But more to the task at hand, I would concentrate my efforts in the northeastern corner of Virgo, where it butts up against Bootes and
I then wrapped up the evening in eastern Bootes, southwest of Gamma Bootis (Seginus) mopping up a few galaxies before my energy levels finally said it was time to call it a night around 0130 hours. There I utilized chart 32-right of the IDSA. The dew was heavy, but I had anticipated that and had dew straps on my Rigel Quikfinder and
(Equipment used)
17.5 inch
Ethos 13mm (152x, 0.7° TFOV, 2.9mm exit pupil)
XW 10mm (199x, 0.4° TFOV, 2.2mm exit pupil)
XW 7mm (283x, 0.2° TFOV, 1.6mm exit pupil)
(Treasure found)
Using chart 45 in the IDSA as my guide, I aimed the scope at magnitude 2.8 Epsilon Virginis (Vindemiatrix). About 1.5° NNW I located my first object for the evening. Viewed at 152x and 199x it was a somewhat bright homogeneous oval that was small in visual extent. (New)
Almost 2° north of the previous object I quickly located this slightly large and somewhat bright glowing sliver. Observed at both 152x and 199x it was very elongated in an east-west orientation. There was a brighter central lens within the disk along the major axis and a very small concentrated brightness at the core. I noticed a dim foreground star west of the core. (New)
Nudging to the southwest over 2.5° and passing over 41 Virginis (mag 6.2) in the sweep, I quickly located this small spiral. Overall, at both 152x and 199x, it presented a small and slightly dim homogeneous thin oval. (New)
From the last object I nudged south to pick up this pair of previously observed galaxies on way to another new one to their southwest. Taking a quick glance at these bright and fairly large lenticular galaxies within the same field of view, they were quite different in appearance.
A little southwest of the previous pair of galaxies I easily spotted this small round glow. At 152x it was diffuse and somewhat bright, with an intermittent stellar core. Viewed with 199x it was very obvious within the field, showing a very diffuse disk with a steady stellar core at its center. A dim field star was sitting right at the western edge of the halo. (New)
Next up was this small and somewhat bright thin oval nearly 1° west of
Though I have observed this object a few times over the years, for some reason, I did not find the brighter galaxies that are found within the same field of view in my log. So this was a mop up visit to this bright elliptical to fix that discrepancy. But first, I took a quick gander at this grand member of the Virgo Galaxy Cluster. At 152x it was large and bright, revealing a very bright broad brightness within the larger halo. Typical of elliptical, there was not a lot of detail in its disk, but it sure was a bright one!
Just off the northwestern edge of M60 I could easily see this bright rounded glow that seemed subtly large in extent. An intermittent stellar core was evident at 152x and at 199x its envelope just overlapped with that of M60 and the pair were a grand sight. (New)
Within the same field of view with M60/
About 25’ southeast of M60 this small and bright out of round glow exhibited a stellar core. Viewed with 152x and 199x, it presented a typical view for small elliptical galaxies. (New)
Nearly 2.5° southwest of Vindemiatrix I swept up this small rounded glow using 152x. Slightly dim to the eye, it was evenly illuminated across its disk. Then at 199x I picked up an intermittent stellar core winking in and out. (New)
Nudging south from the previous object, I found this intriguing duo about 1.5° to its SSE. Using 152x, the interacting pair presented a single small overlapping oval glow that was slightly dim. The combined envelope was diffuse with twin non-stellar cores clearly seen. With 199x the double core of these involved galaxies stood out very clearly within the small overall halo. (New-2)
