound beyond that of my voice. I searched my list for a suitable object to close on, and found it in one that I’d observed quite literally hundreds of times without ever taking the time to take notes on.
1:41 Messier 11 (Sct): Not wanting to end yet, although we were all packing up, so one more for the road. I’ve been hesitant to take notes on this one. Words fail; this is the premier open cluster in the sky in impressiveness, detachment, richness, etc. Just F center is the cluster lucida, which is of 8thmagnitude. The cluster is roughly diamond- or square-shaped, with corners to the NP, NF, SP, and SF. The cluster is roughly 7’ in main body and has outliers extending out to 9’ x 12’, with a S slightly P-N slightly F axis major axis. Off the N end, 5’ from the lucida, is an arc running NP-SF for 7’ that is a separate detached portion of the cluster. M11 is incredibly rich (200+) and very well detached, even in the dense Scutum Star Cloud. The majority of cluster stars are in the 11.5-13thmagnitude range. The cluster also has numerous dark voids within it, and there are a lot of dark nebulae in the area around it; the darkest and largest void is on the cluster’s NF edge between the NF edge of square and the arc to the N, kind of an apple-core shaped void that’s pinched at the middle and is 2.3’ P-F by 1.5’ N-S. The square body of the cluster itself contains four voids, of which two run together. There’s also a triangular void P the lucida on the P corner of the square, which is the least-dense void, roughly equilateral and 1’ on a side. To the S and SF and sweeping around the cluster is another large void that wipes out that edge of cluster, especially on the S; there are a few stars on the F edge of the last void that help make up the right angle on that side of the square, but the void blows out the area due S of the lucida, which is completely barren of stars starting 1’ S of the lucida and stretching further S; so there’s a 1’ area S of lucida with stars and then none, and then the remainder of that corner of the cluster. 1’ F the lucida and stretching SF is another dark nebula. SF the lucida by 4.5’ is the more S of a pair of 9th-magnitude stars separated N-S by 0.75’, with the N of the pair the brighter. On the extreme NF corner of the square of cluster is a very tiny, almost planetary nebula-looking 9” knot of unresolved stars. The dark void S of the lucida also extends much farther to the SP and fans out from there, but is somewhat less opaque with some background glow there—a dark slash through the cluster and beyond the square. A magnificent object!
And an excellent way to end our first observing session in eight weeks. The nights ahead looked promising for astronomy, despite how deep into the Moon-dark phase we already were, and I used my concentration on the drive home to plot out my observing plan for the rest of June.
Verdict on the new site: physically, it’s an excellent spot (we’ve been back several times since). The sky conditions weren’t really good enough to make a fair assessment, so we’ll have to catch it on an excellent night to see just how dark it can get; light-pollution maps show it as having the potential to reach 21.8 on the SQM, so in theory it should get as dark as Linslaw. The southern horizon is a bit compromised, but not as much as at Eagle’s Ridge, and there are no trees to interfere in that direction. There’s also a smaller site just up the road, if we want to observe anything in the north.
II. Several nights later, we reconvened at the newly-enlarged “amphitheatre” area along Eagle’s Rest Road, the site that won the evening’s lottery in the sky-conditions-and-drivability categories. This time I did have the 20″ Obsession along, intent on making a last plow-through of the late-spring flat galaxies before the galaxy fields (Ginsburg’s Buddhafields?) yielded the sky to the great double-slash of the Milky Way’s summer arms.
There were four of us there, and four vehicles—perhaps the comfortable limit at the amphitheater. Jerry was there, Trackball already waiting for dusk; Bill M had made a fairly-rare appearance on the observing field with his 9.25″ SCT, and Robert A was there with his 3D-printed binocular scope, his daughter in tow.
Having done some minor maintenance work to the 20″, I’d gotten it to a point where one person could conceivably set it up alone. It wasn’t fun to do so, but it was possible. I managed to do it with a minimum of swearing, and in a fairly-timely manner, as well. Nothing to do, then, but to wait for the dark to finish falling.
My first look of the night went to UGC 10227, a flat galaxy in Corona Borealis—an easy one to find, but a difficult one to observe, simply due to the immediate presence of 4th-magnitude Tau CrB, only 7.25′ due S of the galaxy. I’d observed this one before with the 18″ and had seen it vaguely in the 12.5″; alas, it wasn’t on the Flat Galaxy Program list for the AL, so I hadn’t taken notes on it. (I should be doing so regardless of an object’s status, but the sad truth is that I don’t always do so.). But then we were off, to a nearby galaxy trio (also a set of targets in demand, but for the Galaxy Groups & Clusters program). Technically, astronomical twilight still hadn’t ended, but the galaxies were calling.
06/21/20 EAGLE’S REST AMPHITHEATRE SUNSET: 8:59 PM MOON: 1 day (set at 9:45 PM; 0.5% illuminated) SEEING: 8 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: 21.48 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to low 50s; some dew; air still
OTHERS PRESENT: JO, BILL M, RA (and his daughter, planting trees)
All observations: 20″ f/5 Obsession Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (181x, 0.452˚ TFOV) or 7mm Nagler (363x, 0.21˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:08
NGCs 5490, 5490C; IC 982, 983 (Boo): It’s been a good start to the session; I’ve already had a faint look at UGC 10227. This is a small group here in Boötes, but it’s hard to observe because two of the galaxies are very close to a 9th-magnitude star. NGC 5490A is reasonably bright, small, maybe 1.0’ round; it has a quite diffuse halo and a brighter small core that it comes quickly to (rather than a smooth gradient) and a substellar nucleus. NGC 5490A forms a right triangle as the right-angle vertex, with an 11.5-magnitude star 3’ S very slightly F and a 13th-magnitude star 3.75’ due F. The galaxy has P it by 1.25’ a 14th-magnitude star that has one of 13.5 magnitude NP it by 1.5’. N very slightly F the galaxy by 11’ is a 9th-magnitude star; that star has SP it by 2.75’ another galaxy [IC 982], which is more diffuse and fainter and only about half the size of 5490A: maybe 0.5’, with a core that’s only slightly brighter and a very faint stellar nucleus. From the 9th-magnitude star 1.5’ P somewhat N is a third galaxy [IC 983/Arp117], which happens to be 2.5’ NF the previous galaxy; this one is no more than 0.75’ in diameter, with a very faint halo but a considerably brighter core and a stellar nucleus [I missed most of the halo due to the presence of the bright star]. From 5490A, not quite halfway between that and the 9th-magnitude star, 5’ N slightly F 5490A, is a very diffuse glow [5490C/Arp 79]: 0.5’ round, with very, very little central concentration. The halo is exceedingly diffuse, and the galaxy much easier to pick out in averted vision than to try to hold steady in direct. This is a nice field, although the glare from the star overpowers everything else in it. [I missed 5490B.]
Robert’s daughter was planting tree branches as trees, to help replant the amphitheatre.
11:28 UGC 9249 (Boo): A flat galaxy in Boötes, and a difficult one, hard to hold steady with direct vision even in the 20” Obsession. [A satellite goes through it N-S.] 90˚ PA? The galaxy is 1.25’ x perhaps 0.25’, with just a very very slight bit of central concentration; it’s otherwise evenly illuminated. I wouldn’t pick this as a flat galaxy, as it seems “beefier.” [I just described a galaxy as “beefier.”] There’s no core or nucleus visible, just a faint halo glow that may have a threshold star off the F end. There are several really faint (16th-magnitude) stars nearby that are distracting to the overall view. A 15th-magnitude star lies S very very slightly F the galaxy by 2.5’ and a bright (10th-magnitude) star N of the galaxy by 2.75’; 3.25’ N of thatstar is one of 12thmagnitude; from the 10th-magnitude star P slightly S by 0.75’ is a 15th-magnitude star. From the galaxy P very very slightly N by 3.25’ is a 13.5-magnitude star, and SP galaxy by 4.25’ is a 12.5-magnitude star.
The next galaxy had been something of a bete noire for me as far as flat galaxies went—I’d tried for it each of the last few summers and had come up empty each time. With the blunderbuss 20″, though, and some decent sky placement, the big-game hunter emerged triumphant.
11:46 UGC 9169 (Boo): This is another “faint but there” galaxy, certainly a brighter one than the previous. I’ve looked for this one many times (dating all the way back to our Champion Saddletrip), so all I can say is—finally! It’s much larger than 9249 and better holdable in direct vision, with a very, very fleeting trace of a nucleus but no core. Elongation is SP-NF, PA 50˚. The galaxy spans 2.0’ x 0.25’ and is well defined, but the tips of the spiral arms are hard to see, fading out as they do into nothingness. The galaxy is positioned between two stars, to the N and S; the star to the N is 3.5’ N very very slightly P and is 13.5 magnitude; also NF the galaxy by 4’ a 12.5-magnitude star; the star to the S is 7’ S and is 13th magnitude, and there’s also a 14th-magnitude star that is 3’ F slightly S of the galaxy. The brightest star in the field is N very very slightly F galaxy by 12’ and is 11th magnitude; it’s the P-most of a group of similarly-bright to slightly-fainter stars that trail to the F from there. This is a nice galaxy, even though it’s faint!
12:00 UGC 9841; NGC 5928 (Ser): The best flat galaxy of the night so far, this one almost jumps out when swept into the field; it shares this field with a considerably-bright star and a considerably-bright small galaxy. It’s another 50˚ PA flat galaxy, elongated 1.75’ x 0.3’. It’s not uniformly bright; there’s obvious central concentration along the major axis and a faint stellar nucleus that’s a direct-vision object but only holdable 70% of the time. The galaxy seems to have a very very slightly brighter bit on the F end. It’s in an active field, with stars of a wide range of mags, including a number of single-digit-magnitude stars; P very very slightly N of the galaxy is a 12th-magnitude star that’s the brightest in a fishhook asterism that stretches to the P; that star is 2’ from the nucleus. SF the galaxy by 11’ is an 8th-magnitude star that has S very very slightly P it by 6’ a pretty bright small galaxy [NGC 5928] that has a diffuse but not well-defined 1.0’ halo; it has a quite brighter core and substellar nucleus.
12:45 UGC 10043; Hickson 77 (Ser): This is a really tricky one, UGC 10043 in Serpens Caput, and it is considerably difficult, due in large part to being very very very thin. (It has a 14th-magnitude star 1’ SP it that also makes the observation a bit difficult.) The galaxy is elongated (and it’s surprisingly easy to tell its orientation) in PA 165˚; so N somewhat P-S somewhat F. The galaxy is easy to lose as it’s so difficult. In averted vision, there’s definitely a central bulge to it; the galaxy is 1.5’ x 0.3’, but if taking away the bulge—it’s really difficult to hold!—it’s a lot thinner. The plane of the galaxy itself is well less than 0.25’… maybe 0.125’. It almost looks like a nucleus appears on a few occasions in the central bulge. There’s another 14th-magnitude star SF the galaxy by 2.75’; the brightest star in the field is S somewhat P the galaxy by 13’ and is 9.5 magnitude. But then F the galaxy by 9’ is Hickson 77, which is a lumpy glow of 1’ length, elongated roughly N-S; it has 15th-mag stars F very slightly N and F slightly S. A distinct object; no doubt about it. I probably wouldn’t have known it was more than one galaxy without having read about it before. (And knowing it was a Hickson, which means it has to have at least four component members.) It does appear, even at this low magnification, in averted vision, like there are multiple discrete cores to it. The Hickson group has S slightly F it by 6’ a 10.5-magnitude star that’s causing an issue, and P slightly S and SP it (by 3’ and 3.25’ respectively) are a couple of 14th-magnitude stars. With the 7mm Nagler, that is still a really tight knot; it’s “stringable out” N-S with difficulty; there’s at least two separable there—what looks like two distinct nuclei, one at the S end and one N very very slightly P that one, but no other real detail there to be gleaned. Maybe on a better night?
The galaxy fields had by now sunk behind the stand of trees remaining on the west side of the amphitheatre and into the edges of the Eugene light-muck, necessitating a change of plan; I wasn’t going to be pulling threshold-magnitude galaxies from the skyglow and tree branches.
One of the requirements for the Astronomical League’s Planetary Nebula program is that the observer use as many magnifications as possible in observing each nebula. I had a slightly-different idea; I intended to observe each planetary with the 14mm and 7mm eyepieces in both the 12.5″ and 20″ scopes. That would yield 112 and 224x in the 12.5″ and 181 and 363x in the 20″—not just a good range of magnifications, but an excuse to use multiple apertures. (Under rare occasions, I could use even higher magnification, but the sky conditions would have to be quite stable for doing so.) So I turned the big mirror onto a planetary I’d never before observed, one that was much better placed than the flat galaxies I had remaining.
1:17 NGC 6309 (Oph): The Box Nebula, a considerably-bright planetary, which is clearly not round even at low power. The nebula has very very close on the N a 12th-magnitude star. The nebula is elongated NP-SF and is 0.5’ x 0.25’ in the central region; there’s a lot of fringe to the P and F that makes the nebula seem a little more roundish, but none on the N and S. It has 1.5’ NP it a 13th-magnitude star, and due F the nebula by 1’ is a 15th-magnitude star. Every now and then a central star is very very very faintly visible; the fringe to the P side (especially the SP) is a bit brighter than on the F side, like it flares out to the SP. With the O-III: this is an almost Saturn Nebula type, with bright extensions to the N and S along the major axis and a bright “core” with a lot of internal detail. The 7mm Nagler (with no filter) really makes a difference, although the seeing’s a bit mucky at this magnification. There’s a very very faint star (16thmagnitude?) to the due P, very close to the edge of the halo, which gives an impression that the nebula is extended that direction more than it actually is. The nebula’s internal structure is ‘S’-shaped within its outer fringe, and there’s definitely a brightening on the very S tip of the nebula; there are numerous dark striations in it as well. With the 7mm and O-III, the field is again too dark: the nebula has irregularity in its interior, but there’s no easy description for it as it’s hard to bring to focus. The impression of something brighter on the S tip is much stronger at this magnification. The fringe is clearly more prominent on the SP—it’s not just an illusion, and not because the threshold star is there. This is quite an impressive little nebula!
Bill and Robert had left by this point, and Jerry was ready to start packing up. I had taken a few moments to observe the two globular clusters in Delphinus—NGCs 6934 and 7006—for a program I was giving to EAS via Zoom at the July meeting, and decided I needed to make one more stop in the constellation before beginning the long process of teardown with the 20″.
1:52 NGCs 6928, 6927, 6930; UGC 11590 (Del): The Delphinus Trio, and the first time I’m seeing all three for certain. NGC 6928 is unmistakable: it’s elongated 1.5’ x 0.3’ P very very slightly S-F very very slightly N, and has a 14th-magnitude star just on the N very slightly F from center, on the outside edge of the halo, that’s distracting from the interior of the galaxy (where there’s a brightish core and a faint stellar nucleus). The outer edge of the halo is diffuse and poorly defined; the interior of the halo is irregular in brightness. 7’ NP 6928 is a 9th-magnitude star with one of 9.5 magnitude 1’ N of it. With a great deal of difficulty, I can pick up NGC 6927: it’s much more apparent than any time I’ve seen the group, even when I’ve seen the galaxy itself. 6927 lies 3’ P somewhat S of 6928; it’s very very small (less than 0.25’ in diameter) and has a little bit of central brightening and maybe even a tiny faint stellar nucleus that may be better visible in averted vision. SF 6928 by 3.75’ is NGC 6930: this galaxy is also hampered by having a star just outside its halo, although this one a bit further than the one obscuring the view of NGC 6928; the star is 1.25’ S very slightly P of the center of 6930, which is elongated N-S, 1.25’ x 0.3’ There’s a very very faint bit of major axis brightening in 6930, plus a slightly-visible core. The detached piece at the N end (UGC 11590) is hinted at, while the star on the S end is 12.5 magnitude. Even farther S, 4.5’ from the galaxy, is a real distraction: an 8.5-magnitude star. F somewhat S and SF 6930 by 2.3’ each are a pair: the more S of the two is 10thmagnitude and the more N is 11th. With 6930 roughly centered in the eyepiece, just outside the N slightly F edge of the field is a 6.5-magnitude star. With the 7mm: I wouldn’t be surprised if the secondary is dewy; there’s a loss of contrast, but there doesn’t really seem to be anything on the secondary itself. NGC 6927 really jumps out at this magnification: it’s elongated a little more obviously N-S and still not easy, but more visible. NGC 6928 is an impressive little galaxy, and there’s definitely core brightening in 6930; the little spot on the N end is definitely very slightly visible. This is a really great trio!
The drive home from the amphitheatre site was just over half as long as that to the top of the Ridge—that last nine miles took twenty of the forty-five minutes from my house. With the closing-off of Eureka Ridge, the amphitheatre had become our nearest observing site; it was certainly adequate for the job, but its exposure to the dew coming up the valley, and to the yahoos driving past looking for cheap (usually high-caliber) thrills, meant that it was better as a part-time site than a permanent one. Still, the easier drive home was a welcome relief from some of the longer hauls we made, and it was a decent alternative when the Clear Sky Chart showed issues at Linslaw.
III. I left the 20″ in the Caveman-Mobile that night and the next day, taking inside only the eyepieces and whatever other items shouldn’t be left in the van during the day and making sure to roll down the windows and open the back flaps to keep the air as cool as possible (so the mirror needed less cool-down time, more than anything). And then it was off to Linslaw Point, where I hadn’t been since a very windy February night when the Herschel objects of Puppis and Canis Major had beckoned.
Mark W was there already, getting his imaging setup ready for the night; Loren was right behind with the 18″ Obsession he’d bought in southern Illinois. And it was back to flat galaxies, with no trees to interfere and the glow from Eugene/Springfield largely hidden behind the sandstone crag.
It was late in the season already to be digging galaxies out of Libra, but my first few targets were there anyway; there was no sense in abandoning them until next spring.
06/22/20 LINSLAW POINT SUNSET: 8:59 PM MOON: 2 days (set at 10:37 PM; 3% illuminated) SEEING: 7 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: 21.58 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to low 50s; NO dew; slight breeze (little bit of wind rumble)
OTHERS PRESENT: LR, MW
All observations: 20″ f/5 Obsession Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (181x, 0.452˚ TFOV) or 7mm Nagler (363x, 0.21˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:14 UGCA 394; Burnham 346 (Lib): SP Zubenelgenubi—and just P a striking Burnham double of equal color but not quite equal magnitude—lies this striking but irregularly-bright flat galaxy. (The seeing down here isn’t great.) It’s a big one—2.5’ x 0.3’—and oriented in PA 170˚? (175˚?). The galaxy is visible in direct vision but averted makes it much more apparent, and the irregularity of its brightness is much more evident in averted vision; there’s not anything definable as a core or nucleus, though. It’s surrounded, especially on the N, by a number of 13th/15th-magnitude stars; on the N end, there are three pairs which are also roughly oriented N-S (the P-most pair is NP-SF oriented). It also doesn’t help the observation that the galaxy has some brightish stars off to the F side that are distracting: 1.25’ due F is a star of 14.5 magnitude; 1.75’ due F that star is a 12th-magnitude star; there’s another of 12.5 magnitude F very slightly S of that star by 2.25’. N of the galaxy are the three pairs: of the P-most, the S star is NP the galaxy by 2.5’ and has NP it by 0.5’ the second star; both are 14.5 magnitude. N slightly P the galaxy by 1.75’ is the S-most of the second pair, which has N of it by 0.75’ a nearly-equal star (both are 14thmagnitude); the third pair consists of two 13.5-magnitude stars NF the galaxy by 2.25’; the S-most has the second 0.3’ due N of it. 18’ F very very slightly N of the galaxy is the Burnham star (Burnham 346): this is an excellent double that looks a lot like Gamma Ari, save for the greater magnitude range; both stars are whitish, and are separated with the brighter F very very slightly S of the dimmer by 3”; these are 7thand 8thmagnitude.
11:33 NGCs 5915, 5916, 5916A (Lib): A fine trio down here in Libra—quite impressive! These are not showpiece galaxies but the three of them are a fine sight in the eyepiece. NGC 5915 is the brightest of the three, but not the largest. It has obvious interaction distortion; it’s elongated NP-SF, but also at its F end, it stretches toward the S with a diffuse hook toward a faint (14.5-magnitude) star just outside the halo. Overall, the galaxy spans 1.25’ x 0.5’, plus the 0.3’ hook S at the F end. It also has a fairly diffuse but pretty well-defined halo, and a smallish, bright core extended along the major axis (which accounts for most of major axis) and a stellar nucleus. 5’ S very very slightly F is NGC 5916, which is more diffuse and much less well-concentrated but slightly longer (1.5’ x 0.5’) than NGC 5915. Its S end may be a bit more diffuse than the N end, and there may be some central brightening along the major axis; the galaxy has no real core but does have a faint stellar nucleus. It’s not well defined in the halo, especially on the N end. Almost due P 5915 by 5’ is a 12th-magnitude star that’s the right-angle vertex of a small faint right triangle; there’s an 11.5-magnitude star due S of it by 2.25’ and a 14th-magnitude star due P by 1.3’; there’s another faint (maybe 14.5-magnitude) star due F the right-angle vertex by 1.5’. The right-angle vertex also has immediately due F it NGC 5916A: a NP-SF elongated 0.67’ x 0.25’ glow, with a faint diffuse halo and the weakest of central concentration [transparency issues down here?]. NGC 5915 has N very very slightly F it by 2’ an 11.5-magnitude star which has F it by 0.75’ a 14th-magnitude star. The brightest star in the field is N very very slightly P 5915 by 12’ and is 10thmagnitude.
Back into Boötes, then. For a constellation largely thought to be devoid of interesting objects, it’s certainly worth digging deep into.
12:06 UGC 9242 (Boo): A nice flat galaxy, up by Seginus (Gamma Boötis); it’s a pretty obvious and very, very long thin streak with a 13th-mag star SF it very closely, 1.25’ SF the galaxy. The galaxy is no less than 3.0’ x 0.3’, elongated PA 60˚, and quite faint but unmistakable when passing over it in the field; it’s a nice one to watch drift through. The galaxy has no core, no nucleus, but the halo is pretty well defined and has a little more presence/is less ghostly than many of the UGC flat galaxies; it can be held pretty well in direct vision. The galaxy seems to have on the N side every now and then a couple of really threshold stars just N of the galaxy. UGC 9242 lies almost halfway between two 11th-magnitude stars; one to the SF and one to the NP; the one to the SF is 11’ from the galaxy and the one NP 9’. A third 9th-magnitude star lies due F the galaxy by 12’. With the 7mm Nagler, there’s definitely another faint star on the N edge of the galaxy, toward the F end. The halo is not evenly illuminated at this magnification.
I spent a fair amount of time scouring the northern reaches of Boötes for several of my other targets, but had little luck (for whatever reason). Sometimes objects just don’t make themselves apparent, and it’s better to leave them for another night than to waste a whole night (or the remainder of one) trying to track them down. So I moved further east, to some slightly more-familiar territory.
12:54 UGC 10297 (Her): I didn’t have luck finding some of the others in Boötes tonight, so I’ve moved over to Hercules. This is much smaller and fainter than the others I’ve taken notes on tonight, and is overall considerably more difficult. It’s 0.75’ (maybe 1.0’) x 0.125’, but it’s really hard to tell because 16 Her (at magnitude 5.5) is nearby, screwing up the view of the field. The galaxy is elongated almost exactly 180˚ PA, with 16 Her due S by 5.5’; I have to get 16 Her out of the field to observe the galaxy. Switching to the 7mm doesn’t help that much, unless the star is just outside the field. At neither magnification is there any sense of central brightening, a nucleus, etc., just a very, very thin pretty-well defined low surface brightness glow. NP off the galaxy’s NP tip by 1’ is a very faint star, perhaps 15.5 magnitude; 8’ due F the galaxy is a somewhat-bright star (magnitude 11.5).
And one more before the lengthy tear-down that came with a huge scope like the 20″ f/5….
1:33 IC 1197 (Ser): A really lovely flat specimen, although it’s not as bright as I expected—compared to the UGCs, it’s not that much brighter. It’s still large and rather obvious in direct vision. The galaxy is elongated 2.25’ x 0.3’ in PA 45-50˚, and is somewhat irregular in brightness; it has a 14.5-magnitude star off the NF end just outside the halo and a tiny bit S; 0.75’ along that same axis (parallel to the galaxy) from that star is a 16th-magnitude star. Due P the galaxy by 3.5’ is a 12th-magnitude star that has another of 12thmagnitude due N of it by 2.5’, and that star has a 13th-magnitude star F very very slightly N of it by 1’. From the galaxy SP by 6.5’ is a 12th-magnitude star with one of 10thmagnitude P very very slightly S of it by 1.25’. The galaxy has a very, very little central brightening to it, almost a core; I don’t see a nucleus. With the 7mm, the galaxy almost disappears; still no nucleus [though the seeing’s gone to pot somewhat]; at moments of great steadiness there might be a tiny faint suggestion of a nucleus there… maybe substellar, if there?
IV. We had a schism on the final night of the June run; half of us wanted to return to Linslaw; the other half opted for the amphitheatre or Eagle’s Ridge proper. Jerry (from the Ridge itself) suggested we do an SQM comparison between the sites. This turned the evening into the largest collection of data points we had between the two sites; as I suspected, Linslaw came out on top (although we later determined that the two SQMs also had significant variation between them).
I still had the 20″ with me; during the hours between sunset and Moonset, I used the monster to sweep through the globular-rich region of southern Ophiuchus and northern Sagittarius, picking up thirty or so clusters amid the dark tendrils of silicate dust and the dense clouds of innumerable stars along the Milky Way. A substantial breeze drove me into my winter coat even as I got started on “serious” observing at Moonset.
06/25-06/26/20 LINSLAW POINT SUNSET: 8:59 PM MOON: 5 days (set at 12:31 AM; 35% illuminated) SEEING: 7 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: 21.66-21.73 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps to low 50s; slight, insignificant dew; strong breeze that kicked up approx 1 AM for an hour OTHERS PRESENT: DB (+Ruby and Alesha), MW (JO and others at Eagle’s—SQM battle)
All observations: 20″f/5 Obsession Dob, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (181x, 0.452˚ TFOV) or 7mm Nagler (363x, 0.21˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
1:02 NGCs 5714, 5717, 5722, 5721; PGCs 2284110, 2283980/2283962 (Boo): A fine flat galaxy, with three or four other galaxies in the field. NGC 5714 is elongated in PA 75˚, maybe 80˚, not quite P-F. The galaxy is fainter than I expected but still moderately bright, and spans 2.75’ x 0.3’; it appears to be irregularly bright and mottled, particularly brighter (wider?) on the P end. There’s not really a core but there is some brightness in the middle, and no nucleus is visible. The galaxy is surrounded by four stars making a triangle: 2.5’ NP the galaxy is a 12.5-magnitude star; there’s one of 13thmagnitude S somewhat P of the galaxy by 2’, and N very slightly F the galaxy by 1’ is the brightest of the four at 12thmagnitude; 0.75’ due F that last star is a 13.5-magnitude star. There’s also a 15.5-magnitude star SF the galaxy by 1.75’. 4.75’ F the galaxy and very very slightly N is a small, roundish galaxy (5717) with a brightish nucleus and slightly-brighter core inside a fairly diffuse, not well-defined halo that is 0.5’ around; 3’ F that galaxy is another smaller and even more diffuse one (5722) that looks to have a very faint substellar nucleus. This galaxy is 0.3’ around; it also may have a threshold star very near the N edge of its halo that pops into view every now and then in averted (this is actually another galaxy, NGC 5721). I had another galaxy earlier but can’t it find now… but there’s another galaxy (PGC 2284110) P very very slightly S of 5714 by 6’; it’s just S of a 14th-magnitude star; just a very fuzzy small unconcentrated spot; in averted, it may have a small brighter core. 5714 is pretty-well defined, not very diffuse except on the ends of its halo. I still think I had more galaxies; I clearly need more power. With the 7mm: the little galaxy P 5714, just S of the faint star, doesn’t have much central concentration. 5714 is thinner on the P end than the F end. 4’ S very very slightly F the second of the three galaxies is another (PGCs 2283980/2283962); there’s a faint star nearby to the P throwing off the observing. This little galaxy is a small diffuse unconcentrated patch that comes and goes in direct vision no more than 25% of the time. I can see the star near this galaxy in the 14mm, but the galaxy itself is not steady even in averted vision.
I took a new set of SQM reading every hour on the hour; Linslaw consistently came out 0.1 mag/arcsec^2 higher than Eagle’s Ridge. (Oh, how we gloated.) Although I’d taken only one set of notes so far, my feet were already starting to ache from standing on the ladder. The next galaxy made the pain worth it.
2:01 NGC 5907 (Dra): A stunner! One of the great flat galaxies, along with NGC 4565 and NGC 891. It’s at least 12’ x 0.75’ in PA 170˚ and very bright, with a brighter central “core” of 2.5’, but I’m not really getting a nucleus. The ends of the halo are very tenuous and fade out into the background, and the core region seems a little irregular in shape and brightness (the dust lane is quite obviously crossing here on the P side); the diffuseness of the halo is more shaggy on the S end. 1’ due P the middle of the galaxy is a 14.5-magnitude star; 0.5’ following the N tip of the galaxy is another of 14.5 magnitude. There’s a 16th-magnitude star P the N end of the galaxy by 2’. From the center of the galaxy NF is a 13.5-magnitude star that has another of the same magnitude 1’ due F it; also from the center of the galaxy P somewhat N by 7’ is an 11.5-magnitude star that has one of 11thmagnitude N very slightly P it by 5’. From the 14.5-magnitude star due P the galaxy S slightly P by 2.25’ is a 15.5-magnitude star. Due P the S tip of the galaxy by 3.5’ is another 14.5-magnitude star. P the galaxy by 7’ is a 12th-magnitude star. NP the galaxy by 13’ is a 13.5-magnitude star with another of 13.5 magnitude F it by 0.5’; NF thatstar by 1’ is a 13th-magnitude star.
My next target was of the most-obscure I’ve ever tracked down; I hadn’t even heard of it until the morning. But it’s hard to resist these super-unknown ones, especially when they’re at extreme distances.
2:40 Sancho’s Object (MAC 1510+5810, MAC 1510+5810A; PGC 3136298; Dra): This object was the featured Object of the Week on the Deep Sky Forum for June 21st, 2020, so I added it to my observing list among the flat galaxies. It’s difficult but surprisingly obvious. With the 14mm Explore: the galaxy pairing is very small and very faint; the elongated galaxy isn’t separable from the glow of the larger at this power (that’s hardly surprising). The galaxy—and I’m only seeing one, although there’s a hint of irregular shape—has a tiny core or very faint substellar nucleus. The whole thing is no more than 0.3’ across. It has due P it by 0.67’ a 12.5-magnitude star. 3.25’ due S is an 11th-magnitude star that has another of 11thmagnitude due F by 2.3’. The star due P the galaxy has P it by 0.75’ a 15.5-magnitude star. With the 7mm Nagler, there’s definitely an irregularity of shape and the larger galaxy definitely has a visible nucleus. It’s really really hard to tell the other galaxy’s shape; at moments, it may seem like two total separate galaxies, but this impression is fleeting [seeing went to shit, too]. There’s a glimpse of a nucleus in the “second” galaxy every now and then, like a star detached from the first galaxy; the edge-on is the F-most of the two? I’m glad I went after this even though I don’t have a great view of it; it’s nearly a half-billion light-years away!
With dawn’s break imminent—one of the major drawbacks of summer, along with the late fall of darkness—I had time for one more object in June. So it was back to flat galaxies for perhaps the last time until the autumn constellations took the stage at dusk.
3:01 NGC 5777 (Dra): Last one for the night! This is a nice, brightish flat galaxy, elongated 2.5’ x 0.3’ in 140˚ PA. It has a much-brighter central region and a fairly-obvious core that’s elongated very slightly along the major axis; there’s a substellar nucleus in there, too, and the halo is pretty well defined. In averted vision, it seems like the N half of the galaxy is a little brighter than the S. The galaxy has just off its N end, almost in contact with the halo, a 15th-magnitude star; there’s a 15.5-magnitude star due F of the galaxy by 2.75’. Due N of the galaxy by 11’ is a 9th-magnitude star; 7’ S very very slightly F the galaxy is a 10.5-magnitude star. NP the galaxy by 5’ is a 13th-magnitude star with a 12th-magnitude star N of it by 1.5’.
And so June ended and the astronomers returned home to await another Moon-dark phase, one hopefully free of the clouds and rain that had plagued 2020 so extensively so far.
I was obviously in error in my previous entry, in that I said the rain was over in the Willamette Valley—it was two months almost to the day before I could find a clear moonless night to delve back into Herschel hunting.
