I began setting up my position around 2100 hours after the sun had set and the fading light of the day filled the valley in which the house sits. The temperature outside was a nice 68° F (20° C) and would cool further as darkness approaches. I finally headed out around 2200 hours as nautical darkness had come and it had cooled to about 63° F (17.2° C). I had only to wait for another half hour or so before taking to the skies, with full on astronomical darkness predicted at 2242. Sitting back in my chair just looking around, I could see the first signs of the summer Milky Way plane at about 30° above the eastern horizon, like a dim milky stain against a darkening sky. As the minutes drifted by it became more and more apparent as the sky in general was filling in with stars – first bright and then increasingly dimmer ones. I noticed a satellite near Deneb and watched as it drifted a little bit then winked out of sight as it exited the Earth’s shadow, continuing on its appointed rounds.
I sat and gathered my thoughts, looking at the Uranometria atlas laid out on my table, consulting my notes and basically passing time. As the clock hit 2230, I thought – it’s time to get started and see where my twisting and turning route will lead me too this time out. Thanks for coming along and I hope you enjoy looking through the eyepiece with me as I scour the sky for those elusive far, far away star islands. But first, a couple of side tracks!
(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)
XW 5mm (397x, 0.2° TFOV, 1.1mm exit pupil)
So, there is Lyra hanging there and I had already thought about its mag 15.8 central star for a bit anyway, as it had been many years since I’d seen it. So I quickly aimed the scope between Beta and Gamma Lyrae and quickly swept up this bright planetary using 152x and it was a nice visual treat. It appeared as an out of round, slightly smooshed doughnut with its annulus being of uneven brightness. The interior was not dark, but displayed a dim gauzy veil. I immediately went to the XW 5mm (397x) and studied the center of the disk for about ten minutes, as well as watching the stars immediately adjacent to the body of the nebula. I was looking for signs of the ever constant shift in seeing. I could see the periphery stars brighten slightly then dim slightly. Focusing my attention on the pale white film filling the center of the ring, I could in moments of clarity see this very dim star pop into view momentarily then quickly wink out of sight. I watched this occur repeatedly as the elusive white dwarf central star revealed its presence to me in little glimpses. I could have continued to play hide and seek with it, but preferred to move onward.
I now headed down into far eastern Virgo and used it as my springboard to revisit one of my favorite globular clusters. Aiming the scope at 109 Virginis I slipped eastward passing over 110 Vir and then into Serpens. As the star 5 Serpentis slid into view in my 8x50
Palomar 5 (Serpens, globular cluster, mag=11.8, size=8.0’, SBr= 16.1, class=12):
Now as outstanding as M5 is, this next globular is not. In fact this object was the reason why I even went to the field. Admittedly I was very happy to see M5 again as it always stuns me with its beauty. This globular, which was part of a group of 15 that were identified on the original Palomar Observatory Sky Survey plates in the 1950s was my true intended target. Found 2° 17’ SSW of M5, it lies just 4.5’ northwest of the mag 9.0 star HD 135660. Finding the field is easy enough, seeing this extremely challenging globular is not. As you can see it has an extremely low surface brightness based on its visual magnitude and large angular size. The fact that it falls in the loosest class of the Shapley-Sawyer core concentration scale at 12 adds to that elusiveness. It has no true core concentration, which reduces its surface brightness significantly over other clusters that exhibit tighter and thus brighter cores. I studied the field immediately northwest of the appointed star for many minutes using 152x up to 283x. At moments I caught a very pale haziness but its appearance was quite diaphanous and otherworldly. There were no stars, no concentration per se, and no granularity. There was only a vague sense of an almost not there haze, something that would make one wonder if it’s really there or simply a case of averted imagination. It is located somewhere between 68.5 to 81.5 KLY from the sun as opposed to M5 which is merely 24.5 KLY distant. This is a tough nut to crack for sure, and on nights of absolutely superb conditions (which this was not), it might be more apparent. That said I do plan to revisit this field the following evening in an attempt to better confirm to my satisfaction this challenging object. (New)
Okay, now that was a fun warm up for my galaxy hunting! But it was now astronomically dark, so let’s get on with it and see what I can dredge from the sky on this evening’s journey. My first port of call would be into northern Virgo just below Bootes for a short visit, and then up into Bootes again to harvest a few more. I would wind up my evening in Corona Borealis trying to pluck some jewels from the Northern Crown.