About 13’ northeast of the preceding pair of galaxies and in the same field of view I pinned down this little dust bunny. Observed with 152x, 199x and 283x it remained a fairly small and somewhat dim homogeneous oval. (New)
UGC 8042 (Virgo, spiral galaxy, mag=13.9, size=1.3’x0.8’, SBr=13.8):
UGC 8045 (Virgo, barred irregular galaxy, mag=14.3, size=1.0’x0.7’, SBr=13.8):
Nearly 9.5’ SSE of the
Shifting more to the east of Vindemiatrix on chart 45-left I located this small oval glow using 152x. A little dim to the eye it exhibited an intermittent stellar core. The view changed little at 199 xs and it remained a little visually weak. (New)
UGC 8255 (Virgo, spiral galaxy, mag=13.1, size=1.5’x1.1’, SBr=13.5):
Not quite half a degree ESE of the previous galaxy I pulled down this spiral. Overall it was a fairly dim and small diffuse oval at 152 xs. Using 199x it was more apparent but remained a weak homogeneous oval. (New)
Next up was this subtly large oval that was quite diffuse and of somewhat low surface brightness. It did display a stellar core within its envelope. Viewed with 199 xs it remained generally ghostly in appearance, with a very apparent stellar core pinned to its center. (New)
A little over 1.5° to the northwest of the last object, I studied the field just northeast of a line of four field stars ranging from 7th to 11th magnitude. Eventually at 152x I picked up a very dim and very small rounded mote. Once I pinpointed it in the field, I quickly moved up to 199x and then 283x. Even so, it remained a very weak presence in the field, though it was confirmed as a very dim round glow that was clearly non-stellar. A very small and very faint companion galaxy, PGC 3553148, which is involved in the disk of
Almost 4° ENE of Vindemiatrix I nailed down this very small and round dust bunny. At 152x it was fairly dim, but not difficult. Visually it was generally homogeneous. Then at 199x an intermittent stellar core made its appearance, though overall the system remained weak to the eye. An interesting aside was the passage of a satellite through the field of view as I was observing this spiral. (New)
Continuing to the northeast and near the border with
Within the same field of view about 8.5’ to the northeast of the previous object I also noted this dimmer galaxy. I found it small and just slightly bright to my eye. At both 152x and 199x it presented as an evenly illuminated oval glow. (New)
Found 17.5’ southeast of
Nudging to the ESE a little over a degree I located the field for this lenticular. After allowing my eye to adjust to the new field of view I picked up my quarry using 152x. I presented a small and fairly dim round glow. A very fleeting stellar core seemed to flicker into view at times. Then at 199x the galaxy was easier though still dim. The stellar core remained weak and intermittent. (New)
Only about 9’ northeast of
A little SSW of
Up in the corner of Virgo where it meets
PGC 93122 (Virgo, spiral galaxy, mag=14.7, size=0.7’x0.5’, SBr=13.3):
About 9’ northwest of the previous galaxy I located this small and fairly dim diffuse rounded mote using 152x. Then with 199x it remained dim but with an intermittent stellar core popping in and out. Additionally I was getting a sense of a perpendicular extension to the east side of the north-south major axis. Going up to 283x I confirmed this very faint extension. This would be the companion galaxy PGC 93122. Though pretty dim, it still was not overly difficult once I affixed its position relative to the disk of the primary.