The weekend of May 12th lived up to its forecast: two almost-perfect and inviting nights in which to try to catch up on the vast number of early-spring galaxies that I still needed to observe in Lynx, Leo, Leo Minor, Crater, Corvus, and Hydra (the Ursa Major galaxies were also numerous, but given that Ursa Major is circumpolar, there was less of a rush there). I had been following the constellations’ nightly traverse of the meridian on Sky Safari during the cloudy stretch, and knew that my quest to complete the Herschels in 2018 was going to be for naught; I would need a whole week of clear skies to even come close to getting through all these galaxies, particularly in the Leos, where I had 40 Herschel galaxies to go. This was also to say nothing of Virgo (35 remaining galaxies), which would be past the meridian after midnight in May, and the Coma/Canes regions (33 galaxies still remaining), which would be visible a bit longer due to their higher declinations.
Despite having concluded that the Herschel lists would require at least one more round of the seasons, I still intended to make as much headway as possible on the galaxies of the spring. On my last trip out, I had swept up most of the targets in Hydra and Crater that still remained, but I also had a number of objects left in Corvus in addition to a couple each in the low-south constellations I’d ostensibly finished. My plan was to finish Crater, Corvus, and Hydra, and to dig into the more-southerly Virgo galaxies (having wiped out most of the Virgo cluster last May when I mopped up all 150+ targets on Sky Atlas 2000.0‘s Chart B). And despite having my sights set on the many galaxies in eastern Leo, I would probably have to give up on most of those for the season; Leo would already be well past the meridian by the time I finished the southerly stuff that I also needed to get.
Dan B, Oggie, and Oggie’s ladyfriend had also ventured out to Eagle’s Ridge to take advantage of the clear sky and the weekend; Jerry had been fighting a nasty cold and wasn’t feeling up to the trip. And it was not long after I got set up that I was fighting my own (rather insistent) health issue.
I don’t know quite what menu item from the previous few days set me off, but given that Australopithicenes have always been lactose intolerant, it was something of a miracle that I’d made this many trips up the local mountains with nary an issue before. That luck ran out on this particular night, and the churning in my guts was audible on my voice memos as I was dictating notes on the various galaxies.
These notes are the more-narrative style I’ve used a couple of times here; I don’t intend to do them this way all the time, but they’re more readable than my standard style.
5/12-5/13/18 EAGLE’S RIDGE SPUR ROAD (43° 48′ 17.9496” N, 122° 42′ 45.6912” W) MOON: 28 days; 4% illuminated, rose at 4:24 AM SEEING: 8 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: not checked NELM: 6.7 WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in low 50s, no breeze, some dew on exposed plastic elements but none on optical surfaces or telescopes OTHERS PRESENT: Dan B, Oggie G, Leticia
All observations: 12.5″ f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:12 NGCs 3636, 3637 (Crt): These two fairly-obvious (but not super-bright) galaxies are flanking and somewhat N of a 7th-magnitude star. NGC 3636 is NP the 7th-mag star by 1.5′. It’s pretty small—0.67′ round—and has a bright core and possibly a substellar nucleus. Its halo is quite diffuse and faint; the core is the galaxy’s most notable feature. NGC 3637 is NF the 7th-mag star by 3′. It’s much bigger than 3636—1.25′ round—with a somewhat brighter core and a definite substellar nucleus. 3.25′ SF 3637 is a 13th-mag star. NP the 7th-mag star is a kite-shaped asterism; the kite’s tip is NP the 7th-mag star by 9′; the four stars in the kite shape are all 9th-mag and fainter; it’s 11′ from the southern tip of the kite to the star at the kite’s northern tip (which is N slightly F); stars are SP and SF the top star by 7′ and 6′ respectively; the dimmest star in the diamond (11th-mag) is the F-most star; the others are all 10th-magnitude. Back to the galaxies now that it’s a bit darker—the galaxies are more impressive now. N of 3637 by 7′ is a 13.5-mag star. F-most star in kite is N slightly P 3637 by 12.5′.
10:28 NGC 4024 (Crv): This is another pretty small, subtle little galaxy. It’s probably elliptical [actually a barred spiral], judging from its brightness profile. It has a small bright core and stellar nucleus; the core seems to be almost elongated slightly SP-NF. The halo is pretty diffuse, not well-defined, but small and vaguely roundish. Dimensions 1.0′ x 0.75′. There’s a Y-shaped pattern of stars P and very slightly S of the galaxy; the star on the SP of the Y is the brightest; the star on the N fork is second-brightest. The star in the middle of the ‘Y’ is faintest. The ‘Y’ star closest to the galaxy is 3.25′ from galaxy to the SP; the star at the center of the ‘Y’ is 2.5′ P the previous star and is 12th-magnitude; 2.5′ N very slightly P that last star is an 11.5-magnitude star. Back to the middle of the ‘Y’: the brightest star is S slightly P the middle star by 2′. A star between the galaxy and the closest star in the ‘Y’ is 13.5-mag and 1.5′ S very slightly P the galaxy. N of the galaxy by 3.5′ is a 12th-mag star that has a 14.5-mag companion N very slightly P by 0.67′. N very slightly P the galaxy by 18′ is the brightest star of a very small triangle (which at 9th magnitude is also the brightest in the field); to the P and SP of that star by 1.5′ are 13th-mag stars. SF the galaxy by 5′ is a double star of 13th and 14th magnitudes; the brighter component is N of the fainter by 0.25′.
10:45 NGCs 4038, 4039 (Crv): This one’s a classic—so much detail! As a whole, this object is very large. Both components are equally long (3.5′) but the N-most galaxy (4038) is almost twice as thick, 2.0′ thick across the middle. 4038 has not so much a core as a vaguely-defined “inner region”, which is much brighter and more mottled than that of 4039. This inner region makes up most of galaxy’s dimensions; 4038 much more detailed overall, with a better-defined halo, although the halo is not at all extensive. A 14th-magnitude star is 0.25′ off 4038’s NP edge and a faint star is embedded toward the galaxy’s NP end. The S galaxy (4039) is more diffuse, and about 1.25′ thick. 4039 is elongated P slightly S-F slightly N; 4038 is angled P slightly N-F slightly S; the two connect at their F ends. The notch between the two at the P end looks to be 0.5′ at widest. There’s a threshold star 1′ following point where two galaxies intersect. The whole thing reminds of a cocktail shrimp (Oggie says a fortune cookie). 5.5′ N very slightly P the N edge of 4038 is the S-most and brightest (9th magnitude) vertex of a triangle; N slightly P that star by 6.5′ is the second vertex (magnitude 11.3); the third vertex is NP by 7′ and is 11th magnitude. Just on the N slightly P edge of field (21′ from galaxies) is a 9th magnitude star. 16′ F the galaxies and very slightly N is an 11th-magnitude star; another 11th-mag star is P somewhat N that star by 6′. 5.75′ SF the point where the galaxies intersect is a double star of 13th and 14th magnitudes; components are separated SP-NF by 0.25′; the brighter component is slightly closer to the galaxies. 4.25′ due S of the S edge of 4039 is a 12th magnitude star; 5′ S very slightly P that star is a 10th magnitude star; 5′ SF that star is a 12th magnitude star with a 13.5 magnitude companion S of it by 0.75′.
11:07 NGCs 4027, 4027A (Crv): 4027: This is a very interesting galaxy. It’s elongated N-S, and quite large (2.5′ x 1.5′). Its core is irregular-shaped and offset toward the S end. The core/spiral arm is almost ‘C’ shaped starting at the S end, looping along the P edge and curling back toward the NF edge. The brightest part of the core is off to the SP quadrant. There seems to be a 14.5-magnitude star embedded in the halo in the “open area” inside the spiral arm/darker area in the halo where the arm doesn’t reach. The halo is more diffuse on the F side. There’s an occasional glimpse of another galaxy [4027A] 4′ S slightly P 4027—it comes and goes, even in averted vision. It’s impossible to determine its dimensions; it’s just a tiny faint diffuse glow. 4027 is bracketed inside a triangle of 12.5 and 13th magnitude stars; two of the stars are to the N; one is due N, one is NF and one is SF; the star to the N (which is also slightly P) is the brightest at 12.5 magnitude and is 3.5′ from the center of the galaxy; the two stars F the galaxy are equidistant from the galaxy at 3.25′ from the center of the galaxy and are both 13th magnitude. F and very slightly N of the galaxy is a mish-mash of stars; a small right triangle is closest to galaxy, followed by a pair; S slightly F that pair is a pair of brighter stars; the stars in this whole asterism range from 11th to 13th magnitude; the brightest in the group is the right-angle (NF) vertex of the triangle. P the galaxy by 7.5′ is an 11th magnitude star.
In my gastric distress, I had forgotten that I’d taken notes on NGCs 4105 and 4106 on my last excursion, and I duplicated the observation. A waste of valuable time, but there are worse ways to do so.
11:25 NGCs 4105, 4106 (Hya): [I had previously taken notes on this pair on 3/11/18] These two are almost onto the mountainside here, they’re so low. 4105 is P and very slightly N 4106. The two are separated by about 1′ core-to-core. Due S of 4105 is an 11th magnitude star that’s 2.5′ S of galaxy. The galaxy is very slightly elongated N-S, and is 1.25′ x 1.0′. It has a much more diffuse larger halo and brighter core with a substellar nucleus. 4106 is roundish, and 1.0′ round. It has a very small vaguely-defined core. A 9.5-magnitude star is NF 4106 by 14′, and is the second-brightest in the field. SP 4105 by 21′ is a 10.5-magnitude star, brightest in the field, right on the field’s edge. An arc of three stars precedes the galaxies; the middle star is brightest of the three at 12th-mag and is 7′ P very slightly N 4105; this bright star has fainter stars S (13th magnitude) and NF (12th magnitude).
Q: Does an astronomer shit in the woods?
A: He does if it’s too far to drive home and it’s an absolute biological imperative.
It was at this point that the monstrous Lovecraftian mass in my guts decided that it was sick of being put off. Fortunately, I had prepared for this eventuality (with toilet paper and plenty of hand sanitizer in the van), but the concept was still awkward and the execution even more so. Apologizing to the other observers for the need to use headlights, I drove quickly and desperately to the end of the spur road and purged the offending toxic material from my system.
I certainly felt better when I returned to my scope, despite having shot my night vision all to hell. Without having to worry about that particular problem anymore, I was able to more fully concentrate on my observing for the rest of the night, even if that night was shortened by the whole mess. (It took just over an hour between sets of notes to deal with the issue.) But I was able to finish out Hydra regardless.
12:27 NGC 5078, IC 879, IC 874, NGC 5101 (Hya)—We’re pushing the horizon now. 5078 is definitely an inclined spiral, elongated NP-SF. It’s about 2.0′ x 0.75′, and quite bright, with a substellar nucleus and a small core that’s not that much brighter than the halo. This is an interesting galaxy with “something going on” that is hard to discern; it has an odd appearance somehow, as if the brightening one would expect along it’s length isn’t there—a dust lane? SP 5078 by 2.5′ is an indeterminate glow [IC 879] that’s hard to see in direct vision, sometimes fleeting in direct and better in averted vision. In the starfield due F 5078 by 9′ is an 8th-magnitude star; a 9th-magnitude star is 10′ N of the 8th-magnitude star; there’s a pair F slightly S the 8th-magnitude star by 7′; the southern of the pair is the brighter (9.5 and 11th magnitudes), and they’re separated N-S by 1.5′. NF 5078 by 4′ is a 12th-magnitude star. Due N of the galaxy by 8.5′ is a 13th-magnitude star. 17′ S very slightly F the galaxy is a 10.5-magnitude star. P slightly S of the galaxy by 7.5′ is a 10.5-magnitude star. 17′ SP are a pair of equally-spaced, equally-bright double stars; the dimmer component of each is separated by 3.5′; each pair is separated by 0.75′; S of the S-most of the pair by 2.5′ is another galaxy [IC 874]. This is quite faint and smallish (0.75′ round). It has a somewhat brighter core and a tiny faint stellar nucleus. This galaxy is very diffuse and difficult to see. 18′ F very slightly S of the 8th-magnitude star that’s due F 5078 is another galaxy [5101]. This one is 23′ from 5078. It’s longish—1.75′ x 1.25’—and elongated P very slightly N-F very slightly S. It’s slightly brighter than 5078, with a bright core and a faint stellar nucleus. It has a diffuse but well-defined halo. Due P 5101 by 0.75′ from the galaxy’s nucleus is a 13th-magnitude star; due N of that star by 3.75′ (3.5′ from the nucleus) is a 10.5-magnitude star, and 4′ SP the galaxy is a 13.5-magnitude star.
12:34 NGC 5061 (Hya): Still scraping the low reaches here. This one is even brighter than the previous few, with an obvious, well-defined halo, a much brighter small core, and a bright stellar nucleus. It’s slightly elongated P-F, 2.0′ x 1.75′. Quite a nice galaxy! 2.5′ almost due F (slightly S) is an 8.5-magnitude star; a small triangle of faint stars is off to the F side; the brightest in the triangle (at 12th magnitude) is 1.5′ due F that 8.5-magnitude star. 3′ N very slightly P the galaxy is a 13th-magnitude star. Another 13th-mag star is NF the galaxy by 4′; also NF galaxy by 18′ is a double star, which has almost equal components (the N-most may be slightly fainter); these are separated by 0.25′, and oriented N very slightly F-S very slightly P to each other.
With Hydra finished, I had a choice: move over to the setting Leo, head up to the still-prominent Canes Venatici and Coma Berenices, or continue on into Virgo. I chose the latter, as to not fall further behind my schedule.
1:00 NGCs 5084, 5068, 5087 (Vir): These three (they’re too far apart to qualify as an actual trio) are N of Gamma Hya, and very different to each other. 5084 is a very long, skinny galaxy, obviously an edge-on spiral. It’s elongated P slightly S-F slightly N, 3.0′ x 0.5′. It has a bright core and a stellar nucleus that are offset toward the F end of the galaxy. The halo is pretty well-defined and extended on the P end. The galaxy is in the middle of a trapezoid of six faint stars; on the NF end of the trapezoid is the closest vertex to the galaxy, a 14th-magnitude star 2.25′ F the galaxy’s nucleus; S very slightly F the galaxy by 4.25′ is a 13th-magnitude star; SP galaxy by 5.5′ is a 12.5-mag star that’s the brightest in the trapezoid; 5.5′ P and very very slightly S of the galaxy is a 13.5-magnitude star; just N of that star by 1.75′ is a 14.5-magnitude star. NP the galaxy by 8.5′ is a 13.5-magnitude star. Due F the galaxy by 12′ is a 9th-magnitude star. There’s another 9th-magnitude star 21′ due S of the galaxy. NGC 5068 is more than a 42′ field N slightly P 5084. This one is a huge diffuse round glow, with very little central concentration, just a (very) slightly brighter core that makes up half the size of the halo. The galaxy is about 4.25′ round, a poorly-defined galaxy that is nonetheless quite obvious. There’s a 14.5-magnitude star just on the N very slightly F edge of the halo. 0.5′ due P the edge of the halo is another 14.5-magnitude star, and a 14th-magnitude star is just off the SP edge of the halo. A 9.5-magnitude star is SF the galaxy by 15′, and a 10.5-magnitude star is NP the galaxy by 11.5′. NF the galaxy by 22′ is an 11th-magnitude star, and 13′ N of that star is NGC 5087. This galaxy is quite bright and slightly elongated N-S [a slow-moving satellite just crossed the galaxy]. It has an obvious but not overly-bright core and a stellar nucleus. It’s about 1.25′ x 0.875′ and very well-defined, with no “searching for edges.” 4′ N very slightly P 5087 is an 11th-magnitude star with a threshold star 1′ due P it. Due N of the galaxy by 15′ is a 9th-magnitude star. On the P side of the galaxy is a group of six stars: a triangle SP the galaxy (the brightest star in the triangle, the F-most vertex, is 10th magnitude, 7.5′ from galaxy; the P-most in the triangle is only slightly dimmer [10.5-magnitude] and 9′ from the galaxy, while the vertex to the S is threshold-level), a close pair due P the galaxy by 9′ (the N-most is much brighter; these are 10th and 12thmagnitudes and separated by 0.5′) and a single star of 9th magnitude 8′ P slightly N the galaxy. There’s also an 8th-magnitude star 17′ S of the galaxy.
1:16 NGC 5134, IC 4237 (Vir)—Seeing is decreasing now, but NGC 5134 is kind of impressive, brightish and obvious. It doesn’t have a bright core but has a prominent stellar nucleus, and is fairly evenly illuminated. It’s elongated NP-SF, 2.0′ x 0.75′, and pretty well-defined, but has a smoother brightness profile than most edge-ons (?). There are several faint stars around it; the brightest, at 10th magnitude, is F very slightly N of the galaxy by 9.5′; it may have a fainter companion NF; these stars are the NP end of a squiggle that stretches to the SF edge of the field. SF the galaxy by 8.5′ is a 11.5-magnitude star. Just off the NP edge of field, 23′ from 5134, is a 7th-mag star. Another galaxy [IC 4237] is due P NGC 5134 by 11′; it’s much more diffuse and fainter, with much less central concentration. Dimensions are difficult to tell, but it’s elongated NP-SF, and may have a threshold star just off F end. Between the two galaxies is a 13th-magnitude star, and NF that star by 4′ is a 13.5-magnitude star.
1:31 NGCs 5018, 5022 (Vir)—5018 is much the more obvious of these two, and looks like an elliptical. It’s 1.67′ x 1.25′, elongated P-F. The galaxy is pretty bright and well-defined, with an obvious brighter core and stellar nucleus. 6.25′ P and slightly N of galaxy is a 10th-magnitude star. A threshold star is 1′ off the edge of the galaxy’s halo on the F side, with another threshold star 2′ N of the galaxy. A 14th-magnitude star is 4.5′ S very slightly P galaxy. A 12th-magnitude star is 4′ F and very slightly S of the galaxy; a 13.5-magnitude star is due F that star by 1.5′. NF the galaxy by 7′ is an 11th-magnitude star; S slightly F that star by 2.5′ is NGC 5022: this galaxy is visible only sporadically. It’s a thin, undefined streak, 2.0′ x 0.3′?, and elongated S slightly P-N slightly F. I’m barely capable of holding 5022 in direct vision, as seeing has gotten poor and it may be quite faint at the best of times. It has a faint trace of a core but a definite nucleus. I was fortunate to see it, as it could have been passed over in current conditions.
Oggie and his girlfriend had left by this point, and now Dan was packing up. With even Virgo past the meridian, I was quickly running out of time there as well, and I decided to call it a night. The next night was forecast to be as good or better than this one had been, so I only slightly reluctantly made the decision to tear down and head for home.
***
Thoroughly lactose-free, I headed up to Eagle’s Ridge the next night a bit earlier than the previous. I knew I would be alone tonight: Dan and Oggie were planning to check out a couple of possible new sites near Triangle Lake, Jerry was still sick, and no-one else had been interested in making the trip (based on the club’s e-mail list). Alone wasn’t that bad–at least I wouldn’t feel anti-social if I stuck to my own devices.
I had of course intended to work my way through the Leos (“Major” and Minor), but a look at my laminated Sky Atlas 2000.0 (Chart 6 tonight) showed that I still had a number of galaxies nearby in Lynx to ferret out. I should’ve let them go until next spring, but for whatever reason, I decided to catch them tonight. As I waited for the night to completely fall, I zeroed in on an object that was easy to find and bright enough to be visible in the twilight, watching it as more details became visible, until I felt the sky was dark enough to start taking adequate notes.
5/13-5/14/18 EAGLE’S RIDGE SPUR ROAD (43° 48′ 17.9496” N, 122° 42′ 45.6912” W) MOON: 29 days; 1% illuminated, rose at 4:57 AM SEEING: 8 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: not checked NELM: 6.7 WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in low 50s, no breeze, some dew on exposed plastic elements but none on optical surfaces or telescopes OTHERS PRESENT: none
All observations: 12.5″ f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:19 NGC 2903 (Leo): It’s not quite fully dark yet. This stunning galaxy has always been a favorite, though—a huge, Messier-quality galaxy. It has a prominent core and a substellar nucleus (the core is not particularly large [0.75′?]), and shows a hint of a bar running almost N-S (maybe this is known from photos more than actually seen?). The galaxy spans 9′ x 3.75′. It’s hard to see if there is a visible wind direction to the arms. The galaxy has a very well-defined halo. There’s N-S brightening about 2/3 of the length of galaxy, and the occasional hint on the N slightly F edge of the halo as if a separate arm, like a dark obscuration between that and the core or a detached arm. There’s a slight notch on the NP side of the galaxy, about halfway between this “detached part” and the nucleus—is this a spiral arm wrapping from the F side of the nucleus around to the N where the detached portion is? To the F slightly S of the galaxy is a 14.5-magnitude star 3.5′ from the galaxy’s nucleus. 4.5′ N very slightly P the galaxy is a 14th-magnitude star.—7′ NP the nucleus is at least a 14th-mag star; it may be a double, with a secondary of threshold level SP primary by less than 1′. S of the galaxy from P to F is a chain of stars of which the SF star is brightest (at 12th magnitude), 6′ from the nucleus of the galaxy; P very slightly S by 2′ is a fainter (13th magnitude) star; from the 13th-magnitude star 3.75′ P very slightly S is a 12th-magnitude star; from that star, 4.5′ P and slightly N is a 12.5-magnitude star; F and slightly N of that star by 1.5′ is a 14th-magnitude star. N of the galaxy is a flat trapezoid of stars; 8.5′ N very slightly F the galaxy’s nucleus is the brightest star (10th magnitude) in the trapezoid; NP that star by 3.5′ is a 13th-magnitude star; due P that star by 3.5′ is a pair, the brightest of which is SP the fainter by 0.25′ and these are 11.5 and 14th magnitude; SP the 11.5-mgnitude star by 4.5′ is another 11.5-magnitude star. The brightest star in the field (8th magnitude) is 21′ N of the galaxy.
Still with time to catch the Lynx galaxies before they dipped too low into the Eugene light-dome, I headed over toward that region of Lynx by the feet of Ursa Major.
10:51 NGC 2493 (Lyn): This one’s a bummer, one of the most difficult Herschels so far (although, to be fair, Lynx is starting to dip into the light dome of Eugene in the northwest). It took a lot of searching to find—I struck out on 2415. The galaxy is a tiny, roundish spot, very very faint, perhaps 0.3′ round. It has a tiny halo and a miniscule core (almost a nucleus). The galaxy is part of a very elongated diamond of stars, the brightest star (8th-mag) of which is NF the galaxy by 7.5′; to the P slightly N and NP of the galaxy, each by 4.5′, are a 10th-magnitude star and a 10.5-magnitude star respectively. NP the galaxy by 1.5′ is a 14th-magnitude star. A pair of 13.5-mag stars are S very slightly F the galaxy by 3′, with the second 0.75′ P slightly S of the first; a 14th-magnitude star is S very slightly F the galaxy by 3.5′. The galaxy has enough presence to stop on rather than passing over, but not any more than that.
11:19 NGC 2541 (Lyn): Amazingly, this one is even worse than the previous. Is this really a Herschel II object? It’s as substantial as a gnat fart in a hurricane, almost an averted-only object. It’s a very diffuse tenuous glow, difficult to determine the size of and poorly-defined, with only the slightest bit of central concentration. Elongation is N-S, 2.5′ x 1.5′. The galaxy sits just S of a pair of three-star arcs; one arc starts NP of the galaxy and dips S-ward, while the other starts NF and dips SP-ward. The galaxy is halfway between the S-most star (10th magnitude) in the first arc and an 11.5-magnitude star SP the galaxy. These stars are 8′ apart. F the galaxy by 6′ is a grouping of five 14th-mag and fainter stars in a zig-zag that starts NF the galaxy, moves toward the SP, back to the SF and then back to the SP; this zig-zag is 5′ from tip to tail. There’s also a 10.5-magnitude star 8′ S slightly F the galaxy. The brightest star in the field is a 9th-magnitude star 17′ SF the galaxy.
11:31 NGC 2500 (Lyn): This one is another relative disappointment, down toward the light dome of Eugene. It’s round, 2.25′ diameter, and very diffuse, with no central brightening and a poorly-defined halo. The galaxy is in the middle of a scattering of 12.5-magnitude and fainter stars with no real shape. There’s an 11.5-magnitude star just on the SP edge of the halo, and a threshold star just on the F side of halo. 2′ to the N is a 12.5-magnitude star. 2′ SF the star on the SP edge of halo is a 12.5-mag star. The brightest star in the field (9th-magnitude) is SP the galaxy by 14′.
11:43 NGC 2782 (Lyn): Not particularly impressive, but better than the last few. This one is smaller and brighter than previous two and roundish, 1.25′ diameter. It has a diffuse, poorly-defined halo, a brighter core, and a hint of a stellar nucleus. NF the galaxy by 8.5′ is a 10th-magnitude star. 4.5′ NP the galaxy is a very difficult double, hard to hold separate; separation is about 10″ but the faintness of the secondary is the main factor in its difficulty; the primary is P the secondary; components are 13th– and threshold magnitudes. A threshold star is 2.5′ due P the galaxy. Due S of the galaxy is the first of a pair of roughly equal (12.5-mag) stars; one star is 2.75′ due S of the galaxy and the other 1.5′ SF the first. 17′ SP the galaxy is a 9.5-magnitude star.
By this point, Lynx was becoming untenable to work in due to the light pollution. I sort-of let Sky Safari choose my next group of targets based on setting time, heading onward to my originally-intended hunting ground, Leo and Leo Minor.
It’s important to note, too, that even a dim and seemingly-featureless galaxy is an object worthy of contemplation and observation. I might call one “unimpressive” or “disappointing,” but it’s still an entire galaxy, and I still feel a touch of awe when I see it, out of respect for its true nature and the inconceivable distance between the observer and the observed.
11:57 NGC 3162 (Leo): Diffuse and difficult. Located near Adhafera [Zeta Leo]. This galaxy is irregularly bright in its inner regions. It’s roundish, 1.25′ in diameter. It has a faint core that’s poorly defined against the halo, which is pretty well defined despite its diffuseness. There’s a just-above-threshold magnitude star on the F slightly S edge of the halo. The galaxy forms one of the bottom corners of a Japanese torii pattern, the top of which arcs from NP to slightly S to NF the galaxy; one column of the torii runs NP and SP of the galaxy; N of the galaxy is the top of other “column”; the two stars at the edges of the arc are the brightest in the pattern; 10′ NP the galaxy is an 8.5-magnitude star; there’s a 10th-magnitude star 9.5′ NF the galaxy; the stars in the column P the galaxy are NP the galaxy by 5′ and 3.5′ P slightly S of the galaxy; N slightly F the galaxy by 3.5′ is the top of the other “column.” Due F the galaxy by 4.5′ is a 14th-magnitude star.
12:10 NGCs 3226, 3227 (Leo): An excellent pair! These are obviously interacting spirals [3226 is actually an elliptical]. 3226 is N very slightly P 3227, and much the smaller of the pair. There maybe a bit of N-S elongation, perhaps 1.25′ x 1.0′. 3226 has a diffuse but well-defined halo (is a halo ever not diffuse?) and a largish core. Every few moments is a flicker of a substellar nucleus, which is 2.5′ from the nucleus of 3227. 3227 is SF 3226, and is much the larger of the two at 2.25′ x 1.25′, elongated NP-SF. It’s not sure if there’s dark space between the two galaxies’ haloes. The galaxy has an obvious stellar nucleus and a brighter core that’s not as distinctive as 3226’s. Due P the nucleus by 4.5′ is a 13.5-magnitude star. 6′ NP the center of 3226 is a 13th-magnitude star; N of that star by 1.5′ is a 14th-magnitude star. An interesting small triangle of stars is SP the galaxies; the closest vertex to the galaxies is an 11th-magnitude star 7′ SP the nucleus of 3227; P very slightly N of that star by 1′ is a 12th-magnitude star. Back to the 13th-magnitude star: S and very slightly F that star by 3.5′ is the brightest star (10th magnitude) in that triangle. The brightest star in the field is 18′ SF the nucleus of 3227 and is 9th magnitude.
12:28 NGCs 3185, 3187, 3190, 3193 (Hickson 44; Leo): Perhaps the best of all the Hickson groups, although 3187 more difficult tonight than I’ve seen it in the past—the light glow in the northwest is getting harder to avoid. 3185 is a diffuse glow, slightly elongated P-F (1.5′ x 0.75′). It has a little central brightening, a hint of a stellar nucleus, and a poorly-defined halo. It’s surprisingly quite difficult tonight. 10.5 N slightly F is 3190, the brightest/most obvious of the four. It’s elongated P-F (2.0′ x 1.0′), with a bright core and bright substellar nucleus, and a better defined halo than 3185. A threshold star is SP galaxy by 1.5′; N very slightly F by 3.25′ is a 12th-magnitude star. Due P 3190 by 5′ is 3187: really tough tonight, a threshold-level, P-F elongated glow, but its extent is hard to determine (it’s obviously smaller than 3190). 3187 appears to have a threshold-level star just SF it. 8.5′ N of 3190 is the second-brightest star in field at 8th magnitude. P and slightly N of 3190 by 17′ is a 7th-magnitude star, the brightest in the field. NF 3190 by 5.5′ is 3193, which is smaller than 3190 but almost as bright. It’s about 1.5′ across and roundish, with a large substantially-bright core and substellar nucleus; the core makes up about 75% of the galaxy’s diameter. The halo is small and well defined. 1′ due N is a 10th-magnitude star. F slightly N of the galaxy by 4′ is an 11th-magnitude star. NF galaxy by 7′ is a very faint pair of stars, separated NP-SF by 0.5′; these are of 14.5- and 15th-magnitudes.
12:43 NGC 3301 (Leo): This is an elongated spiral, but not the easiest edge-on I’ve seen. It does have a well-defined brightish core and a stellar nucleus. The galaxy is elongated SP-NF at 2.5′ x 0.75′. The ends of the halo are not well-defined; they kind-of evaporate into the background. Due N of the galaxy is a smallish right triangle of stars, with the short edge almost parallel to the galaxy; the short edge is 1.75′, the long edge 3.25′; the right-angle vertex is 3′ N of the galaxy and is the closest of the triangle’s stars to the galaxy; the opposite vertex on the long edge is the brightest in the triangle at 11th magnitude; the right angle vertex is 11.5 magnitude; the third vertex is 12.5 magnitude. 6′ SF galaxy is a 13th-magnitude star. On opposite sides of the field (S slightly P and NF the galaxy) each by 18′ are 10th-magnitude stars. An interesting double star is 20′ N slightly P the galaxy, with the 13th-magnitude primary component 0.5′ NP the 13.5-magnitude secondary.
1:02 NGC 3294 (LMi): Big and diffuse, with very little central brightening. The galaxy is quite obvious despite having almost no definition at all. It’s 3.0′ x 1.25′, elongated NP-SF. The galaxy seems wider on the NP end than on the SF end (?). There are 10th-magnitude stars NP and NF the galaxy; the star to the NP is 8′ from the center of the galaxy; the star to the NF is 5.5′ from the center of the galaxy. 12′ SF the center of the galaxy is an 8th-magnitude star . There may be a threshold star P the galaxy by 2.5′. 5′ from the SP edge of the galaxy is a 12.5-magnitude star.
I had to abandon the Lions at this point; Hickson 44 had been something of an indicator that Leo itself was already too close to the light-dome of Eugene. For all my intentions of doing a massive and thorough sweep through the Greater Lion, I’d gotten only a few of the dozens of Leo Herschels I needed. I ended up heading east and north for my last few galaxies of the night.
1:18 NGC 4203 (Com): had to move into Coma as Leo is in poor position. This is a very interesting field. The galaxy itself is 1.5′ round, with a small bright core, a brightish stellar nucleus, and a well-defined halo—probably an elliptical? 3.75′ N slightly P the galaxy is an 8th-magnitude star. 2′ N of the galaxy is a 12.5-magnitude star. The brightest star in the field is on the SF edge of the field (20′ SF the galaxy) and is 5th magnitude. NP the galaxy is an arc of three stars 21′ from the galaxy. From S-NF: 8th magnitude, 10th magnitude, 11th magnitude; these are spaced about 4.25′ apart; the S-most is 17′ NP the galaxy. S of the galaxy by 21′ is an 8.5-magnitude star. SP the galaxy by 28′ is a beautiful double star [ADS 8470]: yellow primary and blue secondary, separated by 0.5′, with the primary P the secondary.
