Despite the gas prices I made the one night trek over to our other place, arriving around 1900 hours. I also carried some Lantana to repot on the front porch of that house. Because of the proliferation of deer in the area we had to find plants that they do not like. Lantana is one of our favorite annual plants as they attract butterflies and can be quite stunning. We have had success with the Lantana there since we know the deer will not eat them down to a nub! That area in the Allegheny Mountains near the West Virginia border typically receives ample rain to keep them watered during the summer months, and of course copious amounts of dew are also normal as the night air frequently cools into the low 60’s to mid 50’s. A more extreme example of how it can chill down during the summer months at the elevation there (nearly 2,800 ft) was one July evening a few years back. I knew it was getting a wee bit chilly out, but was surprised when I came back in around 0200 and found it had dropped to 39° F. That was of course atypical, but just shows it can cool down there during the summer after a cold front has passed.
Anyway, the plan for this outing was partially inspired by Andrey (Bigzmey) and his recent report of observing
All in all it was a cool evening out, requiring a light jacket. The sky was clear, the lightening bugs were all around me blinking and it was a fine night to be out under a dark country sky. I saw perhaps half a dozen dim satellites pass through my field of view while observing galaxies, which adds a curious dynamic. Plus this time of year, I get the odd lightening bug flashing right in front of the scope while I am peering through the eyepiece. That can be a bit startling, but in a nice way, as nature is simply doing its thing all around you, while you soak in the beauty of the night sky. It was simply a beautiful evening to experience.
(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)
The dipper was sinking fast behind the trees so at 2220 (pre-astro dark) I aimed the scope at Phad (Gamma UMa) and quickly nudged to HD 100615 to look for this very low surface brightness galaxy. Studying the field immediately north of the star (mag 5.6) and well within its glare field, I could just make out the elongated very subtle glow of the galaxy at 152x. It was a ghostly apparition with direct vision, and averted vision boosted its presence. Going to 199x the galaxy’s thin disk was easier to pick up but the glare of the star still dampened its visual presence. It remained a smooth and diffuse eerie presence within the glare of the nearby star. (New)
A few minutes northeast of the previous object I picked up this very small round glow using 152x. A little dim in the pre-dark sky it was not difficult, and revealed a stellar core within its disk. Viewed at 199x it was more obvious but still a little to the dim side and pretty small in visual angular extent. (New)
About 16’ east of
In the same
MCG 9-19-135 (Ursa Major, barred spiral galaxy, mag=13.6, size=1.2’x1.1’, SBr=13.6):
Less than half a degree north of
It was now astronomically dark so I swung south to Libra and aimed the scope at mag 2.6 Beta Librae (Zubenelschemali). Interestingly this is one of the cases where the Beta star is the brightest, with Alpha being slightly dimmer at mag 2.7. A very minor frustration occurred when later I found out that due to a clerical error on my part the first two objects in Libra turned out to be duplicate observations. For some reason I overlooked them in my log – oh well, my bad.
A little over 2° northeast of Beta Lib I swept up my first two objects. The pair, known as Arp 254, is separated by only about four arc minutes. The northern of the duo is this spiral. It is also clearly the brighter of the two as well. Easily seen at 152x it appeared as a small and slightly bright oval. A non-stellar central brightness was noticed within its halo. Also observed at 199x and 283x it was quite obvious in the field, and its broader central brightness was more evident.
MGC -1-39-3 (Libra, lenticular galaxy, mag=13.8, size=1.5’x0.5’, SBr=13.4):
Within the same field as
Moving back to Beta Lib and then southward I swept up this lenticular almost 10’ northwest of an 8th mag field star. Easily picked up using 152x it presented a small diffuse oval glow that was subtly bright to my eye. A stellar core was clearly seen at the heart of its halo, and at 199x the galaxy was very obvious within the view. (New)
Next up was this barred spiral, found nearly 1° SSW of the previous object. Its lower surface brightness gave it a very diffuse and slightly dim appearance at 152x. It presented a thick oval disk that was slightly small in apparent size. Viewed at 199x its face-on disk remained a ghostly orb of diffuse light, and while easier it was not a visually robust object due to the surface brightness. (New)
Next up was this galaxy, which lay next to a triangle of three stars (7th & 8th mag). Pretty small in visual size, it was a dim and round very diffuse disk at 152x. Viewed at 199x it was more obvious, yet it remained homogeneous and ghostly to the eye. (New)
Picked up at 152x this barred spiral was small and slightly dim to my eye. Smoothly illuminated across its disk it was just north of a dim mag 14.9 field star. With 199x it was obvious and its envelope remained smooth and even. (New)
I next pinned down this fairly dim and very small rounded homogeneous disk using 152x. Also viewed at 199x and 283x it was more obvious at each step, but still remained visually dim overall. It appeared a little more out of round at the higher magnifications as a little bit more of its outer halo came into view. It continued to appear quite diffuse in appearance. (New)
My last object in Libra for this outing was this spiral. At 152x it presented as a very small and slightly out of round disk with a stellar core. It lay just east of a pair of field stars (12th & 14th mag) and was slightly dim to the eye. Using 199x it was an obvious thick oval glow with a readily apparent stellar core set within its diffuse envelope. (New)
I next moved the scope up to Arcturus to begin some more foraging for galaxies within Bootes. No matter how many galaxies I’ve observed in a constellation previously, there are always more that have not found their way into my observing log. Thus I have to revisit an area periodically to pick up where I’d left off during previous hunts.
Nearly 1.5° northwest of Arcturus I located my first target of the evening in Bootes. Easily seen with 152x it appeared as a small but somewhat bright thick oval disk with a very dim outer halo. A stellar core was readily apparent in its center. Very obvious in the field with 199x a small lens of brightness in its center surrounded the stellar core, with its dim outer halo fading away into the background sky. (New)
This galaxy was spotted about 7’ WSW from
I found my next object almost 1° southwest of the previous one. Easily spotted using 152x it presented a small but somewhat bright elongated finger of light. I noticed a small elongated central brightness in its core oriented with the major axis of its envelope. Then at 199x an obvious stellar core was now visible set within this central lens. (New)
Moving back to Arcturus, I noticed the
MCG 3-36-69 (Bootes, spiral galaxy, mag=14.2, size=1.1’x0.8’, SBr=13.8):
Within the same field as
MCG 3-36-67 (Bootes, spiral galaxy, mag=14.9, size=0.6’x0.4’, SBr=13.1):
While observing “
About 7’ north of the last group of three, I picked up a close pair also known as Arp 117. The larger and brighter of the pair was this nearly face-on barred spiral. At 152x it presented a small and slightly dim out of round glow. I suspected I was mostly seeing the central region of the galaxy while the lower surface brightness outer structure was unseen. At 199x I was beginning to pick up a little of the dimmer outer portion of the disk as it appeared a little more extended, though overall it was quite diffuse. A weak stellar core had now become apparent as well. (New)
About 2.5’ southwest of
At this point I took a little break before pursuing more galaxies in Bootes. I sat back in my observing chair and looked up at Hercules. I focused my attention on the western side of the keystone