Just 5.5’ north of the previous pair, the northern component of Arp 288 presented a small and dim oval. Located using 152x it revealed an intermittent stellar core at its center. Viewing with 199x didn’t give much improvement as it remained dim with a weak stellar core. (New)
This little dust mote is plotted in Uranometria (not IDSA) about 5.5’ NNE of
This was quite an interesting field. In the IDSA only two galaxies are plotted here, but at 152x I spotted four glows of varying faintness. So I immediately consulted chart 90 in the Uranometria, which showed a clump of four galaxies. They formed a triangular grouping with
Only about 7’ SSE of
UGC 8472 (Virgo, lenticular galaxy, mag=14.2, size=1.0’x0.3’, SBr=12.7):
Things get a little squirrely here. The RNGC (and by extension Uranometria and Sky Tools 3) erroneously identify this galaxy as
Nearly 11’ northwest of the previous target I pinned down this fairly dim little oval. Observed with both 152x and 199x it remained a homogeneous little dust bunny. (New)
Turning back to the SSE, I swept up this obvious small oval using 152x about 25.5’ from
William Herschel discovered the galaxy in 1784. However, Lewis Swift “seemingly” rediscovered the galaxy in 1887. But his position was about one minute west of Herschel’s galaxy and Dreyer assumed it was a new find, assigning it a separate identifier of
I picked up this spiral 23’ northeast of
My last object in northeastern Virgo for this evening was the slightly bright oval. I located it a little over 1.5° southwest of 71 Virginis. Using 152x it was small and homogeneous. With 199x it was quite obvious within the view but remained a smooth oval disk with no variations in illumination. (New)
To give my brain a chance to reset and my observing eye some rest, I took a break by spending a few minutes with one of the targets from the
Moving to the eyepiece (152x) was nothing short of an emotional experience. My eye was graced with, in my view, one of the most beautiful and entrancing globular clusters in the sky. Dominating the field it was a large swirling mass of stars. The core was very compressed and extremely bright. Stars were resolved across the face of the core with hazy backdrop of countless unresolved suns. There were swirls of stars flowing in all directions as one’s eye moved across its huge globe. My eye picked up a particularly noticeable string of stars spiraling out from the core and wrapping around through the outer halo. This immediately brought to mind a graceful uncoiling arm within a bright face-on spiral galaxy. The outer halo was extensive and highly resolved, and gradually dispersing into the surrounding star field. While
I now headed back to the fray of my galaxy hunting. With Virgo sinking fast, I moved a little north to put a few more in the log. Turning to chart 32-right in the IDSA, I decided to work on a few more galaxies in the area southwest of Gamma Bootis (Seginus). So aiming at that star and consulting the chart, I began the final leg of this night’s journey.
I located this galaxy about 2° south of Seginus near a gentle curve of three field stars (9th, 10th and 11th mag). Easily picked up with 152x it presented a slightly bright small homogeneous oval. Viewing with 199x revealed a broadly brighter core area within the galactic disk. (New)
About half a degree east of the last object, I snagged this barred spiral. At 152x I found it a small elongated somewhat bright glow. Evenly illuminated initially, it revealed an intermittent stellar core at 199x. (New)
Just over 1° south of
William Herschel discovered this lenticular in 1785 and it was observed twice by John Herschel. Unfortunately his second observation in 1827 had a position error that caused it to be added into the catalogue as
The same duplication that occurred with the previous object also occurred with this one. Again John Herschel observed it twice after his father’s discovery in 1785, with one of those observations including a positional error which resulted in the object finding its way into the catalogue a second time as
Just over 2° SSW of
Nudging slightly to the southwest, I easily located my next target. At 152x it presented a small and slightly bright thin sliver glow with an embedded stellar core. The galaxy was quite obvious at 199x and the stellar core was strongly present within its thin disk. (New)
About 4° southwest of Seginus I centered the mag 4.8 star HD 125351 and easily spotted an east-west curved line of three stars about 43’ to its west. Just north of the western-most star in this line I picked up this lenticular after careful study of the field. Seen with 152x it was a very dim small thick oval and homogeneous dust bunny. The view at 199x was not much better as it was simply a weak little ghostly puff of light. (New)
My last object was this little knot of light about 28’ northwest of the previous object. Picked up with 152x it was nothing more than a dim and small diffuse oval. Using 199x did little for its visual presentation as it remained weak and evenly illuminated. (New)
By this time it was about 0130 hours and after around 3.5 hours I admit I was physically spent. That is a long stretch to be hunting galaxies, and while the skies continued to be clear and more galaxies could have been pursued, I know the more tired I became, the more challenging it would become. So sometimes it’s good to know your limits and stick within them! Thanks for following along if you made it this far, and I hope to see you out there again soon. Until then, keep looking up friends.
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