1:37 NGC 4395 (CVn): Another one of the most difficult in the Herschel catalogue (again). Huge!. This one is barely visible, tougher than (but similar to) NGC 4236 in Draco, and averted vision gives only slight benefit. Just a big round glow, 7′ across minimum [satellite through field]. It has the slightest hint of central brightening that runs NP-SF (rocking the scope helps reveal this elongation); the central region is 5′ x 7′ and looks “lumpy”, with a few threshold stars sprinkled across it?. One threshold star is on the F side 2/3 of the way from center to edge; there may be another threshold star SF in halo and one more threshold star on the NP side. There seems to be something small and nebulous on SF side? Distinctly non-stellar [NGC 4401?]. The galaxy is bracketed on the P and F sides by brightish stars: on P side, 12′ from the middle of the galaxy, is a 9th-magnitude star; there’s an 11th-magnitude star on the F slightly N side by 12′. 7′ S of the center of the galaxy is a 13th-magnitude star. I need to reexamine this one with the 18″ scope!
1:59 NGC 4051 (UMa): A really interesting one! This galaxy seems to show spiral structure. The halo is very large and is elongated P-F, while the brighter inner structure seems elongated NP-SF. The galaxy has a distinctive stellar nucleus and a small not very bright core region; this core region looks more a bar that runs NP-SF. The galaxy spans 4.0′ x 2.5′. This coulda been a Messier! A faint spiral arm appears to be reaching toward an 11th-mag star just off the P edge of the halo; the NF edge of the halo is less distinct than the rest, and there appears to be a notch in SP edge of halo. 4.25′ NF the galaxy’s nucleus is a 15th-magnitude star, and there is a 14.5-mag star 7′ F the galaxy’s nucleus. F slightly S of the galaxy by 12′ is an 8.5-magnitude star. 19′ P slightly N of the galaxy is an 8.5-magnitude star, and a 10th-mag star is NF the galaxy by 20′. This is a great galaxy, and I need to return to it!
2:11 NGC 4143 (CVn): A brightish, elongated galaxy, elongated 2.25′ x 0.75′ NP-SF. [There’s a very slow-moving satellite in the field]. The galaxy has an obvious bright core, although there’s something embedded in the NP end, or what looks like a double core. There’s also a visible substellar nucleus. The halo is well defined. 3.5′ N of the galaxy is a 14.5-magnitude star. A 9th-magnitude star lies SP the galaxy by 5′. P the galaxy by 6.5′ is a 13th-magnitude star; SF the galaxy by 4.5′ is a 13.5-magnitude star. Even further SF the galaxy is a small diamond-gemstone asterism; the SF-most star is the bottom of the diamond, and is 9th-magnitude, 14′ from the galaxy; the three stars in the top of the diamond are all 11th-/11.5-magnitude.
2:20 NGC 4138 (CVn): , An interesting inclined spiral, not far from 4143. This has a diffuse, not particularly well-defined halo and a bright core, but no visible nucleus. The galaxy is elongated 1.75′ x 1.0′ NP-SF. N slightly P the galaxy by 2′ is a 12th-magnitude star; NP that star by 4.5′ is another 12th-magnitude star; 5′ NF that second star is another 12th-magnitude star; these three form a triangle. 13′ F and slightly N of the galaxy is a 10th-magnitude star, while NP the galaxy by 18′ is a very impressive double: separated P-F by 0.25′ (secondary P the primary); the white 8th-magnitude primary is much brighter than the slightly blue 11th-magnitude secondary.
So that was that. With dawn soon to encroach and an hour’s drive ahead, I effectively conceded my attempt to finish the Herschel 400 and Herschel II this calendar year. I might be able to work through the earlier spring galaxies in the mornings of late fall and winter, but those seasons bring far fewer clear nights in which to “work.” I could also take much less detailed notes on the remaining objects and do more of them per night, but that’s far less satisfying and would feel like cheating.
So I packed up and headed home. When next I would get out to observe, Virgo too would be well past the meridian. Having previously cleared out the Herschels from the region in the best viewing position (Boötes/Serpens/Hercules/Draco), I could either choose to work on the galaxies of Ursa Major (which would still be in good position to observe) or I could begin making headway on the nebulae and clusters of the summer Milky Way—as I write this, I’m leaning toward the idea of the latter. Whichever happens, though, it’ll still be a worthwhile endeavor and a way to learn more about the universe.
I. It was already summer, to be sure; the first days of 90-degree temperatures had come and gone, and perhaps the last vestiges of spring rains had ended at the beginning of the month. This last two weeks of June called for clear skies, to coincide with the Moon-dark cycle, and the cancellation of several days of work (due to being too efficient and finishing the job earlier than expected) meant that it was time to clear the spring slate of Herschel galaxies for the mid-summer Milky Way run. Galaxies to the west, galaxies to the east, with the thick star clouds of summer bisecting the two extragalactic realms.
I had 51 galaxies on the Herschel 400 and Herschel II lists on my observing plan. These included those galaxies in Virgo from Spica (at RA 13h 26m 07s) on east to the Serpens border, and the Herschel galaxies in Draco, Hercules, and Boötes (basically every Herschel in those three constellations that I hadn’t done, with the exceptions of NGC 6058 in Hercules and NGC 6543 in Draco, both planetary nebulae; I’d seen 6543, the famous Cat’s Eye Nebula, numerous times but had never taken notes on it). Accomplishing this, I could either move on into the non-galaxy Herschels of summer, or could use the 18″ EAS Dob to work on galaxies in the Astronomical League’s Flat Galaxy, Local Group, Galaxy Groups & Clusters, and Arp Peculiar Galaxy programs, having decided to keep using Bob the (12.5″) Dob for the remainder of my Herschel work for consistency’s sake.
June 18th was a Sunday night. Bob, my father-in-law, had finished his weekend’s work and was looking for something to do, so he and his 4.25″ StarBlast came along to Eureka Ridge; as my work wouldn’t formally be canceled for a couple of days yet, I’d planned to go to Eureka due to the half-hour drive (vs. the hour drive to Eagle’s Ridge). Jerry was also heading to Eureka, for similar reasons of proximity.
It turned out to be something of a Three Bob Night, as we encountered a bobcat at Simonson Road on the way to the site. The cat ran along the road for about a hundred feet before vanishing into the roadside underbrush. It was my first sighting of a largish predatory animal here in Oregon, but it wouldn’t even be the last of the week.
With work the next day, I didn’t have the interest in a full night’s observing, and having worked all weekend, Bob didn’t either. I got to a good stopping point near 12:30 AM, and so we all called it a night at that point.
6/18-19/17 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: 23 days (43% illumination), rose 2:33 AM SEEING: 7 TRANSPARENCY: 6 SQM: 21.3 (midnight) NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in 60s; moderate dew, wind breezy on ridge but not at ground level OTHERS PRESENT: JO, BE
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:02 NGC 5493 (Vir): not at all what I was expecting—pretty small, reasonably bright—has a very bright stellar nucleus but not much core—no more than 1.0’ but should be more than that?; sky is still not totally dark—round—looks like, off to P side of nucleus just by hair, an extension of nucleus to P slightly N edge? or double nucleus?—in immediate vicinity (7’) around it, a lot of threshold stars up to about mag 13.5—brightest star (11th mag) in field is N and slightly P by 18’—star has a 13th-mag companion due F by 2’—another 11th-mag star F and slightly S of galaxy by 18’
11:16 NGCs 5506, 5507 (Vir): both brighter than 5493—separated by 4’—5506: S-most of pair—quite diffuse—2.5’ x 0.75’—elongated P-F—slightly brighter, largish core region, brightness doesn’t extend down arms, only about middle third of galaxy—5507 almost due N of 5506—distracting pair of bright stars in field—SP 5506 by 10’ is an 8th-mag star—NP by 19’ is an 8.5-mag star—5507: much smaller—very bright substellar nucleus—better defined than 5506—1.0’ x 0.75’—elongated NP-SF by a bit—need averted vision to see it as extended—4.5’ due N is a 12th-mag star—F 5507 by 20’ is a 9.5-mag star—that star and two P the two galaxies make a bright triangle that frames field
11:41 NGCs 5363, 5364, 5360 (Vir): 5363: brightest of three—compact and well-defined—more northern of two major galaxies (w/5364)—bright—distractingly bright small core and bright stellar nucleus—2.0’ x 1.75’—elongated NP-SF—NF galaxy by 4.5’ is a 9th-mag star that’s also distracting—due N of galaxy by 9’ is an 11.5-mag star—S and slightly F of galaxy by 15’ is NGC 5364: big diffuse sprawl—brighter core—pretty round—halo is round, brighter central region elongated SP-NF—3.25’ halo—central region runs across halo, about 1.25’ wide—just outside NP edge of halo is 12th-mag star—maybe a faint hint in averted of a substellar nucleus—12th-mag star is about 4’ from center of galaxy—just on NP edge of halo is a threshold star halfway between center of galaxy and 12th-mag star previously noted—P and slightly S of galaxy by 15’ is a 10.5-mag star—just visible NF that star (in line with 5364) by 5’ is a long thin very difficult streak (5360): requires averted—elongated SP-NF—difficult to tell size, very ghostly—maybe 1.0’ x 0.5’?—difficult!—sky not good enough for galaxy—very little concentration, even in averted—stellar nucleus that’s very tenuous
12:01 NGCs 5560, 5566 (Vir)—5566 is much brighter of two, 5560 skinnier—5566: has bright bright core and bright substellar nucleus—elongated SP-NF—2.0’ x 1.0’—pretty well defined, not much extra in averted—to P and very slightly S of core by 1.5’ is a 14th-mag star—2’ due F core is a 12th-mag star—5560: NP 5566 by 6’—elongated NP-SF—thinner and more diffuse than 5566—2.0’ x 0.5’—brighter but unconcentrated core—core is half the length of the galaxy—just to N of core by 0.4’ is a 14.5-mag star—P galaxy by 6.5’ is a 10th-mag star—2.5’ NP that star is a 12th-mag star—supposedly another galaxy (5569) on NF end of 5566, but not visible enough here
12:08 NGCs 5576, 5574, 5577 (Vir)—5576: brightest of trio by far—smallish, 1.25’ x 1.0’—elongated P-F—very bright core—stellar nucleus that’s also brightish—NP the nucleus by 1.75’ is a 13th-mag star—SP galaxy is 5574: halo as bright as 5576’s but core much fainter, only slightly brighter than its own halo—elongated SP-NF—core doesn’t seem uniformly bright, as if threshold star embedded in SP end—no nucleus visible—separated from 5576 by 3’—N and very slightly F 5576 by 10’ is 5577: elongated SP-NF—pretty obvious—2.5’ x 1.0’—pretty diffuse—doesn’t seem to have much central brightening/core/nucleus—forms a right triangle with 5576 and a 11.5-mag star NP 5576 by 8’—star is SP 5577 by 11’—back to 5576: NF galaxy by 7.5’ is a double star with 12th- and 14th-mag components—brighter is due N of dimmer by 0.25’—due N of that 12th-mag star by 3.25’ is another 12th-mag star
12:25 NGC 5668 (Vir): big diffuse galaxy—roundish—2.75’—very diffuse—reasonably bright and obvious—to F edge of galaxy (not quite to edge of halo) is a 14th-mag star that makes it difficult to see if there’s a nucleus; don’t think there is one—3.5’ S very slightly F galaxy’s center is a 14.5-mag star—NF galaxy by 6’ is a 9th-mag star; 2’ due N of that star is an 11th-mag star—NP galaxy’s center by 6’ is a 12.5-mag star; NP that star by 6’ is a 12th-mag star—SP galaxy by 13’ is another 12th-mag star—galaxy’s halo fairly indistinct—not a specific core but some mottling/uneven illumination in galaxy’s interior
II. I hadn’t really been sure I’d be able to make it the next night, with a number of shifts coming up, but after my morning shift (and a lot of caffeine), I got the cancellation e-mail: we were done with the field study, giving me a full week off. Good for the astronomy, bad for the bank account. There was no sense not taking advantage, though, so I made sure to be out for Night Two of the run.
The sky was already pink to the east as I started setting up; I hadn’t been able to convince anyone else out to Eureka, so it was just me on this night. They missed the huge pink thunderhead low in the southeast, the one that flickered brilliantly with far-off lightning until after midnight. In some ways, I wished it was happening in town; the thunderstorms are one of the things we miss about life in Carbondale (aside from the people, of course).
As I started observing, it was apparent that the sky was pretty much turbulent all over, as the seeing was pretty lousy all night. The air was more transparent than the previous night, with greater definition in the Milky Way, though, and as transparency is more important for deep-sky observing than seeing, it was an okay trade-off.
6/19-20/17 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: 24 days (33% illumination), rose 3:07 AM SEEING: 3 TRANSPARENCY: 6-8; Milky Way brilliant at times and in spots SQM: not checked NELM: 6.7 WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in 60s, quite suddenly falling to low 50s; moderate dew, no wind; lightning storm visible on SE horizon OTHERS PRESENT: none
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:01 NGCs 5638, 5636 (Vir)—5638: decent-sized galaxy—roundish—brighter core but nucleus hard to separate from core—seeing very poor—1.75’ round—halo seems well-defined—almost like a faint NGC globular; elliptical?—pretty bright—not perfectly dark yet—almost due N, visible in direct but better in averted, is another galaxy (5636): ghostly—a little bit of central brightening, but not much brighter—elongated P (slightly S)-F (slightly N)—very hard to tell due to faintness of galaxy—not much definition—1.5’ x 1.0’, but hard to tell dimensions—transparency decent ATM—NP 5638 by 4.5’ is a 12.5-mag star—F and slightly N by 12’ is a 12th-mag star—a bright triangle N and P the two galaxies; closest vertex is 11’ NP 5638 and is 11th-mag; NP that star by 6’ is an 11th-mag star; due N of first star in triangle by 10’ is third vertex (10.5 mag)—if 5638 centered, there is a 10.5-mag star just on N slightly F edge of field (about 21’ from galaxy)—SP 5638 by 12’ is a large spread-out group of 12-14th-mag stars in irregular shape, take up much of S part of field
11:14 NGC 5634 (Vir): Virgo globular (one of two)—long a favorite—terrible seeing, so hard to resolve—hints of granularity, but not much—fairly smooth except in brief moments—cluster is 2.5’ across—bright central region about 1.75’—bracketed by a triangle; halfway in the N edge of triangle—triangle points N slightly F-S slightly P—stars due P and F cluster—due P star is 2’ from center of cluster at mag 12.5—star F is 2’ from cluster center and is 10th-mag—cluster slightly S of line between two stars; third star in triangle is S of cluster center by 4.5’ [super-slow satellite moving through field to SF edge]—cluster seems moderately concentrated; CC 8?—not picking up much resolution at all—just off S edge of halo is a barely-threshold star—0.5’ N and slightly P of cluster’s halo is a threshold star—P and slightly S of the cluster’s center by 2.5’ is a 14th-mag star—NF cluster by 22’ is a 9.5-mag star—NP cluster by 20’ is an 11th-mag star
11:25 NGCs 5746, 5740, 5738 (Vir)—lovely group, even in shitty conditions—5746: elongated almost N-S (very slightly NP-SF)—extremely long—necessary to keep 109 Vir out of field to see everything well—5’0’ x 0.5’—has good central brightening along legth, bright core and substellar nucleus that pops in averted—F side is slightly better defined, even in poor conditions—NP-NF of galaxy is an arc of four stars ranging from 10th-mag (NP galaxy) to 12th-mag (due N of galaxy); 10th-mag star is 6’ from galaxy’s nucleus—very well-defined galaxy, very “present”—SP nucleus of 5746 by 9’ is an 11.5-mag star; SP that star by 10’ is NGC 5740: also quite bright and obvious—elongated N a bit P-S a bit F (more than 5746)—much more diffuse, more broadly concentrated than 5746—1.75’ x 1.0’—halo less defined than 5746—brighter core region but no sign of nucleus, core may be too bright—full extent hard to tell in seeing—better than many Herschels—NP galaxy by 6’ from core is a 13th-mag star—P slightly N by 3’ from core is a 14.5-mag star—N of galaxy by 3.5’ is another 14.5-mag star—another threshold star 4’ SP galaxy’s core—8’ SP from 5740’s core is 5738: much more diffuse, difficult in direct vision—much smaller than 5740—very tough—0.75’ x 0.5’—very ghostly—has a threshold star just off F edge, about 1.25’ SF center of galaxy—star makes observation of core/nucleus difficult; galaxy may have a stellar nucleus (or threshold star very close to NP of galaxy’s center)
11:45 NGC 5750 (Vir): elongated (slightly S) P- (slightly N) F—galaxy has very obvious stellar nucleus; not bright but obvious—broadly concentrated galaxy—1.75’ x 1.25’—edges are fairly well-defined—galaxy is in middle of group of 12.5-14th-mag stars that occupy central region of field—brighter star SP galaxy by 14’—one SF by 20’—12.5-mag star P and very slightly N of galaxy by 8’—due N of galaxy by 5.5’ is a 13th-mag star which has a threshold star F it by 20”—5’ to NP of the galaxy is a 13.5-mag star
11:58 NGCs 5775, 5774, 5770 (Vir)—5775: excellent edge-on galaxy—elongated N somewhat P-S somewhat F—long and thin—pretty well defined—3.5’ x 0.75’—SP and NF center of galaxy are 14th-mag stars; star to SP is 0.75 from center of galaxy; one to NF is 1.25’ from center of galaxy—galaxy is unevely illuminated along length—no obvious nucleus—some “interruptions” in brightness—SP galaxy by 12’ is a 10th-mag star; another 10th-mag star S of that star by 13’—NF galaxy by 20’ is a 10.5-mag star; NF that star is a tiny equilateral triangle of 13th/14th-mag stars about 1.25’ on a side—N and somewhat P 5775 is 5774: much dimmer, still fairly obvious—elongated SP-NF—1.25’ x 0.75’—much more diffuse—very slight central brightening (especially in averted) but no nucleus— to NF just off edge of halo is a 14th-mag star—suspect 5774 is quite larger, but seeing/transparency makes it hard to tell—25’ N of 5775 and slightly P is 5770: pretty round—maybe slight elongation or something near nucleus that makes it look extended slightly NP-SF—halo of galaxy 0.75’ roundish, central brightening elongated?—substellar nucleus with embedded threshold star nearby?—4’ NF galaxy is a pair of widely separated stars of 13th and 13.5 mags; dimmer one slightly NP brighter star by 1’—4.5’ due N of galaxy’s center is 14th-mag star—not poorly defined; tight and compact galaxy, rather obvious but not overly distinctive
12:15 NGCs 5806, 5813, 5814 (Vir)—5806: elongated N-S—bright but not as bright as 5813 but more condensed—better defined—2.25’ x 1.0’—has a reasonably bright obvious central region and a substellar nucleus—due N by 4.5’ from nucleus is a 14.5-mag star—another 14.5-mag star SF galaxy by 4’; 15th-mag star P that star by 1.5’—NP galaxy is a small right triangle; hypotenuse is edge closest to galaxy; hypotenuse is 5.5’ long; triangle consists of 12th/13th-mag stars; brightest (12th-mag) is vertex on opposite corner from hypotenuse—S and very slightly P galaxy by 10’ is a 12th-mag star; 10’ S and very slightly that star is a 10th-mag star—SF 5806 by 21’ is 5813/5814 pair—5813: large with bright round diffuse halo—brighter central region elongated NP-SF—has a small but bright core that becomes suddenly bright—substellar nucleus—inside diamond pattern of 12th-14th-mag stars—edges of halo not well-defined—halo 1.5’ roundish—SF 5813 by 5’ is 5814: barely distinguishable—hareder to see now—very small, not even 0.5’—little bit of central brightening and a fainst substellar nucleus—halo is difficult—maybe extended P-F?—seeing very poor now
12:27 NGC 5831 (Vir): diffuse, round glow—some definite central brightening—brighter region takes up inner 50% of galaxy—halo poorly-defined—roundish—1.25’ round—bright core and a faint stellar nucleus—N and slightly F core by 2’ is a 14th-mag star—SF galaxy by 24’ is a 9th-mag star (just outside edge of field)—field otherwise fairly barren—S and very slightly F galaxy by 12’ is a 11.5-mag star—chain of 11th/12th/13th-mag stars on S and slightly F edge of field; triangle with extra star on end or flattened kite
12:48 NGCs 5854, 5864 (Vir)—5854: very small—1.0’ x 0.5’—elongated SP-NF—sits at SF end of a 20’-long rectangle of stars which is 7’; 9th-mag star on SP end of rectangle; stars in rectangle 9th-13th-mags—galaxy faint and small—brighter central region—maybe substellar nucleus—SF galaxy’s nucleus by 3’ is a 14th-mag star—SF galaxy by 7’ is a 14.5-mag star—NF 5854 by 40’ is 5864: much bigger—2.0’ x 1.0’—irregular central brightening—substellar nucleus in averted vision—elongated P slightly S-F slightly N—off SP tip, just separated from the halo about 1.25 from core is a 15th-mag star—another 15th-mag star just on SF edge of halo that makes reading interior of galaxy difficult—14.5-mag stars 6’ due S of galaxy and 4.5’ NF galaxy—galaxy set inside large triangle of 10.5/11th-mag stars; brightest (10.5) star NP of galaxy by 18’—11th-mag star 16’ NF from galaxy’s center, and has a 13.5-mag companion 0.5’ F; 11th-mag star S of galaxy by 13’—between two N stars is a scattering of 12th-14th-mag stars of irregular shape and spacing—S side of field is much more devoid of stars
1:02 NGC 5600 (Boo): round—fairly bright—1.5’ across—not very concentrated—brighter central region makes up 80%—maybe a hint of visible nucleus when seeing steadies—some clouds moving in—galaxy pretty easy to spot—galaxy inside a diamond that is pointing P (slightly S)-F (slightly N)—star to NF is brightest at 11th mag; other three stars in diamond are 12.5/13th-mag—line of 11-14th-mag stars S galaxy by 18’ that runs P-F
The next night was, according to the Clear Sky Chart, supposed to be reasonably good. The CSC was pretty damn accurate, but this day showed the heavy cirrus clearing by 6 PM; by 9 PM, the gunk was still covering the sky. Bob and I decided to head out anyway.
Jerry and Dan R were there already, setting up the TriDob. Bob had his StarBlast, and I spent most of the night observing through those scopes rather than my own. Even better, Jerry, Dan, and Bob provide(d) a pretty astounding discussion group on a huge range of topics. The observing took a backseat to the conversation, as the 80% sky remained socked-in for most of the evening. (The areas that remained socked-in varied; the Scorpius-Sagittarius region was the area that stayed the clearest, and where we concentrated most of our observing.) It was well after 1 AM before we gave up on observing and headed home.
III. The night of the 22nd was better, in both seeing and transparency, than either of the two previous excursions. The seeing was still poor, but the transparency was as good as it had been so far in the run. The big difference was the constant heavy wind that howled from behind the Ridge; it was much ado about nothing on my side of the Ridge, fortunately, and it wasn’t until I was driving home and rounded the first bend in the BLM road that I found how constantly strong the wind actually was, as it lashed the trees and underbrush into a verdant frenzy.
(The official predator of the night was a weasel of some sort, sitting on the side of the BLM road just after the turn from Simonson Road.)
It was another solo night at Eureka Ridge, as no-one else was free to come out; Jerry was at the Golden State Star Party, and the other Eureka regulars were busy with life.
As I waited for evening twilight to draw to a close, I spent the darkening hours scouring the southern horizon to see how far down in declination I could observe deep-sky objects. I had surmised earlier in the week that NGC 5128 (Centaurus A) would be visible from Eureka Ridge early in May, and I’m now sure that’s the case. On this night, I managed to snag NGC 5896 in Lupus, a globular cluster I’d observed from Carbondale, but which was here down low in the Roseburg light-pollution dome. As I observed the cluster, sitting on the ground (for which I’d often been semi-mocked by the other members of AASI), the sky behind me lit up with a sudden flash, and my shadow was visible on the ground and on Bob the Dob for a split-second. As I spun around and got to my feet, there was no trace of the light source; an Iridium flare could get that bright (as we found out the next night), but would probably still be very faintly visible as it crept out of the Sun’s glare entirely. If the flash was a meteor, it would have been an unimaginably-bright one. Even a query on the EAS e-mail list turned up no other observations of the flasher.
But to work:
6/22-23/17 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: 28 days (2% illuminated); rose at 5:23 AM SEEING: 4 TRANSPARENCY: 7; Milky Way bright and detailed but less “resolvable” SQM: not checked NELM: 6.5 WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in 60s; no dew, heavy winds which did not affect observing (except regarding seeing) OTHERS PRESENT: none
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:14 NGC 5523 (Boo): not easy for a Herschel—quite elongated—not particularly bright, although some twilight still visible—elongated P (very slightly N)-F (very slightly S)—2.0’ x 0.5’—has some faint central brightening—no real core or nucleus—slightly brighter streak down the middle—not particularly well defined—1.75’ NP from NP tip of galaxy is a 12th-mag star—N and very slightly F galaxy by 9’ is a 10th-mag star—another 10th-mag star P and somewhat S of the galaxy by 6’—almost due F galaxy by 11’ is another 11th-mag star—not easiest of galaxies—P and N of galaxy by 18’ is another 11th-mag star—15th-mag star due F by 4.5’ from F end of galaxy
11:27 NGC 5533 (Boo): in field with the very bright A Boö and an interesting wide “double star”—necessary to keep A out of field—A is F and N of galaxy by 24’—galaxy is elongated SP-NF—1.25’ x 0.75’—has a bright not-quite stellar nucleus and brighter central region that becomes suddenly brighter from halo to core—bright galaxy with “presence” in field—NF galaxy by 5’ is a 13th-mag star; N and very slightly F that star by 3.5’ is a 13.5-mag star—NF from galaxy toward A Boö by 14’ is the slightly-brighter component of pair (12th-mag); dimmer is 12.3-mag; separated by 2.5’ with brighter component P and slightly N dimmer component—N slightly P the brighter component by 6’ is another 12th-mag star—those two (double and star NP) are part of a diamond of which the galaxy is to the SP point; third star is N and very slightly F the galaxy and is also 12th-mag—major axis of diamond points NF-SP
11:37 NGC 5529 (Boo): razor-thin edge-on streak—elongated NP-SF—2.25’ x 0.3’—not particularly well-defined—ghostly—barely apparent central brightening along length—no obvious core—N of galaxy by 3’ from center of galaxy is a 13th-mag star—S of galaxy by 2.25’ is a 15th-mag star—off SF tip of galaxy by 4.5’ is a “triple” star; brightest of three (12th-mag) is in middle, all in a line; P and slightly N of brightest by 0.5’ is a 14.5-mag star; F and S of brightest by 0.3’ is a 14.5-mag star—N and slightly F center of galaxy by 6.5’ is a 12.5-mag star—NP center of galaxy by 9’ is an 11th-mag star—P galaxy by 10’ is another 11th-mag star—no companion galaxies seen
11:54 NGC 5582 (Boo): small, brightish—has a bit of SP-NF elongation—1.0’ x 0.75’—has a bright core and a substellar nucleus—reasonably well-defined—[very slow satellite P-F through field]—SP galaxy by 2’ from core is a 14th-mag star—SF core of galaxy by 5.5’ is a 12.5-mag star—SF galaxy is a 14th-mag star that is 5’ from core of galaxy—F and slightly N of core of galaxy by 1.75’ is a 15th-mag star—galaxy part of a tiny pentagon—F galaxy by 14’ is a 10.5-mag star—NF galaxy by 18’ is an 11th-mag star—NP galaxy by 20’ is an 11.5-mag star
12:10 NGCs 5899, 5900, 5893 (Boo)—5899: obvious blur of 2.25’ x 0.75’—elongated S very slightly P-N very slightly F—not overly well-defined although averted helps define halo—has obvious brighter core, perhaps a substellar nucleus—just to NF of the nucleus, still inside halo, is an extra brightening; halo maybe “lumpy”—NP of galaxy by 12’ is a 7th-mag star—P and slightly N by 4’ is a 12th-mag star—due P and very slightly S by 4.5 is a 13th-mag star—S and slightly P that star by 2.5’ is a threshold star—N of 5899 by 9’ is another galaxy (5900): forms a triangle with 5899 and 7th-mag star—very difficult galaxy—averted vision necessary—7th-mag star makes difficult to see—1.5’ x 0.5’—brighter center and a flickery stellar nucleus?—SP 7th-mag star by 13’ and P slightly S of 5899 by 18’ is another galaxy (5893): in a line of 13th and 14th-mag stars—P galaxy is a 13th-mag star and F galaxy is a 14.5-mag star, each 2.5’ from galaxy—galaxy 1.0’ round—slight central brightening but no nucleus—very ghostly, quite diffuse—between 7th-mag star and 5893 and slightly P that (NF galaxy) by 8’ is a 12.5-mag star
12:32 NGC 5676 (Boo): bright—elongated SP-NF—2.25’ x 0.75’?—interesting field of stars of many brightnesses—has a large halo—long brighter central region and a substellar nucleus in a core that’s not particularly brighter than rest of central region—core not very large—almost looks at moments to be texture in halo, irregularly bright—well-defined but outer edges of halo a bit diffuse—N and slightly F galaxy’s nucleus by 6’ is a 12th-mag star—another 12.5-mag star due F nucleus by 7’, these form a right triangle with galaxy—P galaxy and a bit N by 10’ is an 8th-mag star—F and slightly S of galaxy by 19’ is a 6.5-mag star—S of galaxy by 16.5’ is a 9th-mag star; F and slightly S of 9th-mag star by a couple of arcsec is a 14th-mag companion
12:43 NGCs 5689, 5693, 5682 (Boo)—5689: small, elongated and brightish—elongated P-F—1.75’ x 0.5’—in middle of a region 9’ in radius that’s almost barren of stars, only a couple of dim stars—galaxy set in triangle of which closest star is 9’ from galaxy—bright core and stellar nucleus—reasonably well-defined—in averted, stretches more to P end—“things are happening in this field”—NP galaxy by 13’ is a 12th-mag star—12.5-mag star 11’ NF the galaxy—S of galaxy by 9’ is a 13.5-mag star—14.5-mag star 6.5’ S and very slightly P galaxy—12’ S and slightly F galaxy is another (5693): very diffuse and ghostly—appears best in averted—roundish—1.25’—super diffuse—has a stellar nucleus, no: a threshold star on S edge of halo—very slightly brighter core—2.5’ N of galaxy’s halo is a 14th-mag star—back to 5689—SP 5689 by 10’ is an averted-only flash of a galaxy (5682): looks elongated NP-SF—just a phantasm of a galaxy—size impossible to gauge?—15th-mag star just S of galaxy that’s throwing off observation—no central brightening or nucleus? maybe 1.5’ x 0.5’?? [just under half those dimensions; 15th-mag star “just S” of galaxy might be NGC 5683 to SF of 5682]
1:01 NGC 5687 (Boo): weird appearance, stars all over it—elongated P-F—fairly small, 1.1’ x 0.5’—dotted with stars—brighter core region but can’t tell if there’s a nucleus—inside halo is one star on each of P and F sides of nucleus—star to F side is barely threshold—star to P side of core is 15th-mag; another star just on P (slightly S) edge of halo that is 14.7-mag; due S that star by 1.25’ is a 14.5-mag star —S of core by 3’ is a 12th-mag star—F and somewhat N of galaxy by 6’ is a 13th-mag star; 7’ NF that star is another of equal magnitude—P galaxy and slightly S by 8’ is a 12.5-mag star
1:19 NGC 5480, 5481 (Boo): 5480: larger and brighter of the two by a bit—elongated N-S—1.25’ x 0.75’—more diffuse of the two—larger core than 5481—large core region, much brighter than halo—pretty well defined—doesn’t have a visible nucleus—5481: small—NP-SF elongation—reasonably roundish—0.6’ x 0.5’—substellar nucleus that’s pretty bright—core not much brighter than halo—less-defined halo than 5480—would’ve thought 5480 was the Herschel object—galaxy cores separated by 4’, due P-F—due N of 5481 by 7’ is a 12th-mag star—F and slightly S of 5481 by 5.5’ is a 13th-mag star which has another 13th-mag star F and slightly N by 5’—F 5481 is by 22’ is a 9.5-mag star—NP 5480 by 16’ is an 11.5-mag star—S of 5480 by 12’ is a 12th-mag star
1:36 NGC 5490, IC 982, IC 983, NGC 5490C (Boo)—5490: small, 0.75’ round—[very bright satellite through field]—bright stellar nucleus and small, faintish, but obvious core—galaxy in middle of triangle of 13th- and 14th-mag stars—halo is tenuous—to S by 4’ is a 13th-mag star—P and slightly N of galaxy by 3.5’ is a 14th-mag star—F and slightly N of galaxy by 4.25’ is another 14th-mag star—SF galaxy by 10’ is a 12.5-mag star—N and slightly F galaxy by 11’ is a 10.5-mag star; that star has to P side two tiny glows, one (IC 982) SP by 4’ and one (IC 983) P and slightly N by 2’—glow to SP is a bit larger; both very faint—glow to NP of star has a very very faint tiny nucleus—between 10.5-mag star and 5490, about 5’ N and slightly F 5490 is a very ghostly averted-vision glow (5490C) that offers no elongation/size estimates—ghostlier than ghostly
1:55 NGC 5548 (Boo): getting low in sky—roundish galaxy with very bright substellar nucleus—slightly-brighter core region—1.0’ round?—halo very tenuous and ill-defined—not much detail—3.5’ S of galaxy is a 14.5-mag star—N and very slightly F galaxy by 7.5’ is an 11th-mag star that has a 13.5-mag star P and very slightly N of it by 2’—SP galaxy by 8’ is an 11th-mag star [did not see NGC 5655]
2:10 NGC 5602 (Boo): small, not particularly impressive galaxy in Boötes’ pipe—elongated N-S—brightish substellar nucleus and small core that’s gradually brightened to—0.75’ x 0.5’—among an interesting field—brightest star in field is 11th-mag star P and somewhat N of galaxy by 11’ and second brightest is 11.5-mag star N and somewhat P galaxy by 20’—S of galaxy is a straightish line that stretches from SF galaxy to almost due S of galaxy and consists of one 12- and three 12.5-mag stars—halfway between galaxy and line is a widely-separated pair of stars; one is due S of galaxy by 6’ and is 12.5-mag; other is S slightly P galaxy by 5’ and is 13th-mag—SF galaxy is another pair; brighter is 13th-mag and is F and slightly S of galaxy by 7’ and 13.5-mag star due S of that star by 3.5’
2:19 NGC 5520 (Boo): elongated SP-NF—1.25’ x 0.66’—halo not overly well-defined—brighter core region and substellar nucleus that appears slightly offset to SP—pretty non-descript galaxy—F galaxy are two bright stars; NF by 6’ is a 9th-mag star; due F galaxy by 5’ is an 11th-mag star—SP galaxy by 3’ is a 14th-mag star—14.5-mag star NP galaxy by 6’—brightest star in field is an interesting double that is SP galaxy by 15’; brighter component is 9th-mag and fainter 10th; separated by 0.2’, with fainter SP the brighter
2:39 NGC 6106 (Her): pretty diffuse—brighter core region that has “Footprint Nebula” shape to it—galaxy elongated NP-SF-ish—concentration seems divided into two parts with larger part to S end, as if line dividing it across middle—no nucleus? maybe a hint of a stellar nucleus in averted—1.25’ x 0.75’—to SP and S slightly P of galaxy, almost equidistant at 9.5’ from galaxy and forming an isosceles triangle with galaxy are two bright stars; star to S slightly P is 9.5-mag; star to SP is 10.5’; separated by 7.5’—SF galaxy by 18’ is a 10.5-mag star—double star F galaxy by 15’; 13.5 and 14.5 components separated P-F with brighter star to F; separated by 0.5’—13.5-mag star due N of galaxy by 5’
IV. Friday the 23rd brought the observers out in numbers. Randy, his ladyfriend Annette, and her grandson Calvin were there, with Randy’s zero-gravity binocular chair and Orion–the club’s homemade 14.7-inch project scope–in tow; Oggie G was there with his 10″ Zhumell Dob, and one of Oggie’s co-workers, Dan B, had brought his 8″ Schmidt-Cassegrain scope, his daughter Ruby, and their shiba inu… who could only have been (and in fact was) named Doge. My daughter suggested via text that I somehow bring Doge home with me, as if two dogs weren’t enough already.
