6/11/21
Location: Anza desert site,
Bortle 3.5
Equipment: Celestron 9.25” Edge HD
SCT and Celestron 150ST
achro on
SW SkyTee 2 manual AltAz mount.
I like to take pics of nature on my trips to Anza, but the desert this year has been somewhat deserted.
Instead, here are some critters making themselves at home around our house.
The desert weather was clear nice and dry. Plenty of time to set everything. After that I had dinner watching fading sunset colors and stars picking one by one. Around 21:30 the sky finally got dark enough for galaxy hunting. This night I have continued with polar region. Tons of galaxies in there.
Ursa Major galaxies (all observed with 9.25” Edge
SCT)
NGC 2629 – faint oval with round core next to star. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 2641 – extremely faint round disk detected with averted vision (AV) moving
EP. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 2650 – faint oval with AV, brighter central area. Pentax XW20 (118x).
NGC 2684 – faint oval with AV. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 2692 – relatively bright small elongated shape. Pentax XW20 (118x).
UGC 4671 – wide AV oval with star shining through, in the same
FOV with
NGC 2692. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 2710 – narrow oval with AV. Pentax XW20 (118x).
NGC 2726 – faint narrow oval. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 2800 – AV glow next to star. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 2810 (aka
NGC 2810A) – faint wide oval with compact core. Pentax XW20 (118x).
NGC 2814 – faint narrow glow next to star. Pentax XW10 (235x).
NGC 2854 and
NGC 2856 – two small faint elongated ovals with AV in the same
FOV. Pentax XW14 (168x).
For given constellation I typically start at lower
RA and work my way against the sky rotation. This time I had too many targets to keep up with sky rotation and ended up lower to horizon. I decided to switch to the other side of Ursa Major for darker sky.
NGC 5256 – elongated oval with brighter central area. Pentax XW20 (118x).
HJ 2667 – double – pair of equal white stars in the same
FOV with
NGC 5256, separation 13.5”. Easy split with Pentax XW20 (118x).
NGC 5255 – faint small spec. Pentax XW14 (168x) and XW10 (235x).
NGC 5250 – small disk with brighter central area, next to star. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 5216 and
NGC 5218 – Keenan’s System – a pair of interacting galaxies. These galaxies were first discovered by Friedrich Wilhelm Herschel in 1790, but only in 1935 PC Keenan has resolved a long 22,000 ly filament connecting them. The filament is too faint to see in small scopes.
NGC 5218 – smaller with narrow bar,
NGC 5216 – larger with brighter round core. Pentax XW20 (118x) and XW14 (168x).
NGC 5201 – faint oval. Pentax XW20 (118x).
NGC 5164 – faint oval. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 5163 – small faint oval. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 5109 (aka
NGC 5113) – faint narrow shape. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 5007 – small faint disk. Pentax XW20 (118x) and XW14 (168x).
NGC 4977 – extremely faint round spot with AV, shaking
EP for detection. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 4974 – small faint disk. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 4973 – same
FOV with
NGC 4974 but fainter and smaller. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 4967 – small extremely faint spot same
FOV with
NGC 4974. Detected with AV, shaking
EP. Pentax XW14 (168x).
NGC 4964 – extremely faint detected with AV by sitting on the
FOV. Pentax XW14 (168x).
By midnight I run out of gas. Next two weeks is the full moon cycle, and by July this area may swing away until the next year. However, I feel good about the progress I made in Draco and Ursa Major this season.