9/4/21
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.
It has been ~two months since I saw a galaxy. Started to feel a bit twitchy.
So, to get a fix I decided to do a morning session when the sky will be teeming with fall galaxies. I set the camp Friday evening, watched desert sunset, and hit the slipping bag at 20:00.
Woke up at midnight – the sky was beautiful. Well-structured Milky Way across the sky from Perseus to Aquila; Cetus in the darkest eastern area of the sky. Time to hunt some galaxies!
All galaxies observed with Celestron Edge 9.25”
SCT. Three EPs – Pentax XW20 (118x), XW14 (168x) and XW10 (235x) have carried me through the whole session.
Cetus galaxies
NGC 521 – wide oval with round core (118x).
NGC 533 - same
FOV with
NGC 521, elongated oval with brighter central area (118x).
NGC 682 – small narrow oval with brighter central area (118x, 168x).
NGC 702 – small oval (118x).
NGC 723 (aka
NGC 724) – small faint oval (118x, 168x).
NGC 731 (aka
NGC 757) – small disk with round core (118x).
NGC 755 (aka
NGC 763) – narrow lens (118x).
NGC 762 – faint wide oval (118x).
NGC 773 – faint narrow AV oval with stellar core (118x).
NGC 790 – faint oval with AV (118x).
NGC 827 – faint small oval with compact core (118x).
Pegasus
SN 2021rhu - 01:25 – This bright supernova was reported back in July. I did not have a chance to check it then. Well, better late than never. I studied the host galaxy
NGC 7814 for a while at different powers but could not detect the SN. I guess it has fainted out. FAIL.
It was a fun reminder though how bright, large and obvious
NGC 7814 is in comparison to the faint galaxies I am hunting now.
And back to Cetus galaxies
NGC 833,
NGC 835,
NGC 838 and
NGC 839 – neat group of 4 galaxies. Faint small ovals clustered in the 0.6 deg TFV of XW20
EP (118x). All four seem to have stellar cores.
NGC 850 – faint glow around star. (118x).
NGC 853 – small narrow oval (118x).
NGC 863 – small faint disk with AV (118x).
NGC 873 – small faint oval with brighter central area (118x).
NGC 881 – faint oval,
NGC 883 – round disk with compact core, two galaxies in the same
FOV (118x).
NGC 887 – wide oval with brighter central area (118x).
NGC 907 – faint narrow shape (118x).
NGC 977 - faint small oval with AV (118x).
NGC 1044 - faint small disk with AV (118x).
NGC 1046 – faint AV spec below
NGC 1044 (168x, 235x).
NGC 1094 – faint AV oval, moving
EP for detection (118x).
NGC 1153 – small disk with brighter central area (118x).
NGC 7826 –
asterism – the only none-galaxy
DSO for the night. I switched to 150ST with XW20 (38x, 1.9 deg AFV) to frame it better. Triangular patch of 10+ scattered stars.
Eridanus galaxies
02:56 – Eridanus moved into former Cetus position in the eastern sky.
NGC 1324 – narrow lens with AV (118x).
NGC 1331 – small faint knot of light near
NGC 1332 (118x, 168x).
NGC 1354 – narrow oval with brighter central area (118x).
NGC 1362 – faint round disk with AV (118x).
NGC 1370 – faint AV glow near star (118x).
NGC 1397 – very faint small AV spot (168x).
NGC 1401 – faint AV oval (118x).
NGC 1418 – faint small oval in the same
FOV with
NGC 1417 (118x).
Around 04:00 I have reached the right balance between fulfillment and exhaustion. I wanted to see predawn moonrise but was too tired to wait. So I went to sleep but luck have it woke up around 05:00 and saw old Moon rising in brightened sky.