The seeing was still barely-average, but the transparency was quite good, and the little clearing bustled most of the night. I was less social than I like to be, as I was pretty intent on finishing my list of Herschels before the Moon became an issue. So I apologize to any of that evening’s observers who might read this for any rudeness I may have projected.
6/23-24/17 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: New SEEING: 5 TRANSPARENCY: 7; Milky Way bright and detailed SQM: not checked NELM: 6.5 WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in 60s; no dew, mild winds which did not affect observing (except regarding seeing) OTHERS PRESENT: OG, RB, AB (Annette), CB (Calvin, AB’s grandson), Dan B, Ruby B, Doge
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:07 NGC 6015 (Dra): really nice galaxy!—elongated S very slightly P-N very slightly F—large, 3.25’ x 1.25’—obvious and bright—has a bright core with the occasional flash of a substellar nucleus—pretty well defined—halo has some mottling or texture—brighter central region is not evenly illuminated—just off S very slightly F tip of galaxy is a 14th-mag star—P the galaxy by 2.5’ from the nucleus is a 13th-mag star—to S of galaxy by 3.5’ is a pair of 13.5-mag stars separated by 0.5’; one S and one S very slightly P of galaxy—SP center of galaxy by 12’ is a 10.5-mag star; another 0.5-mag star due F galaxy by 8’—P and slightly N of galaxy by 20’ is a 9.5-mag star
11:19 NGC 5907 (Dra): one of most spectacular edge-ons, a five-star galaxy!—8’ x 0.5’—elongated N slightly P-S slightly F—central 2.5’ much brighter—tiny hint of faint stellar nucleus, but also to P side by 0.75’ is a 14th-mag star—NF galaxy is a scattering of 12th- and 13th-mags; brightest star in group is on SF end of pattern, which is elongated NP-SF; brightest is 12th-mag and separated from nucleus of galaxy by 15’—SP nucleus by 19’ is a 10th-mag star—P galaxy by 22’ is a 9.5-mag star—a group of very bright stars just out of P edge of field—F and slightly N of nucleus by 3.5’ is a pair of 14th-mag stars separated by 0.75’; oriented P-F to each other—off NF end of galaxy, just off end of halo by 5’ from nucleus is a threshold star—off SP end of galaxy by about 7’ from nucleus is a 14.5-mag star
11:39 NGC 5879 (Dra): brightish—elongated N-S—2.0’ x 0.75’—bright core and bright substellar nucleus—well-defined halo—is gradually brighter to core—threshold star just P nucleus on outer edge of halo; only visible when seeing “flashes”—6’ F and a little bit N of nucleus is a 13th-mag star; 13.5-mag star S very slightly F that star, separated by 2’; brighter star has a 14.5-mag star F it by 3.25’—brightest star in area is 8th-mag star NP the galaxy by 7’—NF the galaxy by 10’ from nucleus is an 11th-mag star
11:49 NGC 5866 (M102) (Dra): extremely bright—elongated NP-SF—3.0’ x 0.75’—very bright core—no nucleus?—ends are nicely tapered—very well-defined halo—just off P end to N and S and froming a little isosceles triangle with core is a pair of 12th-mag stars (one to N maybe 12th and one to S 12.5) each 2.25’ from galaxy’s center—brightest star in field is 7.5-mag star SP galaxy by 11’—NP galaxy by 13’ is a 10th-mag star—11th-mag star NF galaxy by 9’; S and very slightly F the 11th-mag star is a 13th-mag star sepearated from 11th-mag star by 4’—N and slightly F the galaxy’s center by 2.5’ is a 15th-mag star—S slightly F galaxy by 5.5’ from core is a 14.5-mag star
12:02 NGC 4236 (Dra): gargantuan—very very faint but pretty obvious—elonagted N slightly P-S slightly F—almost too diffuse to judge size—at least 17’ x 2.5’—very very little central concentration—inner 8’ are a bit brighter, a different “gradient”—a bit of lumpy, irregular mottling along much of N 2/3—P the galaxy halo by 1’ about midway down its length is a 14th-mag star—off S end of galaxy by 5’ is an 11th-mag star—NF galaxy’s N end by 8’ is a 9.5-mag star; two 11th-mag stars S of that star that form an arc that bends toward middle of galaxy; third star in arc (closest to galaxy) is 5’ from edge of halo—off N end of galaxy are a pair of 11th-mag stars P and F N end of galaxy—couple of threshold stars embedded in N outer edges of halo—(difficult observation; no chair)
12:18 NGC 4256 (Dra): long, spindly, very nice edge-on—elongated SP-NF—very bright core and substellar nucleus—3.25’ x 0.5’—well-defined—N edge a bit better defined than S edge?—due F galaxy by 5’ is a 14.5-mag star—S of galaxy by 7’ is a 13th-mag star—7.5’ SP galaxy’s nucleus along line of axis of galaxy is a 12th-mag star—SF galaxy by 7.5’ is a 13.5-mag star—those three stars form an arc—N slightly P galaxy by 13’ from nucleus is a 9th-mag star—S very slightly P by 16’ is an 11.5-mag star
12:30 NGCs 4210, 4221 (Dra)—very different, very interesting—4210: round and diffuse—no visible nucleus—1.25’ round—might have a slightly brighter central region—N of galaxy’s edge by 4’ is a 12.5-mag star— threshold star on SP edge of halo?—P galaxy by 6.5’ is a 14th-mag star—brightest star in field is 7th-mag star NP galaxy by 12’—galaxy is NP 4256 by 26’; can get both in field together—back to 7th-mag star; NF star by 15’ is 4221: much brighter than 4210—elongated slightly SP-NF—has bright core compared to halo—reasonably well-defined—1.25’ x 0.75’—between 4221 and 7th-mag star is a nearly-equilateral triangle of one 11th- and two 12th-mag stars; 11th-mag star is P and slightly S of galaxy by 6.5’
12:47 NGCs 4291, 4319, 4386 (Dra): interesting pair near a 5.5-mag star—4291: tiny round galaxy—0.75’ across—forms a rectangle with a 12th- and two 13th-mag stars—12th-mag star is F galaxy’s core by 2.5’; 13th-mag stars S very slightly F galaxy’s core by 3.5’ and SF galaxy by 4’—galaxy well-defined—no nucleus—just on P edge of halo is a threshold star; star flickers with seeing—5.5-mag star is 14’ SP galaxy—SF galaxy by 7’ is 4319: elongated NP-SF—larger and more diffuse than 4291—has a gradually-brighter core and a substellar nucleus—1.0’ x 0.6’—not well defined—14.5-mag star NP galaxy’s nucleus by 2’—F galaxy by 4’ is a 14th-mag star; S very slightly F galaxy’s nucleus by 4’ is a 14th-mag star; galaxy forms an equilateral triangle with last two stars—NF 4391 by 18’ is a larger, brighter galaxy (4386):—1.25’ x 1.0’—elongated slightly NP-SF—reasonably well-defined—bright substellar nucleus and gradually brighter but not bright core—forms an equilateral triangle with a 14th-mag star to NP and a 13th-mag star NF each by 4’—NF galaxy by 14’ is a 7th-mag star—N very slightly P galaxy by 13’ is a 10th-mag star with a 12th-mag companion NP by 1.5’
1:08 NGC 3147 (Dra): nice bright large galaxy—big halo—brighter core and stellar nucleus—classic (brightness) profile of face-on galaxy—2.25’ round—SF galaxy by 20’ is a 7th-mag star—S of galaxy by 15’ is a 12th-mag star—SP galaxy by 15’ is a 12th-mag star—F and slightly S from nucleus by 4’ is a threshold star—SP by 4’ is a 14.5-mag star—N of galaxy nucleus by 5’ is a 13.5-mag star—NF galaxy nucleus by 5’ is a 13th-mag star
2:04 NGC 6181 (Her): small, bright—elongated N-ish-S-ish—1.0’ x 0.75’—has a well-defined halo—brighter central region (too big to just be core)—don’t see a nucleus—P galaxy by 3.25’ is a 12th-mag star—S slightly P galaxy is a 14th-mag star 1.5’ from galaxy’s center—occasional flicker of stellar nucleus?—N slightly F by 4.5’ is a 14th-mag star—F galaxy by 10’ is a pair of 12.5- and 13th-mag stars—12.5’ is N of two; separated by 0.75’—NP galaxy by 14’ is an 11th-mag star
2:28 NGC 6166 (Her): small, faint, ghostly glow—elongated SP-NF—has a slightly brighter core, not much nucleus—in middle of Abell 2199 cluster but can’t wander too much from task—14’ N is a 10th-mag star—arc of 11th-14th-mag stars SP galaxy that swing from due S to due P—halfway between galaxy and 10th-mag star is a close pair of 14.5- and 15th-mag stars; brighter is SP fainter by 0.3’—NF galaxy by 3.5’ is a 14.5-mag star—straight line of six 12-14th-mag stars F galaxy by 14’ that runs N slightly F-S slightly P in field
2:52 NGCs 6548, 6549 (Her): in middle of Hercules edge of Milky Way—near stunning double star 95 Her (equal mag 5 components of bluish white)—6548: roundish—bright substellar nucleus—1.0’ round—very diffuse halo—[meteor through field]—core is quite suddenly bright—SF galaxy by 4’ is a 10.5-mag star—SP by 10’ is an 8th-mag star—N slightly P by 3.5’ is a 12.5-mag star—NP by 2.5’ is a 13th-mag star—6549: between 8th-mag star and 6548, about 3.5’ from 6548—very faint—elongated SP-NF—1.0’ x 0.3’—difficult to judge size—sometimes requires averted to hold—no central concentration— to S and slightly F is a smattering/line of 14th-mag and fainter stars; line passes 8th-mag star to S
V. The following few nights were also clear, but I only made use of the next. It was a pain to have to constantly control my diet, watching every single bit of food for lactose, and between the slowly-advancing Moon and the tiredness that was inevitable after a week’s worth of pursuing galaxies until the wee hours of morning, I was ready for a break. With only a few Herschels left on my list, I was pretty sure this was to be my last night of the run.
The night before, I had noticed a pile of scat on the paved section of the BLM road, and this night, I came nearly vehicle-to-snout with the pile’s likely creator: a rather large black bear, who scurried across the road fifty feet in front of my van as I was taking it down to 3rd for the climb up the road. I had suspected it was a pile of bear residue, but hadn’t expected to meet the bear itself.
Although the nearby presence of a bear wasn’t going to deter me from observing, it was a point of obvious concern. We were still three miles from the observing site proper, so I was less concerned than I might have been had we been closer to where I’d be spending most of the night.
Oggie showed up not long after I got to the top, and was less-enthused about the bear. Neither of us was to be put off observing, though, despite a bit more heightened awareness of the sounds in the surrounding foliage.
I had barely eaten during the day, and my stomach could be heard frequently on the recordings of my notes throughout the night.
I started with a reobservation of a Libra galaxy I’d observed the year before; it was now the host galaxy of an impressively-bright supernova. I also went off-script a bit for an observation of the superb NGC 5409 group in southern Boötes, a group which will get a deeper look with the 18″ scope when I next get a chance.
6/24-25/17 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: 1 day (1% illumination); set at 9:37 AM SEEING: 6 TRANSPARENCY: 8; Milky Way bright and detailed into Ophiuchus and eastern Hercules SQM: not checked NELM: 6.7 WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in 70s; no dew until after 2 AM, moderate winds which did not affect observing (except regarding seeing) OTHERS PRESENT: OG
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:07 NGC 5861, SN2017erp (Lib): galaxy elongated NP-SF— S and slightly P the S end of galaxy by 2.25’ is an 11th-mag star—galaxy pretty large, diffuse—brighter central region but no real nucleus visible—2.75’ x 1.5’—between center of galaxy and 11th-mag star is the supernova—right on SP edge of visible halo—interesting dim double star NP galaxy by 7.5’ from center of galaxy; brighter component of double is 12th-mag; dimmer 13th mag; separated by 0.25’; brighter component is NP dimmer component—NF galaxy by 12’ is a 10th-mag star—SN is 13.5-mag—couple of other 13th-mag stars to S and SF galaxy’s halo
11:44 NGCs 5409, 5416, 5424, 5423, 5431, 5434, 5411 (Boö)—centered in and around an arc of three bright stars—N two stars are starting point—from N-most star S and very slightly P between two brightest stars, 13’ S and slightly P N-most star is first galaxy (5409): diffuse—0.75’ round—difficult—not much central brightening—N-most star in arc of three is 6th-mag, second in arc is 6.5-mag—6’ S of N-most star is a pair of 13th-mag stars separated by 0.75’—second galaxy (5416) is SF first galaxy by 7’—slightly brighter than first galaxy and a bit more concentrated with brighter central region—slightly elongated P slightly N-F slightly S—0.6’ x 0.25’—NF galaxy by 5’ is a 13th-mag star—13.5-mag star S of galaxy by 3.5’—F that galaxy by 12’ is another galaxy (5424): elongated P-F—just under 1.0’ x 0.75’—14.5-mag star 0.75’ S of galaxy—also S slightly P by 5’ is another galaxy (5423): roundish—has a stellar nucleus and a small slightly-brighter core—a threshold mag star due P galaxy just outside halo [maybe PGC 50019]—field teeming with little galaxies—F last galaxy is a very faint, tiny galaxy (5431): quite diffuse and may have stellar nucleus—threshold magnitude nucleus—back to N-most of last group of galaxies—NF that galaxy by 7’ is another (5434): slightly larger—1.0’ round—bracketed by two stars to SF and NP; star to SF is 4’ SF and 12th-mag; star to NP is 8’ from galaxy and 10th-mag [didn’t see 5434B??]—back to 5409/5416—dropping S to bottom star of arc, which is 6th-mag—galaxy (5411) is NF that star by 8’—between star and galaxy is an arc of three stars of 11.5- and 12th-mags that bends to the NF from the star—galaxy is pretty diffuse, not well defined—has a substellar nucleus—0.5’ and round—has a couple of 15th-mag stars nearby, one to NF by 1’ from galaxy’s nucleus, one due F by 1.25’—group needs more aperture
12:17 NGC 3682 (Dra): not a particularly-impressive galaxy—framed in a field of bright stars—galaxy is elongated P-F—small, 0.75’ x 0.5’—bright core and substellar nucleus—not all that well defined—halo pretty diffuse—bright stars in field: N of galaxy and very slightly F by 22’ is a 9th-mag star; NP galaxy by 18’ is a 10th-mag star—P and slightly N of galaxy by 15’ is a 9.5-mag star—SP and SF galaxy equidistant at 12’ are 11th-mag stars—SP galaxy by 7’ is a 14th-mag star—N of galaxy by 8’ is a 13.5-mag star
12:45 NGC 4133 (Dra): brighter than 3682—diffuse, poorly-defined halo—brighter core region but no trace of a nucleus—1.0’ x 0.75’—elongated NP-SF—P galaxy and slightly N by 4’ is a 12th-mag star—due N by 3.5’ is a 13th-mag star; another 13th-mag star F galaxy—NF galaxy by 7’ is a 12.5-mag star—NP galaxy by 14’ is a 10th-mag star—SP galaxy by 17’ is a 9th-mag star; 7th-mag star 15’ S and slightly F galaxy; distance between last two stars about 14’
Here I got careless, reobserving the NGC 4291/4319/4386 trio I’d observed the night before. Having started using Post-It flags to indicate the Herschels on Sky Atlas 2000.0, I’d forgotten to remove the flag for 4319 from the previous night, and spent a fair amount of time that I didn’t need to waste.
1:27 NGC 4250 (Dra): roundish—1.0’ halo—quite diffuse and poorly defined—gradually comes brighter to a core that’s not overly bright, but has a bright substellar nucleus—SP galaxy by 15’ and 20’ are 10th-mag stars; more N star is slightly brighter; separated by 5’—S slightly F galaxy by 6.5’ is a 12.5-mag star—N of galaxy by 10’ is a 12th-mag star—NF galaxy by 6’ is a 13th-mag star—NP galaxy by 5’ is a 14th-mag star—SF galaxy by 15’ is an 11th-mag star
2:18 NGC 6239 (Her): longish thin streak—1.25’ x 0.75—elongated NP-SF—has a brighter central region and no real nucleus—SF end looks like it turns S a bit at end of halo?—halo well defined—core is obvious—N by 3’ is a 15th-mag star—15th-mag star NF by 2.75’—F galaxy by 5.5’ is a 12th-mag star—[meteor through field]—NF galaxy by 16’ is a 9.5-mag star—P and slightly N of galaxy by 7’ is a 12th-mag star—NP galaxy by 12’ is a 11.5-mag star—S of galaxy is a line of stars running P-F; stars broken into pairs; brightest star on P end, SP galaxy by 15’
2:31 NGC 6155 (Her): diffuse—relatively unconcentrated but reasonably obvious galaxy—elongated NP-SF—1.0’ x 0.75’—pretty well defined—has brighter core but no nucleus—SP galaxy by 3.25’ is a 10th-mag star which has a 12th-mag companion to S slightly F by 0.75’—F galaxy by 3.25’ is a 14.5-mag star that might be double—NF galaxy by 7.5’ is a 12.5-mag star—NF galaxy by 16’ is a 9th-mag star—SP galaxy by 14’ is a 9th-mag star—galaxy therefore bracketed to SP and NF
3:05 NGC 6340 (Dra): after a long search—round, obvious galaxy with very smooth gradual gradient from halo to substellar nucleus—1.3’ round—pretty well-defined despite diffuseness of halo—to NP by 2’ from nucleus is a 12th-mag star which has a 13th-mag star NP by 15”—15’ SP galaxy is an 8.5-mag star—F and slightly N of galaxy by 8.5’ is an 11.5-mag star—bright star to SP has a trio of stars not quite halfway between it and galaxy and stretching S toward star in an arc of three 12-14th-mag stars—P galaxy and S by 9’ is the brighter of a pair (10.5-mag); NF that star by 1.75’ is a 13th-mag star
With the observation of NGC 6340, I finished the list I’d been working on. It had taken quite a search to find the galaxy, but had been worth it to close out another lengthy list of targets. Along the way, I’d recaptured some of the focus I’d been missing for a while, proving that I could get through a self-imposed list, one more arbitrary than May’s Virgo project.
And now, some summer driving music:
One of the truly wonderful people I’ve met has left this Earth, leaving the world a little bit dimmer and less kind.
I. One never knows what weather forecasts will bring, and, indeed, it was nearly a month since our last excursion before I was able to return to observing. This time, the forecast called for more than a week of nearly-perfect weather for astronomy and—as circumstances (read: $$$) had insisted that I skip a planned trip to Goldendale, WA for the annual Pixieland Star Party that occurred during the second weekend of the upcoming dark-sky run—I planned to be at Eagle’s Ridge at every opportunity, despite the fifty+ minute drive each way to the site. I had two days of work early in that timeframe, but I had worked before after a night’s observing; it wasn’t easy, as my job is sedentary and mentally taxing, but allowed for no physical movement and little contact with others to help me stay awake, but I could manage. Besides, I would have to take at least one night off during the week to recuperate. And given that I’d had a whole three dark-sky observing sessions since September—this was the single-worst season for astronomy I can ever recall—having a week to observe was the height of luxury.
Back in March, with the spring galaxy field still on the rise, I had hatched a plan to work on one of the areas of sky I had long avoided, save for some brief trips during my annually-futile attempts at a Messier Marathon: the Virgo Cluster. I wasn’t overly intimidated by the difficulty of star-hopping there (“galaxy-hopping” is a more appropriate term, given that the density of galaxies there made it possible to avoid using stars as signposts), I was simply more-intrigued by other parts of the sky and more-obscure targets. But with working on the two Herschel lists (there were sixty or so galaxies on the the Herschel lists in the Virgo Cluster), as well as the Arp, Flat Galaxy, and Galaxy Groups lists for the Astronomical League, there was no better region of sky to plunder, no real reason not to dig through the masses of relatively-nearby galaxies—Virgo is our Local Supercluster, after all, the one to which our Milky Way and its closest neighbors belong—and, even by April, no real time to waste.
My plan had been to plunder the Interstellarum atlas’ two charts of the Virgo cluster, observing every galaxy in the region and noting especially those objects on the Herschel 400 and Herschel II lists. But by the time I was able to undertake the project, Virgo was already past the meridian and–from our best observing spot—it was already low in the sky and heading for a bank of trees as twilight would be ending. So I cut back on the numbers of galaxies and changed charts; instead of Interstellarum, I used the now-infamous Chart B from Tirion’s Sky Atlas 2000.0, which I usually used for my thwarted attempts at Messier Marathoning. There were 150 or so DSOs on Chart B, including the globular cluster NGC 4147. I ended up with 176 galaxies total, including several obvious ones that weren’t on the Tirion chart. Ignored were the hundreds of threshold-level galaxies that filled in the spaces between the brighter ones; I simply didn’t have time to search for the more-difficult objects if I wanted to get those that were labeled on the chart.
A few wispy clouds seemed a bit ominous as I pulled up to the crossroads on Eagle’s Rest Mountain; the spur road that branched to the northwest, which had flatter terrain, had room only for four vehicles, and we may have been expecting a few more than that. I preferred the spur road a bit, having started to find my balance in the dark to be a bit suspect, and the slope of the crossroad was also problematic for finding a good level spot for my scope that wasn’t interfered with by the trees facing southwest. Had the Virgo region been ten or fifteen degrees more northern in declination, the trees wouldn’t have been a problem; they usually weren’t. Now, though, they might cut my Virgo explorations short.
I had scanned the Tirion chart into two sections, and had circled the individual galaxies and small groups with circles that represented a single eyepiece view. Doing so revealed several large clumps and arcs of galaxies that I could use to keep my star-hopping to a minimum. I would start tonight in the western side of the cluster, using the star 6 Comae and the two nearby Messier galaxies (M 98 and M 99) as my leaping-off points. The idea was to work a different large chunk each night, following the arcs south and then back north, using the Messier galaxies in each section as starting points when possible (in part because they would theoretically be visible earlier in the twilight than would the smaller, fainter non-Messier objects).
All observations were conducted with a 12.5 f/5 Discovery Dob (a.k.a. Bob the Dob) and a 14mm Explore Scientific Nagler clone (yielding 113x and a 42′ field). Many of the objects cried out for higher magnification, but I just didn’t have time; with twilight ending around 11 PM, I had 3 hours each night before the Virgo Cluster was lost in trees and southern-sky haze. And due in part to the long layoff from observing (and the fact that I’m still working on it), my estimates of that various galaxies’ dimensions are somewhere on the order of 25% too large. Embarrassing.
5/19-20/17 EAGLE’S RIDGE
MOON: 24 days (rise at 2:58 AM), 33% illumination
SEEING: 7
TRANSPARENCY: 8 (variable, especially early on)
SQM: not taken
NELM: 7+
WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in mid-40s, air still, very dewy OTHERS PRESENT: JO, BM, BB
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:11 M98 [notes said M100] (Com): very long galaxy—9.0 x 2.0’—very long—elongated NP-SF—small brighter core maybe 1.0 x 0.25’—mottled along length of arms, has a “lumpiness” that’s indistinct—arms fade away into background—little better defined on P edge—NF galaxy by 5.5’ from galaxy center is 10.5 mag star—on opposite edges of field, SF and NP are 9th-mag stars—NP galaxy and still in line with galaxy by 16’ is 10th-mag star—10’ NP of galaxy is 11th-mag star—SF galaxy is a group of stars; three 11th-12th stars are clumped together in SP-NF line—line is 4’ long and stars unevenly spaced
10:17 NGC 4237 (Com): pretty bright—galaxy elongated not quite due P-F; PNP-FSF—smallish, 2.0 x 1.5’ —doesn’t have stellar nucleus, but does have brighter core that makes up 3/4 of galaxy’s interior—halo seems to have well-defined edges—is in field of a few very bright stars to SF, one of which is 7th-mag about 16’ SF galaxy—next star is 8th mag 20’ SF galaxy—almost due F galaxy by 18’ is a 10th-mag star—due NF by 18’ is an 11th-mag star—NP galaxy by 12’ is a 12.5-mag star—sky not perfectly dark yet
10:25 M99, NGC 4262 (Com): M99: large, roundish galaxy—very bright—6’ x 5.5’—slightly elongated almost due P-F—has a 2.0’ round core and a difficult nucleus—appears to be a spiral arm stretching to NP side of galaxy—dark “jut” in halo makes it look like spiral arm sticking off—halo pretty diffuse, fades away—spiral arm sometimes “pops”—to NF and SF of galaxy are 13th/14th-mag stars—one to SF is 3.5’ from galaxy’s core—one to NF is 5’ from core—galaxy set in large scalene triangle of 7th and 8th-mag stars that dominate field—20’ P and slightly N is a 7th-mag star—NF by 10’ is brightest field star, 6th mag—F and slightly S of galaxy by 15’ is a 7.5-mag star—just just on N edge of field is a 9th-mag star—P galaxy is small triangle of 12th-mag stars, long side 7’ long, points to P side of field—N and F M99 by 30’ is NGC 4262: v. small and v. bright—maybe 0.75’ round—very bright stellar nucleus and core that dominate view of galaxy—indistinct halo due to brightness of core—to PSP of galaxy by 10’ is a 10th-mag star—an 11th-mag star NF galaxy , which is SP end of long zigzag-like mini-Cassiopeia that stretches to NF edge of field—to P and slightly N of galaxy by 8’ is a 12th-mag star—with 4262 centered, 7th-mag star (one that is brightest in field of M99) is about 20’ S of 4262
10:39 NGCs 4298, 4302 (Com): excellent pair!—not easiest ever—face-on and edge-on very close together—4298: roundish—if seeing wobbles, galaxies blur together slightly—galaxy very diffuse—builds v. gradually to brighter core—halo almost textured—elongated NP-SF, 3.0 x 3.25’—11th-mag star just on F edge, between two galaxies, makes it hard to tell if there’s a nucleus to galaxy—halo fades into background—more indistinct is 4302: due F 4298—long and skinny, not quite “flat”—4.0’ x 0.75’ —elongated N-S—no discernable nucleus or core, just an even glow—on N tip of galaxy is a 14th-mag star; F on N edge about 2.5’ from previous star is a 12th-mag star—to NP of 4298 by 11’ is an 10th-mag star—almost due P galaxies by 8’ from 4298’s core is an 11th-mag star—pair of stars on NF edge of field—about 3.5’ apart, 11th/12th mags—SF galaxies by 18’ are pair of 11th-mag stars
10:49 NGC 4212 (Com): large and bright—fairly diffuse—comes to brighter core that takes up much of galaxy’s dimensions—no stellar nucleus—[really bright satellite through field]—galaxy elongated SPP-NFF—3.0 x 2.0’—averted may reveal stellar nucleus but very uncertain—galaxy is just N of a 12th-mag star that is the end of a bent line of 12th-mag stars trailing to F edge of field—next star in line is 7’ SF galaxy—final star in line 10’ due F galaxy—brightest star in field is 9th-mag star on NF edge of field—interesting faint pair of stars NP galaxy by 16’—very faint (13th & 14th-mags)
10:59 NGCs 4206, 4216 (Vir): great pair of close edge-on galaxies—4206: smaller and reasonably faint—3.0 x 0.5’—no central brightening or nucleus even in averted—elongated almost due N-S—in middle of line of four 10th and 11th stars—two stars to due N slightly P and two more S and slightly F—brightest of stars is 10th-mag 8’ N of galaxy—11.5-mag star 6’ N of previous star—two to SF of galaxy are both 11th-mag, closer one (slightly dimmer) 4’ SF galaxy, other 9’ SF galaxy—NF 4206 by 12’ is NGC 4216: much larger and brighter, easy core and stellar nucleus—elongated NNF-SSP—in averted, about 7.5’ x 1.0’—both could be flat—core very small and bright with stellar nucleus—core and nucleus slightly off-center to N, spiral arms extended a little to S—v. v. bright!—4216 about halfway between 4206 and an 8th-mag star (star about 13’ NF 4216)—between galaxies, about 7’ FNF 4206 is a 13th-mag star—excellent galaxies!
11:14 NGCs 4193, 4189, 4168 (Com [4189]; Vir): 4193: smallest and faintest of trio—pretty diffuse—elongated (slightly N)P-(slightly S)F—2.0’ x 0.75’?—slightly-brighter core—pretty non-descript—edges fade pretty sharply, well-defined—3’ to NP galaxy’s center is 14th-mag star—to NF by 5’ is another 14th-mag star—4189: to N and slightly P 4193 by 17’—much larger, pretty round—3.25’—fairly diffuse—evenly illuminated; not much core, no nucleus—very flat triangle of 13th-14th mag stars surrounding galaxy—brightest is 13th-mag star F and slightly N galaxy’s core by 4’—others in triangle are 14th-mag stars 5’ N and 6’ S of galaxy—4168: almost due P 4193 by 24’—brightest of three galaxies—most concentrated of three—round, 2.25’—very well-defined core—stellar nucleus in averted—core is about half diameter of galaxy—elliptical?—pretty well defined, halo drops off pretty cleanly—to NP of galaxy by 7’ is a 10th-mag star—SP by 16’ is brightest star in field, 9th-mag—between 4193 and 4168 is mini-Perseus asterism of seven stars, with “open end” to SP and “tip of wishbone” pointing almost due N—S of that is group of widely-spaced brighter (9th/10th-mags) stars sprinkled across S edge of field—[another bright satellite through field]
11:27 NGC 4267 (Vir): bright but small—very bright core, not-quite stellar nucleus—galaxy 1.0’ round—almost looks like star with diffuseness around it, like a planetary nebula with a bright central star—diffuseness fades away, core pops—to P side of field, starting 12’ from galaxy and stretching due S-due N is a line of five stars of 10th and 11th mags—those stars stretch along P side of field and N-S—galaxy is in distorted pentagon of 12th-14th mag stars—from long side of pentagon to other is about 12’—N (slightly F) galaxy by 19’ is a pair of 11th/12th-mag stars about 2.5’ apart
It was at this point in the evening that I first looked up—really looked up—at the naked-eye sky. With twilight fully faded, and the Milky Way beginning to rise in the east and northeast, the sky was dense with stars. It’s always a spine-tingling sight to see the Milky Way rise, but here, where the skies are so dark, it’s downright breathtaking. As a kid stranded in a big-city suburb, the Milky Way was never more than a threshold-level streak in a perpetually-grey sky. I couldn’t then imagine how I would see it as an adult, right now, billowing across the sky like a stream of glowing cumulus clouds, textured and brilliant and humbling. It was almost a pity to have to return to the eyepiece, to put off (for a few hours, anyway) rummaging through the glorious sights of the summer sky, Saturn gleaming just on the edge of the mountain, the globular clusters and shimmering nebulae near Galactic Center possessed of their own celestial siren song.
But back to task….
11:43 M 100, NGC 4312 (Com): M100: big, splashy, mottled face-on galaxy—about 9.0’ x 7.0’—big, bright very diffuse halo—very bright small core—edges fairly well defined—on SP and SF edges are 13th/13.5-mag stars—core about 1.0’ diameter—galaxy is the vertex of the hypotenuse and short side of right triangle with two 8th-mag stars—hypotenuse is 20’ long, short side 9’—to NF galaxy is pair of 9th-mag stars separated by 8’, almost parallel to short side of right triangle—taking M100 and other vertex on short side of triangle, about 9’ S slightly P from that vertex is 4312: an edge-on streak about 4.0 x 1.5’—elongated NP-SF—some slight central brightening in inner half of galaxy—no stellar nucleus—irregularity to brightness along length of galaxy—F galaxy by 4’ and very slightly S is a pair of 13th-mag stars separated by 45”—putting short side vertex star in middle of field frames both galaxies well in field
11:54 NGCs 4379, 4396, 4421, 4419 (Com): 4379: taking hypotenuse/long side vertex of triangle that includes M 100 and moving 20’ almost due F that star brings 4379—bright, small, possibly elliptical galaxy—pretty round—stellar nucleus and small very bright core—nucleus better in averted—1.5 x 1.25’—elongated slightly P-F—fairly non-descript galaxy—with galaxy centered, and star from triangle on P edge, to NF edge of field by 20’ from galaxy is 6th-mag star that has orangish tinge—to NF of galaxy by 4’ is a 14th-mag star that’s on threshold—FNF galaxy by 12’ is an edge-on galaxy [4396, not on SA chart], very difficult, much better in averted—elongated NP-SF—quite diffuse—2.5’ x 0.75’—not much brightening at all, just a streak—seems to have a 14.5-mag star just visible in averted on NP tip of galaxy—due N of galaxy about 2’ from galaxy’s center is a 12th-mag star that makes observation of galaxy difficult—4421: 30’ SF from 4379—very diffuse round blot—1.5’—very obvious stellar nucleus—slightly elongated N-S—to P edge of galaxy by 4’ is a 10th-mag star that makes observations tougher—with averted perhaps 2.0’—to NP edge and NF edges of field are 9th-mag stars, make an almost equalateral triangle with star close to galaxy—S slightly F 4421 by 27’ is obvious elongated galaxy [4419]: NP-SF elongation—almost miniature M104—2.5’ x 1.0’—brightness cuts off on N edge more abruptly, more diffuse on S side—brightish core, stellar nucleus in averted—due S of galaxy by 3.5’ from nucleus is a 13th-mag star—NP by 10’ is a 10th-mag star—an 11th-mag star to NF of galaxy by 10’—interesting edge-on
12:17 NGC 4377 (Com): small elliptical (?) galaxy—1.25’ round—bright stellar nucleus—another non-descript one—bracketed N (slightly F) by 6’ by an 11th-mag star and S (slightly F) by 10’ by a 10th-mag star—due P galaxy by 15’ is the short side of a tiny right triangle of 11th and 13th-mag stars—galaxy reasonably bright
12:23 NGCs 4383, 4405 (Com): 4383: small, maybe elongated—1.0 x 0.75—N-S elongation—bright stellar nucleus, another “haze around star” type galaxy—stars due P and F—13th-mag star due P by 6’, 12th-mag star due F by 9’—SP galaxy by 2.5’ is another 13th-mag star—zig-zag S of galaxy composed of a 6th, two 7th, and a 9th mag stars on S edge of field—like Gun asterism in Scutum—dominant structure in field—4405: off F edge of “Gun”—larger than 4383—more diffuse—1.5’ x 1.0’—elongated N (very slightly F)-S (very slightly P)—star on SF corner of Gun lies 11’ P and very slightly S of galaxy—N (very slightly F) of galaxy is an 8th-mag star—due F that star by 3’ is a 12th-mag star—S slightly F galaxy by 22’ is a 6th-mag star that is slightly bluish
12:32 NGCs 4340, 4350 (Com): very close together, separated by 8’—4340: rounder, fainter than 4350—2.5’ round—small bright core and sub-stellar nucleus—halo diffuse, fades away gradually—4350 is more elongated—very bright stellar nucleus—elongated NP-SF—2.0 x 0.75—good amount of central concentration that runs 3/4 of the inner dimensions of galaxy—NP 4340 by 12’ is an 11th-mag star—SF 4350 by 14’ is a pair separated NF-SP, NF star closer to galaxy and is 11th-mag, SP star is 12th mag—SF from the more-southern of those two stars by 7.5’ is a 10th-mag star
12:42 NGC 4450 (Com): a treat after last few—largish and bright, unmissable in field—galaxy is elongated not quite due N (slightly P)-S (slightly F)—3.5’ x 2.75’—bright core offset toward N side of galaxy—nucleus not quite stellar—inclined spiral (?)—hard to define edges of halo, falls off diffusely—to SP by 7’ is a 9th-mag star—7’ due S of that star is a 12th-mag star—NF galaxy by 20’ is a 7th-mag star
12:48 NGC 4489, 4498 (Com): form a not-quite isosceles triangle with an 8th-mag star to SF of 4498—4489: core is bottom of capital-Y asterism that opens to N and consists of three 12th/13th-mag stars (star at center of ‘Y’ is 12th-mag, other two are 13th-mags)—galaxy is tiny, no more than 0.75’—v. slightly elongated P-F—slightly brighter tiny core, maybe a stellar nucleus in averted—star in center of ‘Y’ is 5’ N of galaxy—brightest star (8th-mag) in field is 10’ SF galaxy—NF 4489 is 4498: three times the size —elongated NP-SF—quite diffuse—3.5’ x 1.0’—faint stellar nucleus—hard to define edges of halo—full extent hard to tell and bright star is distracting—F galaxy and slightly S by 9’ is a 12th-mag star
12:59 NGC 4293 (Com): a beauty!—long, diffuse, but bright galaxy—elongated almost due P-F, slightly SP-NF—4.5’ x 1.5’—irregular concentration—not a definable core, maybe middle third is diffuse core—edges of halo fade off a bit—no visible nucleus—long line of stars cascading away from the N edge of the galaxy off to the F edge of the field, getting brighter as they head away from galaxy—to SP of galaxy by 16’ is an 11th-mag star—to NP by 12’ is another 11th-mag star—due P galaxy by 6’ is a 12th-mag star
1:05 M 85, NGC 4394 (Com): transparency a little less than earlier—M 85: not as large as many Messiers but very bright—5.0’ x 4.5’—elongated N (slightly P)-S (slightly F)—very bright core and stellar nucleus—core is about 0.75’ round—galaxy diffuse but core is v. suddenly brighter—on N end of galaxy is a star embedded in halo, about 12.5-mag, about 2’ P core—to SF of core by 6’ is 11th-mag star—S very slightly P galaxy by 13’ is a 12th-mag star—4394: FNF M85—pretty bright—elongated NP-SF—2.5’ x 2.0’—bright core and stellar nucleus—halo fairly indistinct, fades away gradually—S slightly F galaxy by 6’ is a 12th-mag star—due N of M85 by 16’ is another 12th-mag star—with M85 centered, just on S slightly P edge of field is an 8th-mag star
1:17 NGC 4539 (Com): in field of 24 Comae, which lies NF galaxy by 17’—elongated P-F—difficult to see with 24 Comae, which needs to be out of field—galaxy diffuse, definitely edge-on—2.25’ x 0.75’—faint, even with 24 Comae out of field, but not terribly hard—very little bit of central concentration, no nucleus—off SF tip of galaxy by 1’ is a very difficult threshold star, maybe 15th-mag—between galaxy and 24 Comae is a string of three evenly-spaced 12th-mag stars in an arc—SP galaxy by 12’ is another 12th-mag star
1:26 NGC 4561 (Com): not one of best of night—small, non-descript—elongated slightly P-F—1.5’ x 1.0’—[tumbling satellite in field]—not much core but does have stellar nucleus that flickers in direct vision—an elliptical (?)—NF galaxy by 12’ is a 9th-mag star—10th-mag star SF galaxy by 8’—12th-mag star F that star by 8’—brightest star in field is 9th-mag 20’ due N of galaxy
With tonight’s work, I had observed a large clump of the northwest quadrant of the Virgo Cluster; at current pace, it would take at least five nights to complete the chart. I spent another hour or so exploring some of the spectacular sights of the late spring and early summer skies, as I would do each night before leaving. And then it was time to go—I didn’t want to be so exhausted after the first few nights that I couldn’t get through it all.
(Another superb time lapse by Bill “DrLapser” Basham, from that first night—including a couple of brilliant Iridium flares. Thanks to Bill for his wonderful work, and not minding my usage of it.)
II. We reconvened the next night at the same spot; this time, there were even more of us. Pam, Steve F (tribe member from last August’s Oregon Star Party), and Cory joined us there—“us” being regular attendees Jerry, Frank, Alan, and my Australopithecene self.
The skies were not quite as sharp and clear as the previous night—this was obvious both from a naked-eye glance at the fully-dark sky, and from observing the image “boil” around Jupiter just before I started into the galaxies—although that was a difficult standard to measure up to. They were certainly good enough for plowing onward through Virgo.
5/20-21/17 EAGLE’S RIDGE
MOON: 25 days (rise at 3:30 AM), 23% illumination
SEEING: 8
TRANSPARENCY: 7
SQM: 21.6
NELM: about 7
WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in 40s, air still, dewy OTHERS PRESENT: JO, PH, SF, FS, AG, CW
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:27 M84, M86, NGCs 4387, 4388, 4402 (Vir): Downtown Markarian—M84: bright galaxy to P corner of smiley, brighter internally than M86—5’ and quite round—has a bright core but doesn’t seem to have a stellar nucleus—due P M84 by 10’ is a 9th-mag star—SP by 6’ is an 11th-mag star—due F M84 by 21’ is M86: larger than M84—6.5’ x 5.5’—slightly elongated NP-SF—slightly dimmer core than M84’s—hint of substellar nucleus in averted, quite bright core that’s 0.5’ across—due N by 7’ and SF by 7’ are 12th-mag stars—in between M84/86 and S is NGC 4387: nose of face—quite small, 1.25’ x 1.0’—slightly elongated almost N (slightly P)-S (slightly F)—reasonably faint but obvious—has a stellar nucleus but not much core—nucleus obvious—to N of nucleus by “a hair“ is a faint star embedded in halo—halo poorly-defined—2.5’ N of the nucleus is a 12th-mag star—NGC 4388: mouth of face—15’ S of 4387—long spiral elongated (slightly N)P-(slightly S)F—has a slightly brighter elongated central region that’s only a bit brighter than halo—halo falls away into background—nucleus flickers into visibility very briefly—3.5’ x 1.0’—N (slightly F) by 1.5’ is a 14th-mag star—due S by 5’ is a 12th-mag star—due N of M 86 by 12’ is NGC 4402: long spiral elongated almost due P-F—diffuse—4.0 x 1.5’—not much central brightening—S edge seems better defined than N edge—fades away slowly into space—no obvious core or nucleus, just a long diffuse smear—in moments of good seeing, N of galaxy’s center by 1’ is a difficult 14.5-mag star
10:41 NGCs 4413, 4425, 4435, 4438, 4458, 4461 (Vir), 4473, 4477, 4479, 4459, 4474, 4468, M88, NGC 4516, M91, NGC 4571 (Com): 4413: about 16’ FSF 4388—diffuse, roundish—not much central brightening, almost like a faint unresolved globular—2.0’ round—nestled in a line of stars—no core or nucleus visible—due N by 1’ from galaxy is a 12th-mag star; N of that star by 3’ is a 10th-mag star—another pair of stars (13th/14th-mag) S of galaxy, first (13th-mag) slightly P by 3’, second due S of galaxy by 4.5’—second galaxy is FNF 4413–4425: much brighter—elongated SP-NF—[bright satellite through field]—bright inner region—stellar nucleus—halo well defined—edge-on spiral?—due P that galaxy by 1.5’ is a 13th-mag star—almost due N by 4’ is a 14th-mag star—F galaxy by 7’ is a 12th-mag star—due S of that star by 3.5’ is a 13th-mag star—going N from there, bring us to The Eyes: NGC 4435 and 4438: 4435 is considerably smaller of two—4438 is NF 4424 by 20’—4435 is about NP 7’ from 4438—4435: elongated N-S—bright, with bright core and sub-stellar nucleus—2.0 x 1.5—nucleus really pops when seeing good—well-defined halo—4438: twice as large—4.0 x 2.25—elongated N (v. slightly F)-S (v. slightly P)—has a more-diffuse core region that’s brighter and substellar nucleus that’s easily visible—P both galaxies and slightly S of 4435 by 12’ is a 12th-mag star—F two galaxies by 20’ is a 9th-mag star—NGC 4458 and 4461 N and slightly F that star—4461 is N slightly F that star by 10’—4458: NP 4461 by 6’—smaller and dimmer than 4461—1.5’ round—brighter core region—halo not well-defined—has a stellar nucleus (as does -61)—4461: elongated N (very slightly P) S (very slightly F)—2.25’ x 1.5’—very obvious small core—F and very slightly N of 4458 by 4’ is a 12th-mag star—NF 4461 by 19’ is NGC 4473—NGC 4477 is NF 4473 by 14’—4473: smallish—1.5’ x 1.25’—slightly elongated P-F—bright core, indistinct halo that doesn’t show well—possible stellar nucleus—SF galaxy by 8’ is an 11th-mag star—SP galaxy by 6.5’ is a 12th-mag star—12’ N slightly F is NGC 4477: larger, 2.25 x 2.0’—more diffuse than 4473—smaller core that’s not as bright, with a substellar nucleus—elongated N-S—P and slightly N of galaxy by 9’ is an 11th-mag star, another almost due N by 12’—SF 4477 is another that’s not on the chart (4479): 1.5’ x 1.0’—elongated N-ish-S-ish—halo not easy to gauge shape or size of, very diffuse—has very faint nucleus, not much of a core at all, nucleus is apparent—SF 4479 by 10’ is a 10th-mag star (maybe same star as when talking about 4473)—NP from there are 4459 and 4474—NGC 4459: 28’ NP 4477—bright—bright core, small halo—1.25’ round—core region fairly obvious—no stellar nucleus—SF galaxy by 4.5’ is a 10th-mag star—another 10th-mag star 10’ almost due P galaxy—NF 4459 by 15’ is 4474: quite diffuse—small, 1.25’ x 1.0’—slightly elongated P-F—not a bright core but brighter than halo—tiny sub-stellar nucleus that’s reasonably obvious—N of galaxy by 4’ is a double star, brighter component 12th-mag, fainter 14th, separated by 0.5’—NP galaxy by 8’ is an 11th-mag star—between galaxies is another galaxy [4468]: P and slightly N of 4474 by 7’—quite diffuse—not much central brightening at all—has a stellar nucleus—1.0’ roundish—obvious but faint—M88: 39’ NF 4474—very impressive!—not as bright as some Messiers—elongated NP-SF—7.5’ x 3.5’—very bright core region that’s 2.5’ x 0.75’ and hint of stellar nucleus—on SF tip of halo is a 13th-mag star—just off NP tip of halo by about 6.5’ N of core is a 12th-mag star—almost due S of galaxy is a pair of stars 11th and 13th mags; 11th-mag star is 7’ due S of galaxy and 13th mag star is 1’ SP the 11th-mag star—galaxy’s halo irregularly bright and “shimmery”—NP galaxy by 14’ is a 9th-mag star—NF M88 by 20’ is a faint galaxy [NGC 4516]: elongated N-S—very diffuse, faint—1.5’ x 1.0’—dim flash of a nucleus, not much central brightening—NP by 5’ is a 12th-mag star—due S of galaxy by 7’ is another 12th-mag star—F that galaxy and S by 38’ is M91: elongated just slightly NP-SF—4.0’ x 3.75’—bright core—no stellar nucleus visible—maybe a nucleus but not centered—may be a faint star near core to NP side of galaxy—halo dissipates into background quickly—big diffuse set of arms—almost due P by 8’ is a 10th-mag star—P and very slightly S by 14’ is an 11th-mag star—28’ SF M91 is NGC 4571: very diffuse largish glow—4.5’ roundish, but so diffuse it’s hard to tell shape—to NF of galaxy just off halo by 1’ is a 10th-mag star that makes seeing details in galaxy more difficult
11:33 NGC 4595 (Com): diffuse glow—not much central concentration—slightly elongated NP-SF—1.5’ x 1.0’—not much detail at all—well-defined halo—F and slightly S of galaxy are a pair of 12th-mag stars about 3’ apart—N-most of these is 4’ F galaxy—smattering of brighter stars on all sides of field—N very slightly F by 1.5’ is threshold star
11:55 NGC 4540, IC 3528 (Com):—difficult jaunt from 4595—4540: forms bottom of slightly irregular diamond/wide kite-shaped asterism, or SP corner of a triangle formed by two 9th-mag stars—galaxy is large, 3.0’ round —elongated slightly NF-SP—very diffuse—in averted not only a stellar nucleus but also a star embedded in NP edge of halo—one of 9th-mag stars NF galaxy by 13’, the other N slightly F by 19’—[third star in diamond , 10th-mag, 18’ NF of galaxy]—due N of galaxy by 8’ is an 11th-mag star—good galaxy—starhopped from 25 Comae—1’ from P (slightly N) edge of galaxy is a 14th-mag star—something on F side of halo; star? or something tiny and fuzzy, companion galaxy? on NF side of halo [IC 3528]
12:08 NGC 4651 (Com): bright, distinct glow—2.5’ x 2.0’—very blank field—nice brightish distinct halo—bright core region but no nucleus—elongated P-F—13th-mag star SF galaxy by 6’—galaxy forms end of a flat-topped kite asterism that is about 14’ from galaxy to top of kite—kite stars all 10th/11th-mags—star to N slightly P side of three stars (which are all SP galaxy) is double; 10th and 12th mags separated by 1’—with galaxy centered, that kite makes up the majority of the stars in the field—11th-mag star SF galaxy by 17’
12:31 NGCs 4440, 4436, 4431 (Vir): 4440: brightish—very small—1.0’ round—non-stellar nucleus or tiny brighter core—in middle of a zigzag pattern made up of 11th-mag stars with a 10th-mag star at S end—SP and NF galaxy by 8’ SP and 9’ NF are two of the 11th-mag stars—7’ P the 11th-mag star SP galaxy is another 11th-mag star—SF that star by 9’ is the 10th-mag star—curious: two other galaxies nearby?—to NP of 4440 by 6’ is a 13th-mag star—just to the SF that star is an elongated glow [4436]: elongated NP-SF—1.25’ x 0.75’—quite faint, hard to gauge dimensions—no central concentration—star nearby is distracting—P that galaxy by 4’ is another glow [4431]: quite indistinct—seems elongated SP-NF—1.0’ x 0.5’—slightly brighter than previous but equally diffuse—to F edge of this last galaxy by 1’ is a 14th-mag star—due N of galaxy by 3’ is a 13th-mag star
12:41 NGC 4452 (Vir): S of 4440 group—long thin streak—2.0’ x 0.5’—impressively flat—elongated SP-NF—interesting splinter of a galaxy—brighter streak along length (core)—no nucleus—to SP and NP of galaxy is right triangle of bright stars, with hypotenuse of 12’ and sides of 10’ and 8’—non-hypotenuse long side elongated due SP-NF—brightest triangle star 9th mag (to NP) and other two are 10th
12:47 NGC 4429 (Vir): big, bright galaxy with non-stellar nucleus and bright core—elongated P slightly N-F slightly S—4.0’ x 2.5’—bright core region—core seems slightly offset to P side—seems to be flashes of a stellar nucleus with averted, maybe illusory—galaxy bracketed by pair of 10th-mag stars, one NF, one S—star to N 3.5’ from galaxy, star to S about 8’ from galaxy; 11th-mag star 9’ S of the star S of galaxy; another 12th-mag star S of the previous two stars, 9’ from second star—to F and slightly S edge of galaxy by 6’ from galaxy’s core is a 13th-mag star
1:00 NGCs 4313, 4371 (Vir): 4313:—seeing has gone to hell—definitely edge-on—elongated NP-SF—thin unconcentrated streak—4.0’ x 1.0’—ghostly—maybe stellar nucleus but not much core—well-defined edges, pretty much stops on all sides—NF galaxy by 18’ is a 11th-mag star—S by 16’ is an 11th-mag star—P that star and slightly N by 16’ is another 11th-mag star—galaxy forms isosceles triangle with those 11th-mag stars—NP is another 11th-mag star 10’ from galaxy—4371: round, maybe elliptical, 2.25’ round—faint halo and brighter core region—don’t think I’m seeing a nucleus, rather a very small core—pretty non-descript—S and slightly P by 14’ is an 11th-mag star—PSP is a 12th-mag star about 9’ from galaxy—brightish but without much detail—NF galaxy is diamond pattern of 10th-12th-mag stars whose major axis is SP-NF—major axis 12’, minor axis 7’—two stars on minor axis are brighter; star on F side of minor axis is brightest at 10th-mag and has companion of 14th-mag to NF side by 1.5’
1:12 NGC 4351 (Vir):—overlooked it a couple of times—difficult, pretty non-descript—very diffuse—faint—2.0’ round—no central concentration at all—F galaxy by 6’ is a 13th-mag star—a 14th-mag star 7’ NF galaxy—really tough galaxy compared to others here—bright star NF edge-on 4313 is SP 4351 by 20’—N edge of field has interesting line of eight 11th and 12th-mag stars evenly spaced across field
1:19 NGC 4299, 4294 (Vir): also not an easy pair, sky deteriorating this low now—both diffuse—4294: edge-on—elongated NP-SF—4294 is brighter of two—little bit of central brightening, maybe bit of core in averted—no nucleus—2.5’ x 1.0’—SP galaxy by 15’ is an 11th-mag star—4299: F and a little S by 7’—round, extremely diffuse—no brightening at all, ghostly—1.75’ round—in averted, maybe a hint of extension slightly P-slightly F, but not enough to say it isn’t round—to SF following 4299 is grouping of 12th-mag stars, six in a flyswatter pattern with handle to N and blade SF—end of “handle” is about 3’ SF 4299—occasional flicker of possible threshold star between galaxies, hard to tell—F and a bit N of 4299 by 9’ is an 11th-mag star
Having now conquered Markarian’s Chain—simultaneously the most-daunting and easiest portion of the Virgo Cluster—and its immediate surroundings, the next session would be time to charge into the hinterlands of the local galaxy stream. As it would turn out, that next session would have to wait until Monday night (skipping Sunday night due to both exhaustion and some predicted cloud cover). And should the rest of the week not totally cooperate, I had already completed the densest part of Virgo; stopping there would probably be the best place if I wasn’t able to continue for the week.
III. Night Three of my Virgo Run (Kessel Run, my caveman ass) took place up the spur road, a slightly-better spot for observing than the crossroad area—flatter ground, less-intrusive trees, but slightly more light-pollution from Eugene due to the lack of a treeline to the northwest. The light dome from the city was fairly localized, though, and once away from it, the sky was equally dark as at the junction.
As I had to work the next two days, it would be necessary for me to leave upon finishing my Virgo rounds for the night—no real time to spend on the showpiece objects. Kathy was there with Jerry, and Wade pulled up just after me in his own Dodge Caravan; I was glad I wasn’t the only one crazy enough to use a Caravan as an ORV on these gravel roads. (To be fair, the road to Eagle’s Ridge is paved for all but the last half-mile, and was better than the road to Eureka Ridge; it’s just that the last unpaved half-mile is a doozy.)
As always on these nights of the run, I set up using Jupiter as a Telrad alignment tool and an indicator of both the seeing and my scope’s level of thermal equilibrium; a warm mirror is going to create turbulent air as it cools, and such turbulence creates havoc on the steadiness of an eyepiece image until the mirror has reached the temperature of the ambient air. Tonight the seeing was pretty good; I could see the disk of Jupiter’s moon Io as it crossed onto the planet’s own large disk, the tiny bright moon just a shade brighter than the planet, and this was followed very shortly by the appearance of a moon shadow (that of Europa) on the disk of Jupiter as well, the shadow a tiny black pinprick against the looming sphere of the King of Planets. And then we waited, the four of us, for twilight to give way to darkness.
Tonight started with the massive elliptical galaxy M87. I didn’t pause to look for its very difficult-to-spot emission jet.
5/22-23/17 EAGLE’S RIDGE (spur road)
MOON: 27 days (rise at 3:30 AM), 7% illumination
SEEING: 7
TRANSPARENCY: 6
SQM: not taken
NELM: about 6.5
WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in upper 50s, air still, no dew; cirrus early in evening OTHERS PRESENT: JO, KO, WR
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:27 M87, NGCs 4478, 4476 (Vir): M 87: big bright Messier galaxy—large very bright core, 2.0’ across—don’t quite get nucleus—6’, pretty round—edges of galaxy not well defined, fade away into background—in moments when seeing is solid, there may be a glimmer of stellar nucleus in averted—9’ N is an 8th-mag star—12’ SF of galaxy is a 12th-mag star—SF that star by 7’ is a double star of 12th and 13th mags separated by 0.75’; brighter component is NP fainter component—brightest star in field is just on SF side of field (22’ from galaxy)—P and a little S of M87 by 12’ is another galaxy, NGC 4478: much smaller but very obvious—1.5’, roundish—bright core and substellar nucleus—still a bit twilighty—edges a bit undefined—to SP by 6’ is a 14th-mag star—NP 4478 by 8’ is another galaxy (4476): half again as small (0.75’ x 0.5’)—not a particularly bright core but a substellar nucleus visible—slightly elongated NF-SP
10:42 NGC 4531 (Vir): really diffuse—still fairly brightish and obvious—no stellar nucleus, very faint bit of central brightening that’s amorphous—elongation NP-SF—4.0’ x 2.5’—almost ghostly—NP galaxy by 8’ is an 11th-mag star—SF by 16’ is a 10th-mag star, brightest in field—on NP edge and running N-SP on edge of field is a row of evenly-spaced 11th and 12th-mag stars—four evenly spaced in a row and one on NF end of that row
10:50 M90, NGC 4584 (Vir): M 90: very large, very elongated galaxy—pretty bright spiral—stellar nucleus but not much of a core—9.0’ x 3.0’—elongated N slightly F-S slightly P—to SF by 16’ is a 10th-mag star—NP galaxy is a tiny right triangle, the right angle vertex 9’ from galaxy’s core, short side of triangle is 2.5’, long side 5.0’; right angle vertex 13th mag and other two are 12th mag—to NF by 8’ is another 13th-mag star, and almost due N of that one by 7’ is another 13th-mag star—SP galaxy by 13’ is an 11th-mag star—S of galaxy, running NP-SF, is a line of 11th-mag and fainter stars—F and somewhat N of galaxy by 22’ is a very faint glow (4584): diffuse—maybe 1.25’ x 1.0’—extended NP-SF—no real concentration—ghostly glow—15’ N of this galaxy is a long string of 10th-11th stars running P-F in the field—10th-mag star SF M90 is 18’ SP
10:59 M89, NGCs 4551, 4550 (Vir): interesting field—lots of stars of various brightnesses in it—M89: not one of the brighter Messiers—4.5’ across, pretty round—has a diffuse halo—brighter core region and very bright sub-stellar nucleus—core not super bright—galaxy comes suddenly bright to the core—halo gradient, core gradient, nucleus—NF core by 4’ is a 13th-mag star—N slightly F by 10’ is a 10th-mag star—SP galaxy by 15’ is a 9th-mag star—S of the galaxy by 19’ is NGC 4551: smallish, 1.25’—bright substellar nucleus, not much core—fairly diffuse—to NP by 4’ is a 14th-mag star—halfway between M89 and 4551 is a 12th-mag star—S slightly P 4551 is 4550: brighter, larger, more obvious than 4551—1.75’ x 1.0’—elongated N-S—separated from 4551 by 5.5’—has a long brighter central streak—stellar nucleus visible in averted—SF by 5’ is a 13th-mag star—S slightly P by 7.5’ is another 13th-mag star
11:11 M58 (Vir): another fairly smallish Messier—not as bright as M89—5.0’ x 4.0’—elongated SP-NF—has a diffuse halo, not well-defined—has a bright core region—substellar nucleus—core looks elongated, as if a central bar—due P galaxy by 9’ is a 9th-mag star—N and slightly F by 7’ is a 12th-mag star—SP galaxy core by 13’ is a pair of 12th-mag stars separated by 4’; distance measured from core to SF of stars, rather than NP star
11:20 NGCs 4564, 4567, 4568 (Vir): 4564: a skinny, small streak—elongated NF-SP—2.0’ x 0.75’—has either a very small bright core or a bright substellar nucleus, probably the latter—P and very slightly S of galaxy by 9’ is a 9th-mag star—N of that star by 6’ is a 12th-mag star; two stars form a right triangle with galaxy—interesting galaxy—S slightly F that galaxy by 12’ are the Siamese Twins—obviously interacting—P-most of those two (4567) is largish and round—3.25’ and pretty round—very diffuse but fairly obvious—separating the two not easy—some central concentration—not sure there’s a nucleus visible—every now and then something flickers?—4568: F and a slight bit S of 4567—longer, thinner—elongated NF-SP—3.5’ x 2.0’—stellar nucleus visible but not much of a core—F and slightly N by 6’ from nucleus of 4568 is a 12.5-mag star; F and slightly S that star by 3.5’ is a 13th-mag star
11:33 NGCs 4528, 4503 (Vir): 4528: tiny, 1.0’ x 0.75’ round—bright but almost planetary-nebula-ish—maybe a bit of N-S elongation—F and slightly S by 10’ is a 10th-mag star—galaxy has a bright substellar nucleus—forms a diamond pattern with three 12th-13th-mag stars off to F side—to NF by 19’ is an 8th-mag star—P and slightly N of galaxy by 15’ is an 11th-mag star—non-descript galaxy—P 4528 and S by 34’ is 4503: considerably more impressive—elongated N very slightly F-S very slightly P—2.5’ x 1.25’—brighter core of 0.5’ and a subsetallar nucleus in averted—S of galaxy by 5’ is a 12th-mag star; another S of that and slightly P by 7’—13th-mag star SF galaxy by 5’—brightest in field is a 10th-mag star NF galaxy by 16’—[misidentified 4503 as 4501 in notes]
11:49 NGC 4710 (Com): way cool edge-on—off in forbidden reaches of Virgo Cluster—textbook edge-on—bright—core region looks wider than disk of galaxy—occasional flicker of a substellar nucleus—elongated SP-NF—4.0’ x 1.5’—along the length of galaxy the central brightening is irregular—core looks like it bulges out the side of the galaxy—F galaxy by 3’ from center of galaxy is 12th-mag star—S of galaxy by 8’ is a 13th-mag star—N and slightly F galaxy by 15’ is an 11th-mag star—P galaxy by 13’ is a 10th-mag star; P that star by 8’ is an11th-mag star—brightest in field is 9th-mag star 20’ NP the galaxy—NP that star by 2.5’ is a 12th-mag star
11:55 NGC 4689 (Com): also in Nowheresville—south of 28 Comae—big and very diffuse—4.0’, almost round—fades completely away into background without much definition—has a substellar nucleus in averted—vague but large core/central region about 3’— field bracketed by diamond of 6th-7th-8th-mag stars to NP-NF-SP-SF on edges of field—7th-mag star to SP 19’ from galaxy, 6th-mag star 18’ SF from galaxy, others on NP and NF edges of field—to N and NF of galaxy are two 13th-mag stars; N star 6’ from galaxy, NF star 5.5’
12:01 NGCs 4654, 4639 (Vir): two long galaxies—both angled to NP-SF—4654: 4.5’ x 3.0’—irregularly bright—brighter central region but not a core?—looks as if there’s a segment on NP tip of galaxy that extends S then to F side; detached arm?—star on SF edge of halo right on threshold, only visible 10% of time—hint o’nucleus—NP galaxy by 5’ from middle of galaxy is a 10th-mag star—NF galaxy’s center by 7’ is an 11th-mag star—due N of galaxy is a pair of 12th-mag stars, one of which is 3’ from center of galaxy and the other 3’ N from that star—N and slightly F of galaxy by 16’ is brightest in field, 9th-mag—NP by 17’ from 4654 is 4639: also elongated NP-SF—has a 13th-mag star embedded in SF end—2.75’ x 1.75’—more of an obvious central brightening than 4654—in averted is a sub-stellar nucleus—N and slightly F by 10’ is a 12th-mag star—another NP galaxy by 16’—small zigzag of stars SP and due S by 14’; star at NP end of zigzag is brightest at 11th-mag
12:14 M59, NGC 4606, M60, NGCs 4647, 4638 [4667], 4660 (Vir): M59: bright but small for a Messier—elongated N-S—4.0’ x 3.5’—very bright small core—maybe a substellar nucleus; core may be too bright to see—due N of galaxy by 4’ from core is a 13th-mag star—P and slightly N is a 12th-mag star 6’ from core—N and slightly F by 8’ from core is an 11th-mag star—NF by 20’ is a 9th-mag star—NP galaxy is a pair of stars; brighter is 14’ from core and is 10th-mag; other is 2’ closer to galaxy and is 13th-mag—due P those stars is a double star of 13th and 14th-mag components separated by 0.75’—N of M59 and P by 22’ is NGC 4606: edge-on—elongated SP-NF—quite diffuse—4.0’ x 0.75’—central brightening not much brighter than halo—obvious stellar nucleus—14th-mag star just on S tip of halo—NF nucleus by 7’ is a 12th-mag star—13th-mag star SP about 4’ from nucleus—NP galaxy by 9’ is an 11th-mag star—SP galaxy by 13’ is a pair of 12th and 13th-mag stars—M60: halo in contact with 4647—roundish, about 4.0 x 3.75—elongated P-F—very bright core, substellar nucleus—well-defined halo—12th-mag star NF by 8’ from core—SF by 9’ is the northernmost vertex of a small triangle of 13th-mag stars—4647: almost in contact with NP edge of M60’s halo—some central brightening in averted, glimmer of nucleus—3.0’ x 2.75’—elongated slightly NP-SF—SP M60/4647, making a long isosceles triangle with M59 and M60 is 4638 [a.k.a. 4667]: SP M60 by 18’—2.0 x 1.5’—elongated NP-SF—bright nucleus—not much core—another well-defined galaxy, probably elliptical—NP galaxy by 7’ is an 11th-mag star—another 11th-mag star S of galaxy by 7’—with those two galaxies on N and NP edges of field, NGC 4660: SF M60 by 26’—very lonely field—not much in field—1.25’ x 1.0’—elongated P-F—brighter core—tiny sub-stellar nucleus—S and slightly P by 20’ is a 10th-mag star—SP galaxy by 9’ is a 12th-mag star—sprinkling of 14th-mag stars and maybe a couple 13th-mag stars in field
12:32 NGCs 4754, 4762 (Vir): 4762: interesting edge-on—elongated SP-NF—5.0’ x 1.5’—bright core, stellar nucleus—bracketed on P and F sides by 11th-mag stars; P star 6’ from nucleus, F star 5’ from nucleus—3.5’ S of galaxy core by a 13th-mag star—definition better on F edge of galaxy, maybe a dust lane?—arms toward SP end of galaxy a bit “longer” than on NF end, as if core off-center—NP of galaxy by 12’ is 4754: smaller, roundish—2.0’ round—quite bright—has a diffuse but brighter core that takes up middle 1.0’—bright substellar nucleus—pretty well defined—has a 13th-mag star 5’ P and slightly S; 12th-mag star 5’ P and S of that star—N by 9’ is a 10th-mag star—interesting pair of galaxies
12:44 NGC 4880 (Vir) : a tough one—very very diffuse—roundish—not much shape at all—very little central concentration—some core in averted but no nucleus—maybe 2.0’ across—needed TriAtlas—would have swept over—P and S by 4’ and 5’ are a “set” of 14th and 15th-mag stars—S and SF is an arc of 10th and 11th-mag stars about 14’ from galaxy making an arc from SP to due F—two stars on SF side are brighter, 10th-mag—not a lot here
12:49 NGC 4866 (Vir): 25’ NP an 8th-mag star—elongated P-F—edge-on—4.0’ x 0.75’ —diffuse—has obvious small core and brightish nucleus—on P side, slightly N, halfway between nucleus and tip of galaxy is a 14th-mag star (still in halo)—S edge of galaxy better defined than N—almost a double nucleus with that star embedded—NF galaxy by 10’ is an 11th-mag star—NF that star by 12’ is a double star/wide pair of stars angled N-S—star to N is 11th-mag and S star is 12th-mag, separated by 0.5’’
12:59 NGC 4158 (Com): S of 5 Comae (just out of field)—faint and diffuse—only a little central brightening—has a smallish core visible better in averted but no nucleus—1.0’ x 0.75’ and roundish, maybe slight P-F elongation—F and slightly S of galaxy by 3’ is a 12th-mag star—not much of a galaxy here—NF galaxy by 17’ is a double star/pair; brighter star is 10th-mag, fainter star (0.75’ NF brighter) is 13th-mag—SP galaxy by 14’ is a 10th-mag star
1:05 NGC 4147 (Com): globular—3.0’ diameter—not a lot of concentration—tight, brighter center, but not high concentration—CC 8?—real granularity, very near resolution—one brighter star just S of center, maybe 15th-mag—cluster makes a small right triangle with a pair of 13th-mag stars, one 9’ P cluster and the other 4’ N of cluster—NF cluster by 15’ is a 9th-mag star—NP cluster by 10’ is an 11th-mag star
1:11 NGC 4064 (Com): edge-on or highly inclined—2.5’ x 1.0’—elongated NP-SF—some central brightening, skewed toward NP end of galaxy—no visible nucleus—galaxy set in long side of an isosceles triangle whose shorter sides are 11’ and 12’ and long side 16’—galaxy in middle and just N of long side—long side faces NP edge of field, opposite vertex to SF side—vertex to NF on long side is 11th-mag, closest in a line of evenly-spaced 10th/11th-mag stars trailing toward NF edge of field
1:21 NGC 4152 (Com):—really non-descript galaxy—1.0’ roundish—maybe a bit of elongation NP-SF—has a brighter small core—no nucleus visible—F galaxy by 15’ is a 10th-mag star; SF that star by 7’ is a 12th-mag star—on very NP edge of field is a 9th-mag star that’s part of a triangle of 8th/9th-mag stars, but others just out of field
1:30 NGC 4037 (Com): exceedingly difficult without TriAtlas—transparency poor this low—1.0’ round—no central concentration at all—very very faint—10th-mag star 6’ F galaxy; 7’ F 10th-mag star is a 12th-mag star—SP galaxy by 12’ is an 11th-mag star
I had to tear myself away after the M87 “string” and the few objects I’d missed on the northern fringe of the chart: work beckoned in the morning, and I didn’t want to have to rely on a gallon of Dr. Pepper to keep me awake. It would be three nights before I could get back out, choosing not to go the next night with work looming for a second day, and the following night ruined by poor transparency. But the Virgo Cluster remained, vast and nearly eternal and waiting for me to return.
IV. As it would turn out, the second of my consecutive work shifts was canceled due to lack of tests to score (this wasn’t a rare occurrence; mid-week shifts seemed especially susceptible, as we had finished the batch more quickly than expected). I skipped Tuesday and Wednesday nights anyway, rather than keep a laser-focus on the amount of lactose in my diet for such a sustained length of time—early hominids being unadapted to digesting that particular sugar, it was necessary for me to watch my diet like a hawk when planning an excursion to the wilderness. In any event, the forecast for the next several days was excellent, and by that point I needed the sleep.
Night Four (of seven) seemed to have the poorest sky of the run, and yet it was evidently better than it appeared; Jerry averaged 21.68 on his Sky Quality Meter throughout the night, although we’d have bet it to be far inferior than that. Not that it was bad at all, but it didn’t seem up to the sky-standard set at the beginning of the run.
Bill was there too; he would create another superb time-lapse record of the night.
The last object on tonight’s list was the obscure III Zw 66, plotted on the Tirion chart due to a foreground star superimposed over the galaxy’s nucleus; this resulted in the galaxy being listed as bright enough to warrant entry in Sky Atlas 2000.0. (This also happened with a Zwicky galaxy in the fluke of Cetus, II Zw 5.) Although I knew the galaxy itself was probably out of reach, I felt it necessary to do due diligence and look for it.
5/25-26/17 EAGLE’S RIDGE (spur road)
MOON: new
SEEING: 4
TRANSPARENCY: 6
SQM: 21.68
NELM: not checked
WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in mid 40s, air still, dew heavy until midnight OTHERS PRESENT: JO, KP, BB
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:22 NGCs 4596, 4608 (Vir): Sky not totally dark yet—loctaed following Rho Vir—with Rho in field both galaxies in field—NGC 4596: kind of a “typical” small NGC galaxy—fairly obvious in field—has a stellar nucleus—elongated P slightly N-F and slightly S—1.5’ x 1.25’—small core—S of the core by 2’ is a 13th-mag star—SF that star by 4’ is a 14th-mag star—due S of that star by 1.5’ is another 13th-mag star—galaxy not quite halfway between a 10th-mag star to the N slightly P by 13’ and a 12th-mag star S very slightly F galaxy—NP the galaxy by 12’ is an 11th-mag star—4608: 20’ F and a little bit S of 4596—P and a little S of Rho by 12’—smaller than 4596—1.0’, round—in averted may stretch 1.25 x 1.0’; elongated SP-NF—has a substellar nucleus and small, slightly brighter core—due P the galaxy is a line of stars, all faint—closest to galaxy is a 13th-mag star 2.5’ from core, next is 14th-mag star 7’ from core, last is a 13th-mag star 12’ from core—S and slightly P the galaxy by 5’ is another 13th-mag star—Rho is at center of ‘Y’ shape of bright stars with 4608 in center, star NP Rho is near N edge of field; star S Rho is 20’ SF galaxy; star N of Rho is about 20’ N
10:40 NGCs 4694, 4733 (Vir): 4694: smallish, 1.5’ x 1.0’—elongated NP-SF—brighter core, occasional flash of a stellar nucleus, can’t hold—outer edges of halo fade away—in moments of better seeing, a threshold star 2’ due P galaxy—NP galaxy by 9’ is 12th-mag star—SF is a pair of stars oriented NP-SF, separated by 2.5’; NP of these (13th-mag) 10’ from galaxy; other is 12th-mag—N of galaxy by 15’ is a 12th-mag star—due P galaxy by 8’ is what at first glance looks to be a double star with 14th-mag components, separated by 0.75’, oriented (slightly S) P-(slightly N) F—this double may have a bit of “fuzz” like a faint galaxy in/among the two stars [there is actually a threshold star (15th-mag?) between them]—still not totally dark—F galaxy by 20’ is an 11th-mag star; following that by 9’ is a 10th-mag star; F and S of the 10th-mag star by 21’ is 4733: much larger—more diffuse—roundish, 2.25’ across—small but not bright core—occasional flash of a stellar nucleus—on P edge of galaxy, just on edge of halo, is a 14th-mag star which makes it difficult to observe core/nucleus of galaxy—S of galaxy by 18’ is an 11th-mag star—P and NF that star each by 5.5’ are 11th-mag stars—F and S of galaxy by 12’ and 14’ (respectively) are 13th-mag stars—NF galaxy by 35’ are NGCs 4762 and 4754 observed previously
10:55 NGC 4698 (Vir): S of 33 Vir—interesting galaxy—quite bright—elongated N (very slightly P)-S (very slightly F)—3.0’ x 1.5’—bright core—pretty well-defined halo—[distracted by ISS pass]—P and slightly N of galaxy by 7’ is an 8th-mag star—N (very slightly P) and S of galaxy, each 3’ from galaxy nucleus, is a 12th-mag star, one to S maybe 11.5—across NF edge of field is a long arc of stars of mixed mags—interesting field
11:04 NGC 4578 (Vir): in a field full of stars ranging from 10th-mag to threshold—very rich field—galaxy is small, pretty round, 1.25’—has brighter inner region and an obvious substellar nucleus—pretty bright—P galaxy by 7’ is a 12th-mag star—from that star is a 13th-mag star 6.5’ S and slightly P—P and somewhat N of the galaxy by 12’ is a 10th-mag star—F and N of galaxy by 12’ is another 10th-mag star—N and slightly F galaxy by 20’ is another 10th-mag star—N of galaxy by 17’ is a 12th-mag star
11:15 NGC 4522 (Vir): a battle to star-hop to, needed TriAtlas—ghostly-faint thin streak, probably technically “flat”—very little central concentration at all, no visible nucleus—elongated SP-NF—3.5’ x 0.75’—forms an equilateral triangle with a 10th-mag star SP galaxy and a 10.5-mag star S of galaxy—both stars are 15’ from galaxy—N of galaxy by 10’ is an 11.5-mag star
11:22 NGCs 4519, 4535, 4526 (Vir): with 4522 at N edge of field and the 10.5-mag star S of it toward center of field, 4519 is S and slightly P of 4522—10.5-mag star is N of 4519 by 17’—very diffuse galaxy, but pretty obvious—seeing deteriorating—galaxy roundish, maybe slightly elongated NP-SF—3.5’ across, maybe 3.5’ x 3.25’—SF galaxy by 10’ is a 10th-mag star—very little central brightening at all—to NP and N by a couple of arcminutes each are some threshold stars that distract from seeing galaxy details—P galaxy, stretching N-S, is a kite-shaped asterism with a couple of extra stars off the top of the “kite”—whole asterism composed of 11th and 12-mag stars and stretches about 20’ from end of “string” to tail of “kite”—with 4519 at the N edge of the field, about 32’ SF is 4535: huge galaxy!—oriented N-S—6.0’ x 5.0’—galaxy has a tiny core and substellar nucleus—core is not very bright—on the N end of galaxy, about 2’ from the core is a 13th-mag star—a 14th-mag star directly on S edge of halo—P and slightly S of galaxy by about 5’ from core is a 13th-mag star—NP galaxy by 10’ is an 11th-mag star—two 12th-mag stars P galaxy and a bit S, one 9’ and the other 13’ from the core—SP galaxy by 21’ is a 9th-mag star—S of galaxy by 12’ is a 12th-mag star which has a threshold companion F and slightly S by 0.25’—NP from that 12th-mag star by 3.5’ is a 13th-mag star—S and very slightly P 4535 is NGC 4526: interesting spiral—elongated NP-SF—large, 4.5’ x 2.0’—bright core, substellar nucleus—S edge of galaxy seems better defined than N; N more diffuse—bracketed to P slightly S and F slightly N by two 9th-mag stars, each of which is 8’ from galaxy—N of galaxy by 7’ is a 12th-mag star—13th-mag star due S of core by 2’—NP galaxy by 19’ is a 10th-mag star
11:39 NGC 4570 (Vir): edge-on?—bright impressive galaxy—elongated NP-SF—3’0 x 0.75’—very bright substellar nucleus, brighter core region; about inner half of galaxy is brighter—well-defined halo—may have a couple of faint condensations along inner region—NP galaxy by 7’, in line with galaxy’s length, is a 12th-mag star—F galaxy by 11’ is a 12th-mag star—NF galaxy by 17’ is an 10.5-mag star; NF that star by 4’ is a 13th-mag star—due F galaxy by 19’ is a 12th-mag star which is the SP vertex of a small isosceles triangle; other two stars are 13th-mags; long side of triangle is 5’ long and runs SP-NF in field
11:46 NGC 4532 (Vir): highly elongated N (very slightly P)-S (very slightly F)—3.25’ x 1.0’—larger, somewhat brighter interior region—halo pretty small—in averted, looks to be some difficult condensations along interior region—no nucleus visible—just F galaxy, just on F edge in middle of galaxy’s length is a threshold star, looking like false “nucleus”—N of galaxy by 5’ is a 14.5-mag star—S slightly P of galaxy by 4’ is a 13th-mag star—S of galaxy by 6.5’ is 10th-mag star
11:55 NGCs 4612, 4623 (Vir): 4612: very small, fairly bright galaxy just off SP tip of interesting line of 10th and 11th-mag stars—1.0’ across, round—has a stellar nucleus that’s difficult, brighter core—halo fairly well defined—1.5’ from nucleus, almost due F, is a 12th-mag star; NF that star by 6’ is an 10th-mag star; NF that 10th-mag star by 3.5’ is a 10th-mag star; N slightly F 10th-mag star by 6’ is a 11.5-mag star with a 14th-mag companion 0.5’ F and slightly N—N of galaxy by 23’ is another galaxy, 4623: pretty faint—elongated N-S—2.0’ x 0.75’—has a brighter core region—substellar nucleus, but also a sub-threshold star embedded in N end of galaxy—N of galaxy by 5’ is a 13.5-mag star—P and N by 6’ is a 14th-mag star—N slightly P by 7’ is a 14th-mag star—P and slightly S by 11’ is an 11th-mag star [satellites through field twice]; due N of that 11th-mag star by 9’ is a 10.5-mag star
12:13 NGC 4580 (Vir): fairly large, very diffuse—no nucleus visible—some slight central brightening—maybe a bit of elongation N (very slightly P)-S (very slightly F)—3.0’ x 2.75’—ghostly—in moments of good seeing, maybe a substellar nucleus visible, difficult to tell—F and slightly S of galaxy by 4.5’ from halo is an 11.5-mag star—NF galaxy by 6.5’ is a 12.5-mag star—13th-mag star almost due N by 8’—brightest star in field (10th-mag) is SF the galaxy by 16’—10th-mag star due S of galaxy, but just outside field at 24’ distant—N slightly F galaxy by 16’ is an 11th-mag star
12:22 NGCs 4586, 4576 (Vir): 4586: longish—3.5’ x 1.25’—elongated P (very slightly N)-F (very slightly S)—definite central brightening, faint core, stellar nucleus that comes and goes with seeing—not well-defined, but getting lower in sky—P and slightly S of galaxy by 10’ is a 7th-mag star—P galaxy by 6’ is a 14th-mag star; two stars are in line with galaxy—SP galaxy by 11’ is an 11th-mag star—F galaxy and slightly S by 14’ is a 12th-mag star—15’ P and slightly N of 4586 is another galaxy, 4576: very difficult, mostly averted object—elongated NP-SF—galaxy is NP the 7th-mag star by 7’—roundish?—1.25’—maybe elongated NP-SF, but too hard to tell—has two 13th-mag stars near; one due N by 3’; other due P that star by 3’—not much concentration at all—completely disappears sometimes
12:40 NGC 4178 (Vir): faint, long streak—5.0’ x 1.25’—elongated SP-NF—another ghostly galaxy—not much central brightening—substellar nucleus?—to SP by 4.5’ from galaxy is an 11th-mag star—F galaxy by 9’ is an 8th-mag star—due F from S tip of galaxy by 5’ is a 13th-mag star—N of galaxy by 14’ is a 10th-mag star
1:01 III Zw 66 (Com): not seen—used 4.8mm Nagler and 6mm Radian as well—field is occupied by a 10th-mag star and an 11th-mag star aligned SP-NF respectively—between them is a 12th-mag star which is the location for the galaxy—no trace of anything fuzzy in vicinity of 12th-mag star—10th-mag star has a 14th-mag companion 1.5’ to NF—11th-mag star has 13th-mag companion 3.25’ to NF—NP 12th-mag star by 10’ is a 13.5-mag star—N of 12th-mag star by 19’ is another 11th-mag star—almost due P 12th-mag star by 9’ is another 13th-mag star—with that 12th-mag star just P center of field, NGC 4459 is visible in field
At some point after finishing Virgo for the night, the ground was lit up by two transient sky events. The first I caught out of the corner of my eye—the brilliant flash of a tumbling satellite, the brightest I’d ever seen, like an Iridium flare that flickered for only a split-second for every ten degrees of sky it traveled. I’d seen tumbling satellites before (and plenty of satellites bright and dim had traversed the Virgo Cluster while I was staring into the eyepiece). We marveled at how bright this particular satellite was; I made a note to check out which one it was, and then never remembered to do so when I returned home.
The second “event” was even more spectacular. While I was looking at Chart 15 of SA 2000.0, I heard Jerry shout “Fireball!” and looked up to see an incredible meteor that disintegrated into a shower of brilliant sparks, like a Roman candle shot, crossing through the Big Dipper. It’s a rare meteor that lasts long enough to catch after someone thinks to call it out; this one was among the best I’ve ever seen, including the great Leonid storm I’d witnessed at the late lamented Star Hill Inn in New Mexico back at the end of the century. (According to another EAS member who witnessed it from town, the fireball took place at 4:03 AM. Alas, the fireball was the opposite direction from Bill’s camera in his wonderful time lapse below.)
And then it was back home, to recover for the homestretch and the final 35 or so targets that remained before the Moon made its presence felt and the Virgo Cluster slipped toward the horizon for another year.
V. Night Eight of the dark-sky run—Night Five by my own schedule—yielded the most spectacular observing conditions I’ve ever had in 30+ years of observing. The air was clear and steady (a combination that, in my experience, seems to be two mutually-exclusive variables) and the Veil Nebula in Wade’s 17.5″ scope looked absolutely like a high-quality photograph, with more filamentary detail than I’d ever thought possible to see visually. Saturn, too, was stunning, even low in the sky as it was, with five moons easily visible. I’ve never seen the Milky Way so vast, spilling into neighboring constellations that aren’t traditionally considered “Milky Way constellations”; even Hercules was overflowing with galaxy-glow.
We were back on the main road this time, a noisy family having asserted camping rights on the spur road. I’d learned over the years that nothing is more intrusive or potentially dangerous in the woods as humans, and though the campers were most-certainly harmless, I preferred not to take any chances in the dark.
But that was no matter. For the three of us at the junction, the Earth temporarily ceased to exist.
5/26-27/17 EAGLE’S RIDGE
MOON: 1 day (set at 8:41 PM), 1% illumination
SEEING: 8
TRANSPARENCY: 8; Milky Way well into Ophiuchus; star clouds brilliant; Hercules keystone awash in faint background stars
SQM: not checked
NELM: 7+
WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in upper 40s, air still, light dew after midnight OTHERS PRESENT: BB, WR
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:22, 10:36 M 61, NGCs 4292, 4301 (Vir): M 61: sky still not totally dark, but no time to waste—starhopped from 16 Vir—really bright satellite through field—galaxy is roundish—nice bright halo that’s unevenly illuminated or mottled—6’ round—galaxy has a weak small core with a bright substellar nucleus—a dark notch on NP side that makes it look like a spiral arm unwinding to NP side toward due N—beautiful galaxy!—to SP by 5’ from nucleus is a 14th-mag star—just on P edge of halo is a threshold star—14’ P and slightly N of galaxy is a 9th-mag star—P galaxy by 8’ is a 12th-mag star; S and slightly P that star by 5’ is another 12th-mag star—N of galaxy by 23’ is a 9th-mag star—13’ NP is an 11th-mag star—just S and F that star is another galaxy [4292]: almost in contact with star—center of galaxy is 1.5’ SF that star—galaxy is faint—has a core about half size of galaxy—no stellar nucleus—elongated N-S—1.5’ x 1.0’—not super obvious because of star—a 13th-mag star is NF M61 by 10’ from core—due F that star by 3.5’ is a very dim faint roundish glow [4301]: maybe a bit of P-F elongation—1.5’ x 1.25’—very diffuse—just a little bit of central brightening—no nucleus—difficult due to evening twilight—diffuse enough that it fades into background—S slightly F the galaxy by 6’ is a 12.5-mag star—NF galaxy by 14’ is a 10th-mag star
10:43 NGC 4324 (Vir): N of M 61—galaxy 10’ F and slightly S of a really pretty double star, 17 Vir [another bright satellite]—17 has a whitish primary and a bluish secondary; primary is 8th-mag and secondary 11th-mag; separated by 1’; secondary P and a little N of primary—elongated SP-NF—has a brighter core region and a substellar nucleus—1.5’ x 1.0’—well-defined halo—S of galaxy by 12’ is a 10th-mag star—SF galaxy by 19’ is an 11th-mag star—P and slightly S of galaxy by 3.5’ from core is a threshold star—S and slightly P galaxy by 5’ is a 13.5-mag star—N slightly F galaxy by 8’ is a 10th-mag star—12th-mag star 6’ NF galaxy—busy field—star that’s 6’ NF and star due N make up short side of right triangle, about 7’ long; third vertex is 17’ F and slightly N
10:52 NGC 4378 (Vir): 28’ SF 4324 is a 9th-mag star; galaxy is 12’ SF that star—elongated P slightly N-F slightly S—small, 1.0’ x 0.75’—has a substellar nucleus—not much core—compact halo—NP and SF the galaxy each by 5’ is a 10th-mag star—NP galaxy by 2.5’ is a 12.5-mag star—S and slightly P by 6’ is a 12th-mag star—galaxy sits in middle of upside-down capital ‘Y’ with fork opening to S slightly F and “stalk” reaching to NP side
11:01 NGCs 4270, 4273, 4281, 4268, 4259 (Vir): 4270 N-most—four galaxies in a ‘Y’ shape—one other faint one P the other four—Y opens to NF side, stalk to SP—galaxy in middle is 4273: largest of group—elongated N-S—2.5’ x 1.75’—brighter core region—substellar nucleus that’s difficult—halo is diffuse—F and slightly S by 3.5’ from core is a 14th-mag star—N and slightly P is 4270: third-brightest of main three—elongated P and very slightly N-F and very slightly S—1.0’ x 0.5’—NP by 6’ is a 10th-mag star; NF that star by 10’ is a 8th-mag star; NF that star by 8’ is a 10th-mag star—NF 4273 is 4281: brightest of group—little smaller than 4273—elongated P-F—has a very small bright core—stellar nucleus—pretty well-defined halo—2.75’ x 1.25’—almost looks to have double nucleus—on P side of galaxy may be a stellaring in halo—S and slightly F galaxy by 7’ is a close double star of 14th-mag components; separated by 0.3’; because they’re close they look brighter at first—NP double star by 2.25’ is a 14th-mag star—NF galaxy by 16’ is a 10th-mag star—back to middle galaxy of group (4273); S and slightly P 4273 is smallest and second-faintest of group [4268]: not on chart—round—0.75’—has a substellar nucleus and brighter core—nucleus is 4.5’ S of 4273—obvious in field but not well-defined—SF galaxy core by 5’ is an 11th-mag star—another galaxy in field [4259]: P and slightly N of 4273 by 8.5’—faintest of group—visible with direct, but much better in averted—0.5’ round—may have threshold star on N edge—not much central brightening—visible substellar nucleus that needs averted to hold
11:22 NGCs 4261, 4264, 4260 (Vir): 4261: more southerly, larger, and brighter by a good margin—has a companion galaxy to FNF—quite bright—round—2.5’ across—diffuse halo and bright core—maybe substellar nucleus—to F side is a line of bright stars and by centering middle star in field, can see 4270 and 4283 in field—brightest star (7th-mag) is in middle of line—10th-mag star is one closest to 4270—back to 7th-mag star; 11th-mag stars P and NF that star by 7’ and 8’ respectively from star—10th-mag star is 15’ SF galaxy—moving N to 4260: elongated SP-NF—has an 8th-mag star SF by 8’—11th-mag star NF by 8’—2.0’ x 1.0’—has a pretty distinct halo—faint not obvious core that’s about 30” across—bright stellar nucleus—NF by 4’ is a 15th-mag star that disappears under direct vision—another 15th-mag star N of galaxy by 2’—companion to 4261 [4264]: 5’ NF 4261—0.75’ round—diffuse halo and a substellar nucleus; not much core—pretty non-descript
11:34 NGCs 4215, 4241 (Vir): 4215: small sliver—elongated N-S—1.0’ x 0.5’—fairly obvious—small diffuse halo, brighter central region, definite substellar nucleus—NP by 4’ from core and SF by 10’ from the core are 12th-mag stars—S and a little F the star SF galaxy by 7.5’ is a 9th-mag star—NF galaxy by 7’ is a 12th-mag star—P and slightly S of galaxy by 9’ is an 11th-mag star—4241: also elongated NP-SF—1.0’ x 0.75’—has a faint but obvious core and stellar nucleus—nucleus surprisingly obvious—S of galaxy by 3.5’ is a 14th-mag star—farther S by 10’ from nucleus is a 12.5-mag star—SF galaxy by 7’ is a 10th-mag star
11:42 NGCs 4235, 4246, 4224, 4233 (Vir): S-N: 4235, 4224, 4233, and another dimmer one in field—4235: obvious edge-on—elongated SP-NF—3.5’ x 0.75—has a bright core but no nucleus—there are stars surrounding galaxy to N, P, and F sides—galaxy reasonably well-defined—to N by 2.5’ from core is a 14th-mag star—6’ N slightly F the galaxy core is a 12th-mag star—NP galaxy by 4’ is a 13th-mag star—F and slightly N by 4.5’ is a 14.5-mag star—F galaxy and a bit S by 12’ is a very faint round glow about 3’ across [4246]: very ghostly, no concentration to it—almost wouldn’t notice it—NF that galaxy by 2.5’ is a threshold star (galaxy itself slightly threshold)—S is a 12th-mag star 8’ from galaxy’s edge; SP that star by 3.5’ is a 13th-mag star—4224: another edge-on—also NF-SP—2.75’ x 1.0’—8’ N of a 10th-mag star; 4.5’ SF that star is a tiny triangle of 13th-mag stars—galaxy is 7.5’ NP a 12th-mag star—galaxy pretty diffuse—small brighter core—hard to tell if there’s a nucleus—N of galaxy by 2.5’ is a 14th-mag star—4233: 13’ NF 4224—1.25’ x 0.75—elongated N-S—makes up P-most vertex of an equilateral triangle with 10th- and 12th-mag stars NF and SF respectively—sides of triangle are 10’—substellar nucleus but not much core
12:06 NGC 4339 (Vir): forgot to hit ‘record’ the first time—tiny, round galaxy—either a small bright core or substellar nucleus—0.75’ round—S of galaxy by 3’ from core is a 13th-mag star—another 13th-mag star P and very slightly S by 8’—P and slightly N by 8’ is an 11th-mag star—16’ SP galaxy is a 9th-mag star; a 10th-mag star due F that star by 4.5’—SF galaxy by 12’ is a 9th-mag star—S and slightly P the galaxy by 13’ is the brighter of a pair of 11.5- and 12.5-mag stars separated by 1.75’; the 11.5-mag star is P and very slightly N the companion
12:16 NGC 4430 (Vir): round, ghostly glow—2.75’ across—very dim—reasonably obvious in field but still difficult—seeing exceptional tonight—with averted, there is a minor bit of central brightening—could almost pass as a Palomar globular—inner 15” is brighter—galaxy fades away; hard to tell edges—SF galaxy by 9’ is a 10th-mag star; N and very slightly F the 10th-mag star by 5’ is a 12th-mag star—SP galaxy by 5.5’ is an 11th-mag star—N of the galaxy by 10’ is a 12th-mag star
12:23 NGCs 4343, 4341, 4365, 4370 (Vir): 4343: tiny and compact—elongated NP-SF—0.75 x 0.5’—faint but fairly obvious—brighter (but still faint) tiny core—seems well-defined—SP by 10’ is a 10th-mag star—P and very slightly N by 8’ is a 12th-mag star—13th-mag star N of galaxy by 8’ [star is NGC 4342]; very faint galaxy NF that star (NGC 4341): elongated SP-NF?—0.75’ x 0.5’—faint faint core, no nucleus—would be easy to miss this galaxy—28’ NF 4343 is 4365: almost Messier bright!—4.0’ and round—bright core and bright substellar nucleus—pretty well-defined galaxy—NP galaxy by 5’ is a 13th-mag star—SF by 7’ from galaxy’s core is an 11th-mag star—NF galaxy by 11’ is another galaxy (NGC 4370): elongated SP-NF—2.0’ x 1.5’—much fainter (not on chart)—has a large faint core but no visible nucleus—N and F galaxy is a small triangle of 13th- and 14th-mag stars; 13th-mag star NF galaxy by 4’; 13th-mag star FNF galaxy by 8’; 14th-mag star 3.5’ F and slightly N of galaxy; galaxy forms a diamond with those three stars
12:34 NGC 4434, M49, NGCs 4470, 4464, 4492, 4488 (Vir): 4434: small, dim, and round—brighter stellar nucleus in a compact not-overly bright core—0.75’ round—in a field of several bright stars—almost due S of galaxy by 11’ is a 10th-mag star—an 11th-mag star 15’ SF galaxy—a 9th-mag star 22’ S and slightly P galaxy; NF that star by 4’ is a round faint glow—fairly evenly illuminated—2.25’ across—not on chart—between the 9th and 10th-mag stars noted earlier—M49: very bright—somewhat small for a Messier—4.5’ round—bright large core—substellar nucleus—F and slightly N on edge of halo is a 13th-mag star—N slightly F galaxy by 7.5’ is a 13.5-mag star—not a lot of brighter stars in field, but several galaxies—S and slightly P M49’s core by 12’ is 4470: elongated N-S—1.25’ x 1.0’—fairly evenly illuminated—no visible nucleus—6’ N (toward M49) is a pair of threshold stars—F galaxy by 10’ is a 12th-mag star—SF galaxy by 8’ is a 13th-mag star—galaxy forms an isosceles triangle with those two stars—NP M 49 by 13’ is a very small round galaxy (NGC 4464): bright substellar nucleus but not much core—0.75’ round—3.5’ from core to P slightly N is a 14th-mag star—S slightly F galaxy by 8’ is a13th-mag star; SF that star by 9’ is another 13th-mag star—NF M 49 by 20’ is a larger galaxy, NGC 4492: bracketed by two 13th-mag stars, one on N and one on SF edges of halo—galaxy is 2.5’ round—irregular brightness to interior—maybe some slight NP-SF elongation—core looks off-centered to NP edge of galaxy [due to threshold star?]—diffuse core—no nucleus—N slightly P that galaxy by 19’ is 4488: edge-on or highly-inclined galaxy—elongated N slightly P-S slightly F—1.5’ x 0.75’—not well-defined—irregularly bright—no real definable core or nucleus—SP by 1.5’ is a 14th-mag star—N and very slightly P by 7’ is a 10th-mag star; NP that star by 8’ is an 10.5-mag star—S and very slightly P that star by 5.5’ is a 12th-mag star
12:53 NGCs 4469, 4483, 4411B (Vir): 4469: quite a long thin galaxy!—4.5’ x 1.25’—elongated almost due P-F—has a large, somewhat-brighter core region—no real nucleus, thought there was at first glance; maybe a flicker?—the P end of the galaxy seems narrower than F end, as if a sharper “point”—F galaxy and slightly S by 10’ is the brighter component of a double star of 14th- and 15th-mags; fainter star NP the brighter by 0.5’— F galaxy by 5.5’ from core is a 15th-mag star—NF galaxy by 21’ is an 11th-mag star; due F that star by 8’ is another galaxy (NGC 4483): elongated P slightly S F-slightly N—1.0’ x 0.5’—substellar nucleus but not much core—F galaxy and slightly N by 10’ is a 12.5-mag star—7.5-mag star P slightly S 4469 by 32’—P and slightly N of galaxy by 28’ is a 9th-mag star—those form triangle with 4469—on other side of triangle, 25’ P the 9th-mag star is 4411B: round, dim, ghostly—no real central brightening—2.0’ across—F and slightly N of 4411B by 12’ is a 12th-mag star
1:05 NGCs 4424, 4417, 4442, 4445, 4451 (Vir): big field of galaxies—4424: long thin galaxy— elongated P-F—not overly bright—3.5’ x 0.75’—has some central brightening but not a “core”—flickers of a faint stellar nucleus—S and F galaxy is an arc of three 10th and 11th-mag stars; closest to galaxy is 11th-mag and 10’ SF galaxy—N slightly P galaxy by 4’ is a 13.5-mag star—NP 4424 is 4417: NP by 10’—elongated SP-NF—3.25’ x 0.5—much brighter than 4424—very bright substellar nucleus—just to P side by 2.5’ is a threshold star—interesting galaxy—ends of arms taper off dimly—inner 2’ is the brighter portion—NF by 23’ is 4442: is brightest of three—elongated P slightly S-F slightly N—very bright core and bright substellar nucleus—3.25’ x 1.25’—in triangle of 14.5-mag and 15th-mag stars—one to P slightly N, one to F, one to SF—P galaxy by 9’ is a 12th-mag star; S of that star by 7’ is an 11th-mag star—galaxy forms right triangle with those stars—back to 4424 and arc of stars—F 4424 and very slightly N by 15’ is another galaxy (NGC 4445): P-F edge-on—much more ghostly—10th-mag star at F end of arc lies 9’ S and very slightly P—galaxy has very little central concentration—2.5’ x 0.75’—not well-defined—P and very slightly N by 3’ is a 15th-mag star—not terribly difficult in averted—SF that galaxy by 13’ is a round dim glow (NGC 4451): some central brightening—no nucleus—brighter core that makes up 3/4 of galaxy’s area—1.0’ x 0.75’—slight NP-SF elongation—to SF by 1’ from galaxy’s halo is a 14th-mag star—NP galaxy by 7’ is another 14th-mag star
1:19 NGC 4380 (Vir): back to 4417 and the bright star NP it—18’ N slightly F that star is 4380: large—4.25’ x 3.0’—elongated N slightly P S slightly F—large brighter inner region that’s still pretty faint—no nucleus visible—1’ from the S edge of the halo is a 15th-mag star—probably an inclined spiral—very dim, ghostly—N and very slightly F by 8’ from the edge of the halo is a 14.5-mag star—NP by 17’ is an 11th-mag star
1:25 NGC 4307 (Vir): really getting low in the sky now—galaxy is a long thin uniformly-dim streak—elongated S very slightly P-N very slightly F—3.75’ x 0.75’—central brightening difficult to detect, if any—reasonably well-defined—NF galaxy by 6’ from the N tip of galaxy is a 13.5-mag star—N of galaxy by 9’ is a 14th-mag star—NP galaxy by 11’ is a 13th-mag star—SP by 17’ from galaxy’s edge is a 13th-mag star
I hated to leave such magnificent skies, so I didn’t, staying on to whirl through a number of the sky’s highlights. And though each evening had left me tired of taking notes (and dreading the hours of transcribing them!), I did take notes on three further objects: a favorite galaxy, an easy target near M13 that I’d observed dozens of times without taking notes on, and the last NGC globular in Ophiuchus that I hadn’t yet made notes on:
1:50 NGC 5248 (Boo): lost Virgo Cluster into trees—a favorite galaxy—bright, Messier-bright—elongated NP-SF—very tiny brighter core and substellar nucleus—5.25’ x 3.5’—S very slightly P the nucleus by 3.5’ is a 14th-mag star—N by 6.5’ from core is a 13th-mag star—14th-mag star NF by 8.5’—11th-mag star SP by 8’—spiral arm seems to wrap from P edge around to N, other arm from F edge of core to SP direction—in averted, can see arms much more clearly
2:10 NGC 6207 (Her): galaxy 20’ almost due N of 7th-mag star F M13—elongated S very slightly P-N very slightly F—2.75’ x 1.5’—very bright—8th-mag star N of galaxy by 13’—galaxy has a very obvious stellar nucleus—well-defined—brighter region along inner third of galaxy—F by 9’ is a 12.5-mag star; SF that star by 3.5’ is an 11th-mag star—8th-mag star to N has two faint companions; to NF by 1.75’ is a 14th-mag star; F the 8th-mag star by 2’ is a 13.5 star—M13 is as good on this night as I’ve ever seen it
3:17 NGC 6287 (Oph): one of the last globulars I need—hard to find but not hard to see—4.0’ across—interior irregular-shaped?—central region flattened on S and F sides—granular, just on edge of resolution—several stars on periphery of 15th and lower mags—8 CC?—to F and S are lines of stars that bracket the cluster—to NP and SP by 20’ are 10th-mag stars; form a long isosceles triangle with cluster; separated by 14’—arc of six stars on F side of cluster, arc runs due P to SP; along F side, stars are mostly 12th-mag; stars on S end are brighter, with three stars S very slightly P running to F corner where it meets N-S line F cluster—to P very slightly S side of cluster is a group of 14th- and 15th-mag stars, closest of which is 3.5’ from cluster—NF cluster is a shovel-shaped asterism with its handle closer to cluster and bending away to SF; spade-end pointing toward N; composed of 13th- and 14th-mag stars; star at end of shovel’s handle (four stars in handle) is a 15th-mag star 14’ NF the cluster
Dawn was beginning its inexorable advance now, even at 3:30 AM. Wade had left shortly before, as he had more sense than I did. I thanked Bill for the hot tea he always provided (as well as the Ritz crackers and Fig Newtons he had offered) and tore down my gear for the night.
One problem remained. The gas gauge on the Caveman-Mobile had read just under 1/2 when I left for the evening—a little lower than I cared to have when heading out, but surely enough for a 27-mile (as the pterodactyl flies) trip home. But as I got about halfway down the gravel BLM road toward Eagle’s Rest Road proper, the gauge hit empty, the van pinged, and the red ‘gas’ light came on. Surely just a function of the rather steep angle of the BLM road… but no. Upon reaching the flatter paved road, the light remained on and the needle stayed below 1/8.
This was bad. Running out of gas at 4 AM on the long, twisting Eagle’s Rest Road wasn’t a good thing; while Bill would be leaving somewhat after me (once he’d finished with his time lapse, perhaps 8 AM) and I could flag him down, that wasn’t optimal. And getting an AAA driver out with gas wasn’t going to be easy either (or timely). So I turned the van completely off, remembering a long-ago series of electrical glitches the vehicle had suffered through (most recently on my drive home from the Mill Creek Retreat after another terrific stargazing trip). Sure enough, the gauge popped back to 1/4. But the gas-indicator light was still on, and it became a question of which was more trustworthy.
I pulled in to Fred Meyer just after 5 AM, just after they opened for gas. The clerk was amusedly skeptical of my reason for being out at such an ungodly hour, but I was grateful enough to have made it to refill that I didn’t care to prove that I had indeed been out in the woods with a telescope.
One more night to finish what I’d started.
VI. The next night—Night Six of my Virgo Run, and the ninth night in a row that offered at least somewhat-clear skies—had left most of the other EAS contingent either too tired to venture out or busy with other obligations. Although I preferred the camaraderie of a small group of fellow observers, I had no problems observing alone if need be. Seeing that the Moon was beginning its trajectory toward First Quarter and would be in Virgo within a few days—and the forecast was starting to resemble a Eugene autumn–tonight had to be the end of my Virgo work, one way or the other, and so time was rather of the essence. Fortunately, I had fewer than 20 galaxies left to observe (many of them outliers that I had missed on the fringes of the chart) in order to finish.
The campers still had claim to the spur road, as I discovered upon driving down to our usual spot there. So it was back to the junction and the more-sloping terrain. and as I was setting up shop, Alan pulled up, having decided to make the drive from town to do some experiments with his astrophotography gear.
Although nowhere near as exceptional as the previous night, the sky was still fantastic. The Milky Way was a little less expansive, a little less glittery. But I had promised Cheryl that I wouldn’t be out as long tonight, as I was still a bit sleep-deprived from the all-nighter the night before, so it was perhaps a good thing that there was a little less celestial splendor to keep me there.
The first few galaxies of the evening were frustrating; I felt a bit of pressure to get the chart finished, and it made me impatient to get to 2 Comae and Omicron and 16 Virginis, my starting points (easy naked-eye stars, all). At least a couple of times, I misidentified the three guide stars and ended up needing the TriAtlas to bail me out.
5/27-28/17 EAGLE’S RIDGE
MOON: 2 days (set at 8:41 PM), 1% illumination
SEEING: 7
TRANSPARENCY: 7
SQM: not checked
NELM: 6.9
WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in lower 50s, air still, light dew; auroral streaks and glow visible from 1:00 onward OTHERS PRESENT: AG
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
10:33 NGC 4032 (Com): difficult hop from 2 Comae—unimpressive (!) galaxy—still early in evening—roundish—brighter but diffuse core—1.25’ across—halo roundish, core may be elongated slightly NP-SF—NF galaxy by 16’ is a 10th-mag star—SF galaxy by 14’ is an 11th-mag star—N very slightly F galaxy’s center by 5’ is a 12th-mag star—7’ NP galaxy is a 12th-mag star—two 12th-mag stars part of a line of 12th-mag stars that extends to the NF side of the field, fairly evenly spaced—P galaxy is a pair of 12.5- and 13th-mag stars, the closer, brighter of which is 9’ and the other (fainter) P and very slightly S the brighter by 1’
10:54 NGC 4124 (4119) (Vir): pretty far north in Virgo Cluster—longish, 3.5’ x 2.0’—elongated NP-SF—has an irregular brightening, especially to NP tip of arms—something embedded there?—brighter central region—substellar nucleus—16’ NP is a 9th-mag star—a 10th-mag star 18’ N of galaxy— off NP tip of galaxy by 5’ from nucleus is a 13th-mag star—S of galaxy is a line of three stars, two 13th and a 12th-mag; 12th-mag is on F end; line runs P-F in field—star in middle is double with a 14th-mag companion to F side of it; 12th-mag star at F end is 9’ SF the galaxy
11:01 NGCs 4067, 4078 (Vir): 4067: elongated SP-NF—1.25’ x 0.75’—fairly easy hop from 4124—has a definite stellar nucleus and slightly-brighter core—halo not overly well-defined—F galaxy by 4’ is a 13th-mag star; F and slightly S that star by 4’ is another 13th-mag star—F galaxy by 12’ is an 11th-mag star—NF galaxy by 20’ is a 9th-mag star—SF galaxy by 10’ is a very diffuse galaxy just on threshold [actually appears to be a threshold double star]— very small and diffuse—elongated SP-NF—SF that galaxy by 10’ is another larger galaxy (NGC 4078): also elongated SP-NF—bright core—1.25’ x 0.75’—both pretty faint, second (4078) much the brighter—4078 forms a diamond with two 11th-mag stars, one SP by 8’ and the other F by 11’ and a 12th-mag star SF by 9’
11:20 NGCs 4116, 4123 (Vir): both diffuse—both largish—4116: elongated N slightly P-S slightly F—3.0’ x 1.5’ but hard to tell edges of galaxy—extremely diffuse—some slight central brightening but not really a visible core or nucleus—11’ N and slightly P a 10th-mag star—S of that star by 10’ is the NP of a pair of NP-SF-oriented stars; NP star is 11th-mag, SF star 10.5-mag, separated by 3.25’—4116 has to P side a line that runs NP-SF of 14th-mag stars, each 8’ apart—star in middle is P and slightly S of galaxy by 8’; another P middle star by 4’—16’ NF 4116 is 4123: much bigger and brighter than 4116—elongated NP-SF—3.5’ x 2.75’—has a substellar nucleus that’s quite faint—irregularly bright halo—no core per se—halo fades into background—SF by 8.5’ is a 12th-mag star—S slightly F galaxy by 14’ is a 13th-mag star—NF galaxy by 15’ is an 8th-mag star that’s part of a line of 8th-, 9th- and 10th-mag stars that runs from NF edge to NP edge of field
11:33 NGC 4457 (Vir): small but very bright galaxy—1.5’ round—very bright substellar nucleus—some SP-NF elongation?—pretty well-defined—galaxy framed within a triangle of 8th-mag stars; star 25’ to SF is a double with a companion NF the primary by 0.25’; companion is bluish and 14th-mag; other two stars in the triangle are NP galaxy by 13’ and SP galaxy by 22’—SF the galaxy’s nucleus by 10’ is a 12.5-mag star—NF the nucleus by 10’ is a 12th-mag star—due P the nucleus by 5’ is a 13th-mag star—another 13th-mag star S slightly P by 6.5’
11:41 NGCs 4496A, 4496B, 4480 (Vir): 4496 A/B: makes a large tenuous glow 32’ NF double star by 4457—two galaxies are difficult to separate at this magnification—almost looks like one irregular-shaped mass—total diameter 4.5’ x 4.0’—wouldn’t recognize as two discrete objects—almost N-S of each other—S component (B) has 14th-mag star on S edge of halo—very little central brightening to either galaxy—very diffuse; not only hard to separate but hard to tell where edges of whole are—F and very slightly S by 9’ is an 11th-mag star—12th-mag star 9.5’ P galaxies—SF by 6’ is a 13th-mag star—NF by 9’ is a 13th-mag star—just on NF edge of field is an 11th-mag star—NP 4496 pair by 26’ is NGC 4480: elongated N very slightly P-S very slightly F—quite diffuse—dim, very difficult stellar nucleus—slight bit of interior brightening—as difficult as galaxy seems at first, it’s fairly well defined—NP galaxy by 3’ is a 13.5-mag star—SF by 9’ is an 11th-mag star—due S by 14’ is an 11th-mag star—due N by 11’ is an 8th-mag star
11:54 NGCs 4527, 4536 (Vir): 4527: an interesting edge-on—elongated P very slightly S-F very slightly N—5.0’ x 1.5’—pretty well-defined outer halo—[satellite through field]—pretty obvious substellar nucleus—brightish core—brightening along length of galaxy—N edge appears a little more sharply-defined—undeserved hint of a dark lane along N edge?—[very bright satellite N-S through field]—F galaxy by 9’ from nucleus is a 11.5-mag star—S and very slightly P galaxy is a pair of 10th and 11th-stars; 11th-mag star is closer to galaxy at 15’ S of galaxy; 10th-mag is 5.5’ S slightly P 11th-mag star—very large galaxy [4536] to SF, but no time to examine it?—NP 4527 by 16’ is a 10.5-mag star which is the P-most star in a line of three; others are 11th-mags; one on F end is double with 14th-mag companion P by 8”—4536: 30’ SF of 4527—dimmer than 4527 but still very obvious—elongated P slightly N-F slightly N—huge!—6.0’ x 2.5’—obvious stellar nucleus inside a brighter core—F and slightly N by 14’ is a 9th-mag star—pretty well-defined halo—on F side of galaxy from N edge to F edge may be a spiral arm visible
12:05 NGC 4636 (Vir): quite bright—in a field full of brightish stars—lots of 8th-11th-mag stars—elongated slightly NP-SF—3.25’ x 2.75’—has a very bright core—fairly-diffuse halo—substellar nucleus—not well-defined—N slightly P galaxy by 5’ from core is a 12th-mag star—S slightly F galaxy by 5’ is a 13th-mag star—NP core by 4.5’ is a 14th-mag star—SP by 11’ is an 8th-mag star; SP that star by 6’ is an 11th-mag star—F and slightly S of core by 13’ is a 10th-mag star—N slightly F core by 15’ is a 10.5-mag star
12:14 NGC 4665 (Vir): interesting field framed by more of the group of 8th- to 11th-mag stars in this region—galaxy is bright—bright core and substellar nucleus—elongated N-S—2.75’ x 1.75’—fairly-diffuse halo that’s not particularly well-defined—halo seems brighter on N end of galaxy—galaxy framed between two 8th-mag stars; one due P by 20’ and one F and slightly N by 22’—SP galaxy by 3’ from core is a 12.5-mag star—13th-mag star 5’ NF core—on very NP edge of field is an 8th-mag star—N and very slightly P galaxy is S vertex of a small right triangle; vertex is 11.5 mag and is 10’ N and slightly P galaxy’s core; N of that star by 4’ is a 13th-mag star; third vertex is almost due P other 13th-mag star by 4.5’—F core and slightly N by 11’ is a 10th-mag star
12:23 NGC 4701 (Vir): faint and small—1.5’ x 1.25’—very slight SP-NF elongation—at first glance has even illumination, but has a large core that makes up 3/4 of galaxy’s area—halo is small and faint—no nucleus, although thought so at first—galaxy set in SP-NF elongated trapezoid, almost rectangle; P side of which is twice as wide as F side; P and very slightly N of galaxy by 4’ is a 13th-mag star; another 13th-mag star S very slightly P galaxy by 5.5’; F and very slightly N of galaxy is a 13.5-mag star that’s 8’ from galaxy; NP that star by 3.5’ is a 13th-mag star—N of galaxy and slightly F is a very tiny triangle of 14th-mag stars—20’ P the galaxy and very slightly N is an 8th-mag star which has a 7th-mag star NP it by 12’; with galaxy centered, the 7.5-mag star is just outside the field—SF galaxy by 16’ is a 10th-mag star
12:36 NGC 4713 (Vir): big and round—3.5’ across—[another bright satellite through field N-S]—diffuse halo—not much central brightening at all—no visible nucleus—SF the galaxy by 3’ from halo is a 14th-mag star—another 13th-mag star S slightly F galaxy by 4’—a 13.5-mag star SF galaxy by 8’—SP galaxy by 12’ is a 9th-mag star that is the F vertex of a small triangle; due P that star by 7’ is a 12.5-mag star; 5.75’ NP 9th-mag star is a 13.5-mag star—N of galaxy by 15’ is a 12.5-mag star; that is S vertex of small isosceles triangle which has a 13.5-mag star N slightly F previous star by 4.5’ and N slightly P the S vertex by 3.5’ is a 14th-mag star—11th-mag star SF the galaxy by 18’
12:51 NGC 4808 (Vir): 2.75’ x 1.25’—elongated P slightly N-F slightly S—well-defined halo—brighter inner region that’s quite large compared to halo; not much extended halo—occasionally a flicker of a stellar nucleus, but not convinced; 15th-mag star just P and slightly N of galaxy by 2’ which interferes with observation—N and very slightly P galaxy by 8.5’ is a 12th-mag star—S very slightly F galaxy by 15’ is a 13th-mag star—SF galaxy by 13’ is middle star in a line of three that proceeds SP-NF in field; that star is 13th-mag; another 13th-mag star 3’ NF previous star; third star is 14th-mag and SP middle star by 4.5’—to N edge of field by 20’ N and slightly F galaxy is a 9th-mag star; F and very slightly N that star by 5.5’ is a 12th-mag star—NP galaxy by 17’ is a 12.5-mag star—line of stars SP the galaxy, running P-F; star at P end of line is 12’ P and slightly S of galaxy, and is 12.5-mag; followed by 5’ by a 13th-mag star; F and very slightly N of 13th-mag star is a 14th-mag star 3’ from 13th-mag star
I went back to my observing table and my chart and notes to be sure that I’d observed every galaxy on my list—yes, even the ones on the periphery of the chart were done!
Turning back toward north, though, I noticed a strangeness to the northern sky: it was brighter than usual, even with the Eugene/Springfield light miasma, and there were definite bright streaks running vertically in the sky amid the glow. I watched for a minute before confirming to myself and Alan–it was the aurora borealis!
Alan finished his Milky Way shots—he’d waited all night for Sagittarius to rise, and now was given a rarer subject to photograph. So he repositioned his camera and managed to get some impromptu shots of the aurora from the middle of the junction. We watched the aurora for at least half an hour, noting no color, just shifting streaks of brighter glow. I wondered frequently as I watched if I was just seeing things regarding the aurora… trying to talk myself out of seeing the aurora even when I knew it was real (I texted Cheryl, but she didn’t catch the text, and the aurora was too tenuous to see from in town anyway). Alan’s camera confirmed the sighting, though, capturing sheets and streaks of purple and green silently floating among the low northern reaches. (What we saw was nowhere near as vivid as in the photos in the Pixieland Star Party thread at CloudyNights—https://www.cloudynights.com/topic/567576-pixieland-sp-goldendale-wa-may-26-29-2017/?p=7908242—but was convincing even before the reports from Pixieland rolled in.)
And that was that. Six out of nine clear nights spent to make half an attempt at the Virgo Cluster, which I had long avoided simply due to the profusion of targets there. Numerous other splendid sights were had as well–I didn’t even yet mention the bright supernova in NGC 6946, which we observed several nights during the run (the galaxy itself was spectacular). With better skies than I’ve ever had access to—at least in spring and summer—it had been possible to do this. When I first decided to sweep Chart B, it didn’t seem that extensive or difficult, especially as I’d found numerous targets far more difficult than anything found in Sky Atlas 2000.0. But given the position of Virgo viz our observing environment, it was more challenging than it might normally have been (if, say, I’d started this in March—if we’d had a single clear night in March). As it was, it was close to eighteen hours’ observing to dig as deep as I managed–eighteen hours very well spent, and the rare completion of a project that I’d started.
Barnard 86 (the Ink Spot Nebula) and the star cluster NGC 6520. B86 is composed of grains of silicate dust and organic matter, and is of the type of nebula from which clusters of stars–like NGC 6520–are eventually born. Image courtesy European Southern Observatory.
I. The last week of June brought with it the Third Quarter Moon and an unprecedented run of clear nights. Starting with June 25th, members of EAS went out to Eureka Ridge 8 of 9 nights; I made it 6 of those 9, using the more mediocre nights to catch up on much needed rest (and taking one night off due to work the next morning). I even hitched a ride with Jerry one night, as Mrs. Caveman was off taking the offspring to Portland on her way to Japan and needed the van.
I spent much of the week working on the Herschel 400 and Herschel II lists; each has 400 objects taken from William Herschel’s 2500 or so deep-sky discoveries. The 400 list is, more or less, the highlights of Herschel’s 2500, while the Herschel II collects (ostensibly, anyway) the second-tier 400. There is a Herschel III, but it hasn’t formally been acknowledged by the Astronomical League as of yet. The Herschel 400/II lists contain objects bright enough that I wouldn’t want to “waste” the uber-dark skies at the Oregon Star Party observing them, when I can do it from Eureka Ridge or Eagle’s Ridge nearby. The better to save OSP for targets requiring the darkest possible conditions.
Due to the sheer number of objects I observed this week, I’m not going to dress up my notes in the more prose-y style I used in the previous entry; I’ll do so in later entries, but there’s just too much here to afford that kind of time. Here, they’re straight-from-the-transcription field notes, with some extra background material thrown in.
A note about the format I use on all of these notes, the prosier ones and the stripped-down version: eyepiece directions are north (N), south (S), west (P[receding]), and E (F[ollowing]). The reason for this is that telescopes change the orientation of the cardinal directions, depending on the scope and the use of a diagonal mirror. Preceding indicates the direction that objects drift through the field, due to the Earth’s rotation, and is easier to note while observing than saying West; Following is the opposite side of the field, the side from which new stars and objects enter. North and south are reversed in a telescope, but can be misidentified easily based on the orientation of the telescope field. In a polar-aligned equatorially-mounted telescope, south is at top and north at bottom; in an alt-az Dobsonian scope like the ones I usually use, north and south always have to be determined by nudging the telescope toward Polaris, the North Star. It’s more complicated than it seems.
In addition, the notations [ ‘ ] and [ ” ] don’t mean feet and inches here unless used to describe a telescope–they denote arcminutes and arcseconds, respectively. An arcminute is 1/60th of a degree; an arcsecond is 1/60th of an arcminute. The Moon covers roughly 1/2 of a degree, i.e. 30 arcminutes. Estimating the size of galaxies and star clusters that are only a couple of arcminutes across is fidgety work, and less accurate than I’d prefer; it requires knowing the exact size of an eyepiece field and subdividing it to a reasonable measure of accuracy. I can do it fairly well with my 14mm Explore Scientific 82˚ eyepiece, which has a field 0.7-degrees wide, or 42’, and a magnification of 112x. In other eyepieces, it’s more of a crapshoot, as I don’t always remember to change scale when taking notes with a different eyepiece (or, as I discovered, using a different telescope).
Observing this week was cut short by Moonrise, clouds, or exhaustion–usually Moonrise.
6/25-6/26/16 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: 22 days (61%), rose at 12:26 AM SEEING: 6 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: 20.77 (11:30); 21.5 (12:00) NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in low 60s, no dew; windy, but did not affect ground-level conditions much OTHERS PRESENT: JO, KO, CW, RB, AG (Alan), PH, PH’s brother
11:24 NGCs 5426, 5427 (Vir): 5427 is larger of two by quite a ways—about 3.5’ across, pretty round—very diffuse, no central concentration in direct, little bit of core in averted—probably face-on spiral—maybe a bit of texture visible in halo—below (S) it is 5426 [got mixed-up and called both 5427]—elongated almost due N-S—2.5’-3.0’ long by 1.5-2.0’ wide—very very faint star between two galaxies, may be partly in halo of 5426—5426 has some central concentration—a little core, possibly sub-stellar nucleus in averted—not many bright stars in field, brightest (9th mag) is to NF side by about 25’—area directly around galaxies in 10’ radius almost barren of stars
11:39 NGCs 5221, 5222, 5230 (Vir): not easy, tougher than expected—5221: elongated pretty much P-F—about 1.25’ long by 0.75’ wide—really surprisingly faint—some central concentration—in averted, may have slightly-brighter core, not by much—S of 5221 by 8’ is 5222: elongated more N-S—2.25’ x 1.5’—definitely has stellar nucleus and slight core brightening—on S edge of halo is threshold star—about halfway between and slightly P of 5221/5222 is a 13th-mag star—due F 5222 by 8’ is 12th-mag star—following previous 12th-mag star by 6’ is 5230 (due F 5222): 2.5’ round—very diffuse—has some central concentration, which makes up most of diameter—tiny fringe of halo, then central concentration/core, no real nucleus to speak of; very amorphous—all three galaxies are fairly marginal objects—F and slightly N of 5230 by 10’ is 9th-mag star—when 5222/21 are centered, on NP edge of field is 7th/8th-mag star, brightest in field
12:26 NGC 5838, 5841, 5846, 5846A, 5850, 5845, 5839, 5869 (Vir): following 110 Vir—5838: bright galaxy—halo kinda elongated NF-SP, 3.5’ x 2.0’, but halo dim—core very bright—core makes up brightest component by far (0.5’ across and round), no stellar nuc—to S slightly F by 9′ 5838 is 8th mag star, star has 12th-mag companion separated by 2’—with galaxy centered, to SP edge to field is 8th mag star (23’ from galaxy)—F 5838 by 27’ and slightly N is NGC 5841: nowhere near as bright as -38—about 0.75’ across—slightly elongated NP-SF—very much P-F, slightly tilted—tiny central brightening—tough tough galaxy at this magnification—core/nucleus almost resembles field star—SF of 5841 by 30’ is a quartet of galaxies, brightest of which is NGC 5846: quite bright, diffuse, almost looks like double galaxy—2.5-3.0’ across—halo fairly thin, core very large—no stellar nucleus—pretty round—to SF part of halo either v. dim star or companion galaxy—may be another galaxy [NGC 5846A]—F that pair and slightly N is another galaxy (5850)—about 1.0’ across—much dimmer—elongated slightly P-F—has bright core, no stellar nucleus—F and slightly N previous pair of galaxies by 9’—line of three stars halfway between pair and 5850—stars not evenly spaced—stars about 10th/11th/12th mag—P and S of pair by 7-8’ is another galaxy (5845): round, small (0.75’)—brightish stellar nucleus—due NP pair by 9’ is 9th mag star—SP 5845 by 10’ is another galaxy (5839)—0.75’—has 10th-11th mag star S by 4’—has slightly brighter core—no stellar nucleus?—core looks like field star at first glance—5869: 2.25’ diameter—round—brighter core—averted shows no stellar nucleus—in middle of diamond of three 10th mag stars and a 12th mag star—12th mag star is NP corner of diamond—galaxy may have substellar nucleus in averted [losing detail; Moon rising]—to NP side of galaxy by 10’ is a 9th-mag star—companion galaxy (-68) not seen
Above: a sunset panorama from Eureka Ridge, from northwest (top) to northeast (bottom).
II. The next night we were again back out by 9 PM, in time to set up before dark. With sunset near 9 PM, it still took until after 11 PM before skies were dark enough to actually observe any but the brighter deep-sky objects (usually globular star clusters) and the planets; we used views of Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn to check our collimation and alignment of finders, as well as to note the seeing and the amount to which our mirrors needed to adapt to the falling temperatures. All three planets have been spectacular this summer: Jupiter with its striking cloud belts, dancing Galilean satellites, and shadows of said satellites on the tops of the planet’s clouds; Mars with its white polar ice caps and dark surface albedo features, resembling landforms; Saturn with its stunning rings and retinue of tiny moons, with subtle cloud belts of its own.
We also observed tiny, dim Pluto these several nights; the ninth planet (HA!) passed just south of the bright star Pi Sagittarii on the evening of the 26th, making it slightly easier to find. It’s quite surprising how much Pluto moves against the background sky in the course of one night, and was interesting to track for the first few nights of the observing run.
This second night found me tackling globular clusters early, before proceeding to galaxies. I must have found very few new galaxies, as I took no notes on them. I did, however, catch the elusive microquasar SS 433, an object that had been on my list for a long, long time.
6/26-6/27/16 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: 23 days (Last Quarter), rose at 12:57 AM SEEING: 7 TRANSPARENCY: 8 SQM: 21.4 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in low 60s, little to moderate dew; slight breeze OTHERS PRESENT: JO, RB, KP (Kristen)
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:00 NGC 6356 (Oph): globular, nice change of pace—really bright, 9th mag? maybe 10th?—5-6’ across—almost powdery on periphery—core is about 4’—maybe 3 gradients—CC 7? [2!]—due S is 9th mag star about 12’ away, part of tiny triangle—due P by 16-17’ is 7th-mag star—not sure why I missed this one when doing AL GC program
11:05 NGC 6342 (Oph): well S of 6356—3’ across—granular in averted—not well concentrated—has brighter inner region—CC 9 [4!]—to S and a bit P is 11th-mag star, 15’ from cluster halo—brightest star in field is 7th mag star to NP by 18’—F cluster by 24’ is 9th-mag star—P and just N of cluster by 22’ is pair of 9th/10 mag stars separated by 5’—F and slightly N of cluster by 14’ is pair of 11th/12th mag stars separated by 3’
12:27 SS 433 (Aql): 6mm Radian: putting micro in microquasar—flickering in and out—greater than 14th magnitude—just off SF end of tiny diamond of stars—star on NF end is brightest (11.5 mag)—major axis of diamond is about 1’—SS 433 is off S tip of diamond—minor axis of diamond [0.4?] due P-F—SS 433 is major-axis of diamond to SF tip of diamond—not much to look at, but amazing to know what it is
By the time Jerry and I finished looking at SS 433, the Moon had risen.
III. The next night, I caught a ride with Jerry to Eureka Ridge, as I had no vehicle for the evening. Jerry brought the 20″ TriDob with him; I brought my 70mm TeleVue Pronto, rather than trying to stuff Bob the Dob into Jerry’s car with the TriDob.
What the Pronto lacks in aperture for deep-sky work, it more than makes up for in sweeping Milky Way vistas. The enormous field of view the Pronto gives–almost four degrees with a 40mm Plössl eyepiece!–allows such sights as capturing the entire extent of the Veil Nebula in a single field, framing both the Eagle Nebula and the Swan Nebula together in a single field; and sweeping up the many lanes and clouds of dark dust along the Milky Way’s spiral form. No large Dobsonian can provide these sights, which require such a huge field of view. Yet the Pronto also fared well on smaller objects–with the 14mm Explore in the diagonal, the Dumbbell Nebula (M27) floated among the stars of Vulpecula in such a 3D view that Jerry said it might’ve been the best view of the nebula he’d ever had.
6/27-6/28/16 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: 24 days (38%), rose at 1:30 AM SEEING: 7 TRANSPARENCY: 8 SQM: 21.4 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in low 60s, little dew; slight breeze OTHERS PRESENT: JO, RB, AG
I took no notes on this night, preferring the casual approach afforded by the Pronto and the simple folding chair I brought along. Although I wasn’t really able to pursue the Herschel lists, the night had its own astronomical rewards.
I had to work the next day, hunting and gathering and scoring exams. Mrs. Caveman returned from Portland mid-afternoon, and after my work shift and discussion of the offspring’s departure for Japan, I decided to bail on a fourth consecutive night of observing. As I recall, most of the other observers also bailed on the night, the better to catch up on sleep and return the next night ready to go.
IV. Wednesday was incredibly productive: 12 objects I hadn’t taken notes on before, and only two of which I’d previously observed. (This naturally doesn’t count those objects observed waiting for twilight to fade, or some of the showpieces I would observe between groups of very faint objects. Among these showpieces were M17, M22, M5, M13, M4, M80, M8, and M20.) The two I had observed previously were NGC 6520 and Barnard 86, the Ink Spot Nebula. I was interested primarily in catching the nearby globular cluster Djorgovski 2, but struck out on this one–it would take another night and a larger scope to pull this one out of the background sky. As it was, the NGC 6520/B86 pairing is so stunning that I didn’t mind too much not catching Djo2.
I managed to sweep up all of the Herschel II objects in Libra before the constellation began its descent for the year; I hadn’t been able to do so with some of the earlier-Spring constellations, but I could at least close the book on Libra.
6/29-6/30/16 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: 26 days (18%), rose at 2:42 AM SEEING: 5 TRANSPARENCY: 6 SQM: 21.4 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in low 60s, moderate dew; slight breeze OTHERS PRESENT: JO, RB
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:21 NGCs 5595, 5597 (Lib): both very diffuse—larger of two [5595] is to P and slightly N—about 2.5’ diameter, fairly roundish—has kind of irregular shape to slight central concentraion, which makes up majority of diameter—elongated core N-S—following that by 6-7’ is other galaxy [5597] —half the size, even more diffuse—in averted just a hint of nucleus—about 1.5’, slightly elongated N-S—still a bit twilighty—bright satellite through field—to SP by 9’ of larger galaxy is 9th mag star— N of each galaxy by 8’ is a 10th mag star—halfway between those stars is 11th mag star—galaxies and 10th mag stars form rectangle—N and slightly P larger galaxy by 18’ is another 9th mag star
11:38 NGC 5605 (Lib)—not at all obvious—elongated SP-NF—about 2.0’ x 1.5’—very very diffuse—(fogged eyepiece)—in averted, no visible core, slight central brightening of nucleus—to F edge of halo maybe tiny threshold star coming and going in averted—7th mag star 15’ SF galaxy; 12th mag companion to NF by 1.5’—galaxy set in isosceles triangle of stars; long sides about 10’—star to SP side of triangle is 10th mag—star to NF 9th mag—star to FNF is 12th mag—would have passed over galaxy without knowing where to look—not overly obvious but not horribly difficult
11:51 NGCs 5728, 5716 (Lib)—galaxies down here not impressive—5728: satellite went through core of galaxy—elongated N-S—about 2.5’ x 1.25’—has some subtle central brightening—substellar nucleus in averted—smallish core—5’ S is 10th mag star at end of arc of three 10th mag stars going P-F—5’ N slightly F galaxy is 11th mag star—almost due P galaxy by 10’ is a 9.5 mag star—several threshold stars within framework of other stars closer to galaxy—galaxy definitely has brighter nucleus—core tapers slightly to S—back to 9.5 mag star to P side of galaxy: hopping from that, SP that star (another satellite through field) by 20’ is 5716—just on edge of galaxy is line of three 12th mag stars—galaxy is dim, unconcentrated—about 1.75’ in diameter—no central concentration—to N and angled NP-SF is line of 12th mag stars—two to F following side of line are spaced 1’ apart and are just on edge of galaxy’s halo—galaxy just a cottony fuzz—easy to overlook
12:07 NGC 5812 (Lib)—surely elliptical—1.5’, very round—definite central brightening—visible core region, substellar nucleus—core looks irregular or elongated—in nondescript field—25’ to F side of galaxy and slightly S is 7th mag star, maybe 8th, brightest thing in field—to NF side of galaxy by 8’ is little equilateral triangle of stars; N-most and F star is brightest at 11th mag—S edge of triangle has three 12th/13th mag stars in it—NP by 8’ of galaxy is 11th mag star—SP by 15’ is another 8th/9th mag star
12:20 NGC 5861, 5858 (Lib): 5861: really diffuse but very large—3.75’ x 2.5’—elongated NP-SF—not much central brightening at all—S of galaxy by 3’ is 11th star—NF by 12’ is 8th mag star—another 8th mag star SF galaxy by 18’—galaxy much more obvious that previous galaxies—supposed to be another galaxy [5858] N of 5861, but not sure I see it—just barely: N of 5861 by 15’—has 12th mag star touching on N side—quite small, visible mostly in averted or by rocking scope—maybe 0.75’ —no real central concentration—very much a threshold object [this may not be 5858—distance from 5861 too great; SG notes 5858 as “fairly bright, very small”, May this be IC 1091?]
12:35 NGC 5878 (Lib): field dominated by pair of 7th/8th mag stars—one is NP galaxy by 18’, the other NF galaxy by 9’, form a right triangle with galaxy—seeing fluctuating—galaxy fairly obvious—elongated NP-SF—2.5’ x 1.0’—looks like inclined spiral—has small brighter core—extent of galaxy, especially to SF edge, looks almost like there’s dimmer part of halo, like dark lane crossing perpendicular to plane of galaxy—quite nice galaxy, especially considering most previous ones—NF by 6’ is 10th star, N slightly F galaxy by 3’ is 11th mag star—4’ to NP of galaxy is 11th mag star
1:09 NGCs 6540, 6520; Barnard 86 (Sgr): 6540: non-globular-looking globular—about 1.5’, but not round, almost linear looking—extended P-F—grainy—has 12th and 13th mag star N of cluster by 1’—averted makes it a little more round—v. unusual looking globular—pair of 8th mag stars to P side, N and S by 12’—cluster forms isosceles triangle with pair—moving back P brings to NGC 6520/Barnard 86—6520: rich little cluster—central part is 4-5’ across—pretty detached from Milky Way—quartet of bright stars that run across bottom of cluster, two in central region of cluster, one almost in middle, one on P edge, one off F edge by 4’, one off P edge by 6’*—about 15 obvious stars and then a bunch of threshold stars that pop in averted—looks more like globular than 6540—three brightness gradients (quartet of brighter stars, then group of 12th/13th mag stars, rest fade into background haze)—B 86: elongated N-S—about 7.0’ x 9.0’—P side is darker—tendril of nebula runs along S side of 6520, but is less opaque than main part—to NP edge is 7th mag star—P edge of nebula has three other 11th mag stars that run along P edge, defining it—on N central side of B86 is 12th mag star just about on N edge—nebula like rounded triangle—*between that star and cluster is another patch of dark nebulosity that’s 4’ round, less opaque than rest of nebula—[spent several minutes searching for Djorgovski 2 with no luck]
1:37 NGC 6240 (Oph): seeing crappy at the moment—galaxy is faint—1.0’ x 0.7’, elongated N-S—just to F side on edge of halo is 13th mag star—13th mag stars due N and S—tiny bit of central brightening—averted brings out bit of halo, maybe to 1.25’ major axis—would’ve swept over without knowing where it was—galaxy inside check-mark shape of stars 30’ long—front part of check is 9’ long, almost like Nike swoosh—9th mag star at long end is brightest of check-mark stars—tough little galaxy, not easy in this aperture or magnification
V. We reconvened at Eureka Ridge the next evening—actually, the same evening, only later. This time, though, I had somewhat heavier “artillery” to observe through.
The Eugene Astronomical Society has a telescope lending system; anyone in good standing in the group can borrow a telescope for three months, and can continue to keep that scope until and unless someone else requests it after that three months. The 14.7″ Dob we’d built is a part of that lending program (Randy currently has it). So is the 18″ f/5 Dob-monster currently sitting in my garage, which I “checked out” of the club’s inventory the afternoon of June 30th.
The scope is considerably bigger than Bob the Dob, and requires a ladder to observe anything more northerly than Sagittarius’ teapot spout as seen from Eureka. Fortunately, a ladder is included in the borrowing–along with a Telrad, an 8 x 50 finder, and a quartet of eyepieces–most notably, 19mm and 35mm TeleVue Panoptics. And so, with great help from Jerry (and from Frank, who’d originally built the scope), the scope was assembled, collimated, and left to cool as night fell on Eureka Ridge.
Observing with a large Dobsonian is a different prospect than observing with a smaller scope, doubly so when a ladder is needed. Although it’s possible to aim the scope from ground level, looking through the Telrad, moving the giant 18″ from up on a ladder is much more difficult; it’s not as smooth as Bob the Dob, and that, coupled with my insufficient amount of sleep, made me impatient when having to search for objects. I gave up somewhat quickly on Abell 2065, the Corona Borealis Galaxy Cluster, the central galaxies of which I’d already observed in Jerry’s Trackball and the 20″ TriDob, and I gave less attention than I should have to Abell 2151, the Hercules Galaxy Cluster. Both clusters are on the Oregon Star Party advanced observing list, and although I’d wanted to refamiliarize myself with them prior to OSP, I just wasn’t in the mood to stand on a ladder and sweep for them that particular night at Eureka. Even though my ancestors had still been tree-dwellers, we Australopithecines hadn’t given up on this ground-dwelling thing, and we weren’t yet ready to climb ladders or abandon the comfortably-solid ground for any length of time.
Other targets lower in the sky got better shrift. I had spent some time the last few nights casually looking for the obscure globular ESO 452-11, east of Tau Scorpii, but hadn’t really concentrated on it. This night, with Scorpius on the meridian, I had the opportunity and the aperture to track it down.
6/30-7/1/16 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: 27 days (18%), rose at 3:25 AM SEEING: 7 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: 21.4 NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in low 60s, little to moderate dew; slight breeze OTHERS PRESENT: JO, KO, RB, FS, BH
Observed with EAS’ 18” f/5 Dobsonian. Observations using 14mm ES 82* (178x; TFOV 0.5*)
11:21 ESO 452-11 (Sco): just E of Tau Sco—absolutely tiny, just a little fuzz—0.75’ diameter—substellar point in middle—off to P side is another threshold star, substellar point in middle may also be threshold star, both bracketing cluster glow—both stars are less than 0.5’ apart—P cluster and slightly S is pair of 11th mag stars—twilight still not finished—to F and S is another triangle of stars, 9th and 10th mags—to NP cluster by 15’ is 8th mag star
I also went back to NGC 6520 and the Ink Spot to find Djorgovski 2, and, lo and behold, the extra aperture made the sighting easy once I had the right spot:
11:55 Djorgovski 2 (Sgr): finally!—almost in middle (slightly N) of Hercules-keystone-shaped asterism, which has brightest star to S and shortest side to NP of cluster—cluster is just about 2’ across and very diffuse—no way to check CC—with cluster centered in field, bright star N of Ink Spot lies just on F edge of field—cluster 13th mag? —no stars visible in cluster—in averted to P and very slightly S of halo is threshold star coming in and out of view
Now that I know how to find Djo 2, I’m guessing that I can find it in Bob the Dob.
But there were other objects that I managed, even up on the ladder. The two most notable were Hickson 72 in Boötes, a good test for the aperture, and the marvelously-named Shakhbazian 166, a chain of tiny, eye-bleedingly faint galaxies next to Eta Ursae Minoris. Both clusters of galaxies were fascinating to observe, and I regret not taking notes on them, or at least not going after them with the 6mm Radian to prise out what detail could be gleaned from them.
I kept feet on the ground with many targets, observing M 4, M80, M22, M25, and M28 from my observing chair, then using a two-step ladder to catch M5. Globular clusters become exponentially more remarkable in larger apertures, and nothing can compare to seeing these brilliant examples of the class in such a large scope. (I also observed the great M13 from the ladder; it was well worth the climb.)
The post-midnight hours saw our group dwindle to a quartet, and though I was just beginning to feel comfortable with the 18″, I was also starting to feel serious fatigue. My last handful of objects for the night included my favorite globular, M15 in Pegasus, and two other Pegasus sights: the barred spiral galaxy NGC 7479 (which looks a bit like Superman’s ‘S’ symbol, one spiral arm plainly obvious and extended, the other dimmer and shorter) and, another target I’d been after for some time, the edge-on super-flat galaxy UGC 12881, a phantom of a sliver of a galaxy that had been the featured Object of the Week over at the Deep Sky Forum a couple of years ago and had been an obsession ever since. It was a marginal sighting, likely to be bettered under the darker skies of OSP when the galaxy would be closer to the meridian, but it would do for now.
Randy and I got the 18″ loaded into the Caveman-Mobile and were the last two to leave the site. It was a tough drive home; had we been at Eagle’s Ridge, twice as far from home, I’m not sure I would’ve made it in one piece. As it was, I don’t remember much of the last fifteen minutes of driving.
The next night, Mrs. Caveman and I took the 18″ scope to a pre-4th of July party on the outskirts of town. We hadn’t realized the party wasn’t on the 4th, and found this out too late to bring food; as the host (our real estate agent) had asked us to bring a telescope, I thought that hauling the 18″ would make up for the fact that we hadn’t brought any food. As it turned out, it more than made up for any food we might have scrounged up to take. There were about 30 people at the party, and the astonishment they expressed at the sight of the monster scope was reward enough.
The agent’s property included a large field (seen in the above photos) that had the occasional deer sprinting through, and was stable enough ground that I was more comfortable scaling the ladder to the eyepiece. We still stayed lower to the ground when possible, checking out the three visible planets (Jupiter, Mars, and Saturn) to the delight of those present—especially the lad who spent much of his waking time daydreaming about Mars and reading up on Curiosity and the other Mars missions.
We did scale the ladder or the stepstool for other sights: M13, M5, M11, M17, and M51. The skies from the agent’s house were surprisingly good—about the equivalent of those at Crab Orchard in southern Illinois–and the Milky Way had a fair amount of detail. I’d have been well pleased to call that area my own stomping ground.
A number of folks there at the party were suitably impressed with what they’d seen. A job well done.
VI. The final night of this observing run was July 3rd, again at Eureka. This time, I brought Bob the Dob, still my mainstay no matter what other gear I have. Given the occasional wind gusts that sprang up, it was a fortuitous choice; Dobsonians being prone to becoming wind vanes in gusty conditions, and the larger ones especially so, it would’ve been chaos to use the 18″. The shorter 12.5″ avoided the wind for the most part, with only a few ground-level gusts being a problem.
One other aspect of using the 12.5″ was of benefit–I’m familiar with it enough that it’s almost an extension of my own eyes. I know how it’s going to move, and exactly how much pressure to use to get it where I need to go. Much as the extra 5.5″ of aperture could be useful on any quarry, the 12.5″ was the scope that I needed for this last night’s quarry… more of the Herschel objects.
It was another very productive night. Jerry and Kathy were there, as was their neighbor John (a doctor; it didn’t occur to me until I got home that I should’ve called him The Night Tripper) and Randy, again using the 14.7″ scope EAS had built. Once darkness had fallen, and with the usual twilight targets (M80, et al) out of the way, we all settled into our own projects and our own individual universes.
7/3-7/4/16 EUREKA RIDGE MOON: 29 days (1%), rose at 6:06 AM SEEING: 7 TRANSPARENCY: 7 SQM: not taken NELM: not checked WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in low 50s, little dew; occasional wind gusts OTHERS PRESENT: JO, KO, RB, John
All observations: 12.5″f/5 Discovery truss-tube Dobsonian, 14mm ES 82˚ eyepiece (112x, 0.7˚ TFOV) unless otherwise noted
11:17 NGC 6235 (Oph): largish—about 4’ diameter—partially resolved, very granular—cluster has to SP-NF is orientation of brightest part of cluster’s core—8-9 CC—inset in isosceles triangle of 11th mag stars—long side of triangle is about 12’, other sides about 9’—off to due F edge of field, about 22’ from cluster is an 8th mag star—little very unequal triple is to SP of cluster by 14’—9th mag star is brightest of that triple—to SF by about 15’ from cluster is 10th mag star—to NF edge of cluster is a 13-14th mag star just inside edge of halo—the P edge of cluster looks a little flattened—in averted a sprinkling of stars visible over core, about 8 or 9 stars—in averted one star to SP edge of core, maybe 14th mag, that pops in and out
11:35 NGC 6284 (Oph): 4’ diameter—central 2’ is core—powdery on edges—in averted looks granular—fairly loose, CC 7—to F side by 1.5’ is little diamond of 13th-14th mag stars, major axis N-S—about 18’ P cluster is bright pair of stars (double?) separated by 5’ oriented NP-SF; SF star closest to cluster—F cluster and slightly N is an 8th mag star about 22’ from cluster—SF cluster by 22’ is arc of three unevenly spaced stars—cluster is pretty round—just wants to be resolved in averted—in direct just powdery
12:29 NGCs 5614, 5589, 5590 (Boo): SF of A Boo—supposedly double galaxy with -15, but -15 not at all visible—galaxy inside little almost equi triangle—two bright stars in triangle about 8th mag, third (closest to galaxy) 10th mag—galaxy 4’ P the dim star—two brighter to P side of galaxy, NP and SP—galaxy is 2.5’—definitely gives glimpses in averted of second galaxy, but need more mag—inner region that’s 0.25’ across—hint of stellar nucleus—to N slightly P edge by 17’ is 10th mag star—to SF side of galaxy by 23’ is 10th mag star—two stars P galaxy, preceding them by 25’ is 10th mag star—another 10th star NP that one by 20’ and then F that star is pair of galaxies [NGCs 5589/5590]—one of galaxies [5589] F and slightly N, about 8’ from final star—very diffuse—small, 1.5’—not a lot of concentration, just a bit—not quite stellar nucleus, just barely visible—from that galaxy 7’ to SF (due F star by 12’) is second galaxy [5590]—brighter and larger—2.0’ across—has brighter core region—no nucleus but small bright core
12:40 NGC 5533 (Boo)—in same field as A Boo—P and slighty S A Boo—large, 3.0’ halo— bright core elongated almost P-F—hint of nucleus, uncertain—about 25’ from A—about halfway between galaxy and A is equal-mag (11th mag) double, separated by 3’—these form the S end of isosceles triangle of 10th mag stars—triangle about 15’ on long side, about 10’ on two short sides—pair is 18’ due F galaxy—in averted galaxy elongated P-F side—3.75’ x 2.0’ halo in averted
12:52 NGC 5996 (SerCap): not impressive galaxy—1.0’ across—almost round—elongated a bit N-S—in zigzag line with double star of 11th and 12th mag components to N slightly F side—to NP by 18’ is 8th mag star—double about 2.5’ N of galaxy—other two stars in zigzag are 11th mag star SF by 5’ and 10th mag star SF by 8’—brightest star around galaxy is 6th mag yellowish star 30’ almost due F galaxy
Somehow, I missed NGC 5994, interacting with NGC 5996. This pair, also known as Markarian 690, is one of the targets for the OSP advanced observing program. A bad mistake on my part.
By this time, the air had turned considerably cold; I went for my heavy winter coat, despite wearing a sweatshirt and a polar fleece jacket already. Astronomy can be a surprisingly physical hobby—putting together heavy equipment, doing calisthenics to reach an eyepiece that’s in an awkward position–but is mostly fairly sedentary, and the usual advice is to dress as if the temperature is going to be twenty degrees colder than the forecast suggests. This is usually good practice.
For various reasons, though, everyone left but me and Randy. I wasn’t sure how long I planned to stay out, but managed to constantly find enough reasons to keep observing.
1:05 NGC 5970 (SerCap): in interesting field—galaxy is fairly large—3.0’—has large (1.5’) brighter core but no nucleus—core is elongated P-F—bright star (8th mag) to NF side by 7’—8’ to P slightly N side of galaxy is 11th mag star and 10’ F slightly S galaxy is 10th mag star—to S of galaxy is pair of 11th and 10th stars about 6’ apart; 11th mag star is S just slightly P galaxy by 7’; 10th mag star is S very slightly F by 10’—to N is line of 12th/13th mag stars stretched almost due P-F by 5’ from galaxy
1:33 NGC 6070 (SerCap): large, about 4.5’ x 2.0’—elongated P-F—galaxy flanked P and F by 14th mag stars just on edge of halo—galaxy has brighter, irregular-shaped core not always distinguishyable from halo, edges indistinct—N and very slightly F center of galaxy by 11’ is an 8th mag star—galaxy sits inside triangle with that star and 11th mag stars SP by 7’ and SF by 4’—N of bright star by 8’ and slightly P is small triangle of 9th and 10th mag stars—no nucleus to galaxy visible—obviously inclined spiral, though
2:17 NGC 7217 (Peg): definitely bright, round—2.25’ across—has brighter core about 0.75’ across—hint of quasi-stellar nucleus in averted—galaxy set in trapezoid of 10th mag stars—trapezoid is about 18’ on long side and 9’ on short side—galaxy is closest to star on NF point of trapezoid—about 5’ from star—SP galaxy by 6’ is tiny clump of stars, 11th and 12th mags—nice galaxy, probably elliptical
2:48 NGCs 7448, 7463, 7465 (Peg): 7448: elongated—visible tiny stellar nucleus in averted—in between two stars that are part of an arc of four—galaxy 2.5’ in halo, elongated N-ish-S-ish—brighter core slightly off-center to S—core is 1.5’ long—two stars bracketing it, closer is due F galaxy by 4.5’ and is 11th mag—7’ to P side of galaxy is 12th mag star—halfway between galaxy and P star is very faint double of 13th and 14th mags, separated by 0.25’—star to F side forms large equilateral triangle 30’ on side—star to S is brightest at 8th mag; star F about 9th mag, about 34’ F galaxy—from that star is pair of smaller galaxies—one to NF by 4’ [7463] is very diffuse—elongated P-F—about 1.5’ long x 0.75’ —not much central brightening—kind of ghostly streak—4’ F that galaxy is slightly brighter one [7465]—obvious sub-stellar nucleus—bright central core—dim halo—halo not well seen due to core—1.0’ x 0.75’—NF 7465 by 8’ is line of 13th mag stars elongated NP-SF—SF 7465 by 14’ is 9th mag star—NF 7465 by 23’ is 7th mag star
Somewhere among these objects we also spent a fair time walking through getting to NGC 6905, the Blue Flash Nebula in Delphinus–not a difficult object to see, but tricky to find in a low-power eyepiece in a crowded Milky Way field.
And that was the week-plus observing run after Third-Quarter Moon. It was fortunate that it had been so clear; I ended up getting sick the next day and being too run down to take advantage of the New Moon-dark, and the past several nights have been cloudy or downright rainy. The long run here also was good preparation for the next three months of star parties I’m planning on—OSP, Brothers Star Party (near Brothers, OR, August 31-September 5) and the Autumn Camp Delaney Star Party (near Coulee City, WA, September 28-October 2).
It may not count as “productivity” in most peoples’ books, but exploring a large chunk of the universe is a reward all its own.
April has so far turned out to be far less a cruel month than was March. Two nights after my attempt at the Herschel Sprint, I was back out observing, having taken the previous night off to catch up on the rest I was sorely lacking. This time, I went to the EAS’ closer-by observing site, Eureka Ridge, in the Coastal Range.
I was rather late to arrive, having spent part of the evening at my daughter’s school art gala. I hadn’t been to Eureka Ridge before, and didn’t relish the idea of driving there at night. The road to the site was a bit rough, full of potholes and washboard stretches, but I made it there in one piece–if a bit low on gas. Four others had set up already: Jerry, Randy B, Bill “Dr. Lapser” B, and Cory W. A good group to observe with: three other Dobs (two of the Porta-Ball type) and an imager (Bill).
The site is on a high ridge overlooking a logging site; it slopes downhill to where the loggers have been tearing things up. The effect of this is that the site has excellent horizons to the east, south, and west. The “road,” such as it is, is typical of construction-site roads, but was fine for setting up on. Sunset was already fading as I chose a spot and began to set up.
The skies were average in quality but dark. Smoke had filtered in from some nearby fires and the transparency was already only average. Nonetheless, we made the most of it until the dew began to settle (it wasn’t as bad as in Illinois; I could’ve observed longer but for the clouds that began rolling in).
The most notable feature early on was the impossible-to-miss zodiacal light, a triangular glowing wedge stretching from the area the Sun had gone down in to just above the Pleiades. I had never seen it before (at least that I noticed), and was a bit dazzled by how obvious it was here. Consisting of sunlight reflecting off of dust in the plane of the solar system, the visibility of the zodiacal light can be a good indicator of sky darkness.
My goals this evening were to observe a number of the planetary nebulae on the Astronomical League’s Planetary Nebula program before moving into a list of my own making (The Night of 100 Galaxies,” a survey of Hickson and Abell clusters with a few other interesting objects mixed in for variety). As it turned out, after observing the first few planetaries (and only taking notes on the first of these), I lost some interest in tracking down tiny pinpoint planetaries and decided (in another occurrence of Rare Night Syndrome) to work instead on a mix of objects from the 100 Galaxies list and “Forgotten Gems of the Spring Sky,” a presentation I’m giving to the Eugene Astronomical Society later in April.
04/02/16
EUREKA RIDGE (43 52′ 38.88″ N, 123 18′ 33.32″ W) MOON: 25 days (Last Quarter), rose 3:55 AM SEEING: 6 TRANSPARENCY: 6 SQM: 21.4 (midnight) WEATHER CONDITIONS: temps in 40s, moderate dew after midnight, haze/smoke in air, slight breeze—zodiacal light bright and obvious, reaching past the Pleiades by 9:15 OTHERS PRESENT: JO, RB, BB, CW
9:47 IC 2165 (CMa)—tiny planetary—maybe 8”?—responds well in O-III—no central star—with UHC, better view—slightly blue w/o filter (found without)—almost looks as if there’s an outer shell around bright center—if true, maybe 1.0’ diameter—possibly elongated E-W—“central part” really sharply defined—squashed little triangle of stars to F side—“center star” of triangle fairly bright (?)
After IC 2165, I also observed Jonckheere 900 in Gemini and NGC 2346 in Monoceros before turning to galaxies.
I’d bought an extra charging battery for my iPhone, which I use to record my notes and which usually runs out of power in about twenty minutes. Yet for all of the galaxies I observed, I took notes on only two groups–both of which were very deserving.
I ended up observing the NGC 4485/90 pair, NGC 4424, NGCs 4327 and 4361 (The Whale and Cub), NGC 4656/7 (The Hockey Stick), NGC 4565, NGC 5746 in Virgo, the Leo Trio, M53/NGC 5053 (Coma globulars), NGC 5634 (globular in Virgo), NGC 3344 in Leo Minor, M95, M96, and M105 (with its two attendant galaxies–the Trio within a Trio), NGC 3115 in Sextans, and Copeland’s Septet in Leo in addition to these others–most of these will factor into my presentation, as they’re almost all impressive objects. I regret not taking notes on Copeland’s Septet, but will observe it again at next opportunity. Jerry and I spent a fair amount of time trying to discern individual galaxies amid the two glowing patches we observed in the eyepiece.
I also tracked down Wild’s Triplet, a nastily-faint trio in Virgo, also known as Arp 248. I’m quite proud of finding this one in average conditions with “only” a 12.5″ scope. Jerry and I compared notes as we observed it, using his copy of Sky Safari to discern the orientation of the three interacting spirals in the group.
1:17 Arp 248 (PGCs 36733/36723/36742; Wild’s Triplet; Vir)—a bright (8th mag) field star—brightest of 3 galaxies 60% of the way between that star and an 11th-mag star off to F edge, bright star on P edge—two stars separated by 15’—another star to S of dim star by 8’, same mag—galaxy in middle and one just S of that are two brightest—middle one [PGC 36733] has tiny bit of central condesation—about 0.5’ or a bit more—no PA possible—S of that is second brightest [PGC 36723], separated by 3’ or so—more diffuse, no concentration—all really small, need 10mm—third galaxy [PGC 36742] exceedingly difficult, not convinced I’m seeing, certainly can’t hold even averted
The sky was degrading in quality a bit; I spent some time casting about for a new target. Jerry tracked down the Ursa Minor Dwarf Galaxy, a largish threshold-level glow seen mostly by sweeping his scope back and forth over the field. It was most definitely there–a satellite galaxy of our own Milky Way, so dim that it had eluded detection until its discovery on a photographic plate in 1955. An A+ find in a 12″ scope!
My own next find was Hickson 68, a stunning small cluster of galaxies in a corner of Canes Venatici:
1:40 NGC 5350/5354/5353/5355/5371 (Hickson 68; CVn)—at center of field is bright star, 7th mag—above by 4’ is 2’ round, very diffuse galaxy (NGC 5350)—slight central condensation—averted brings out possible stellar nucleus—to SF side are two brighter, smaller galaxies—more northern (NGC 5354) is more diffuse—both about 1.5’—almost touching—more northern slightly more diffuse, slightly larger—one farthest south (NGC 5353) smaller but has brighter core—star-like nucleus—forming triangle with these three, farher from star on F side is smaller, almost “edge-on” (NGC 5355)—0.5’—oriented SP-NF—fairly obvious but would need to know where to look—between this last and previous pair is 14th star—when group drifts toward P edge of field, at top of field is much larger diffuse galaxy (NGC 5371)—3.5’—just off to F edge of galaxy is 8th star— maybe 0.5’ core—stellar nucleus visible in averted but not direct—subsumed into core
This one immediately vaulted to the top of my galaxy-group list, and to my computer desktop–an absolutely beautiful little group, wrapped around a bright golden star and followed by a larger, obviously-spiral galaxy.
Not long after, the dew had reached a point where Randy and Jerry decided they’d had enough; they’d been out the night before (Jerry had observed four consecutive nights), and the dew was a sign to them to call it a night. With my gas tank low and not being too familiar with the roads back to civilization, I decided they were right. Bill had already started tearing down his imaging gear, having taken at least a half-dozen sets of shots. Jerry and Randy headed out first; I waited with Bill until he was ready to go (a habit from my AASI days–the President of the club should be the last man out of the observing field). Bill stayed for a few extra minutes; he said he’d follow in case I ran out of gas. I agreed to this for pragmatic reasons.
Although not as productive as my attempt at the Herschel Sprint, Wild’s Triplet, Copeland’s Septet, and especially Hickson 68 had made this session a success. The sketchbook is going to be getting several new entries the next time out.
The Unfrozen Caveman Astronomer 