I started out at Arcturus in Bootes and slid SSE for about 11° near the border with Virgo. Settling on a gentle curve of three stars (4th to 6th mag), I then crossed into Virgo to locate my first galactic target of the night. Located with 152x, it revealed a small and dim oval disk. The galaxy’s envelope was diffuse, and displayed a stellar core within. At 199x it remained dim, but more obvious within the field. (New)
Next up was this barred spiral. Slightly bright at 152x, it presented a small oval glow that was smoothly illuminated. With 199x I was able to spot a very small bright core within its disk. (New)
A little over a degree SSE of the last object I pinned down another barred spiral. Using 152x I spotted a small and dim oval disk that appeared homogeneous to the eye. Then with 199x its appearance, while remaining dim and diffuse, was a little more obvious within the view. (New)
About 55.5’ southeast of
Just about 19’ ESE of the last object I located this interesting object. This galaxy is actually considered to be the merging pair of PGC 52130 and PGC 52132. I observed this object with 152x up to 283x and while at times I thought I might have detected a distinct second object as a very faint extension off of the primary galaxy, I was never certain. In general the object was dim and small, with a diffuse appearance. There seemed to be a dim field star involved at the western edge of the disk. Because I was uncertain of the second object (PGC 52130), I only logged this as a single combined object. So at this point I am only logging it as a single object. A third galaxy PGC 52129, which is dimmer still at mag 15.5, coupled with the primary pair is catalogued as Arp 274. (New)
Moving back up into the celestial herdsman, I located my next galaxy using 152x. It presented a fairly small and fairly faint oval glow that was diffuse and smoothly illuminated. It remained a little weak visually at 199x, though not difficult. (New)
Up next was this spiral. Slightly bright to my eye, it was a thin sliver of diffuse light that was small in visual extent at 152x. Looking it over with 199x it was quite obvious within the field. Its thin disk seemed uneven in brightness hinting at possible knots of dim HII structure across its very diffuse envelope. A very weak, slightly offset stellar core was glimpsed periodically. (New)
This lenticular appeared small and fairly dim. A thick oval in shape it revealed a weak stellar core at 152x. Viewing at 199x the galaxy remained visually a little weak, but not a difficult object. (New)
I next encountered this small barred spiral using 152x. It appeared as a very subtly bright homogeneous thin oval with a slightly thick center (core) region. Using 199x while it was more obvious, it remained diffuse and had a ghostly look to it. (New)
This dim and very small lenticular was swept up using 152x, and appeared homogeneous to my eye. At 199x it remained dim and very even in illumination. (New)
Picked up using 152x this very small rounded glow was fairly dim. Homogeneous in appearance it remained weak visually at 199x but was still easily seen within the field of view. (New)
Almost 17’ WNW of the previous object and in the same field of view I picked up, with difficulty, this spiral. Seen at 152x it was very dim and quite small in visual extent. I was likely seeing only its brighter core because it certainly was not as elongated as the data suggests. I suspect the outer extensions of this edge on disk were simply too dim for me to see. Even at 199x it remained very small and weak visually, and was clearly the dimmer of the two within the field. (New)
I spotted this barred spiral at 152x as a small and dim homogeneous oval. Even at 199x it remained a dim and diffuse oval disk. (New)
This galaxy appeared very small and dim at 152x. It was a thin oval disk that had a possible stellar core within its center. The stellar core was confirmed at 199x. Though it was more obvious at that magnification, it remained a big weak and small visually. (New)
I now decided to venture into Corona Borealis, the Northern Crown. Though this constellation sits prominently between Bootes and Hercules, it is not particularly known for brighter galaxies or
I located this object using 152x and it presented a very small and dim oval disk. It was smoothly illuminated across its small envelope. Though it remained as a dim and diffuse object it was more noticeable using 199x. (New)
Just 3’ north of
This spiral appeared fairly small and dim. A slight oval shape was noted with a possible stellar core within its disk at 152x. The stellar core was confirmed at 199x, and the galaxy was more apparent, but remained small and dim overall. (New)
UGC 10275 (Corona Borealis, elliptical galaxy, mag=13.2, size=1.4’x1.2’, SBr=13.6):
This elliptical was pinned down using 152x as s small and slightly dim oval homogeneous glow. It remained diffuse, small and dim at 199x but more apparent to the eye. Interestingly this galaxy is misidentified in Uranometria and other sources as
I next moved over a loose gaggle of galaxies that are catalogued as the cluster WBL-612. I had previously observed its brightest member, and wanted to return to the scene of that crime to see if I could mop up the remains. First was this elliptical. At 152x it appeared as a very small and dim rounded diffuse dust bunny. Viewed at 199x it was easier but remained a very small and dim homogenous object. A mag 8.7 field star right next to the galaxy did impact the view a little bit as well. (New)
NGG 6105 (Corona Borealis, barred spiral galaxy, mag=14.4, size=0.6’x0.4’, SBr=12.6):
Next up in WBL-612 was this barred spiral. Spotted at 152x it presented a very dim and very small out of round glow. Even at 199x it remained a weak visual object, but was clearly seen. (New)
This is the member of WBL-612 that I had previously observed. At 152x it was a small rounded disk that was subtly bright and diffuse. Sitting just northeast of a mag 14.2 field star, it was easier at 199x, but remained very small and just slightly bright.
About 8.5’ NNW of the previous object I spotted the next member of WBL-612. Found with 152x it revealed a small rounded disk that was fairly dim and homogeneous to the eye. Using 199x a possible stellar core was intermittently glimpsed within the galactic disk. Overall it was a little more apparent, but remained dim. (New)
Just over 7’ ESE of the last object I picked up this elliptical. With 152x it was small and dim. Slightly out of round and diffuse, there was a very dim foreground star involved in the southwestern side of its disk. At 199x it was more apparent, and though still small and dim, this member of WBL-612 was not difficult. (New)
To the southwest of
Next up in the WBL-612 cluster was this spiral. This object had a couple of 14th mag foreground stars involved within its disk, plus another just off its northwestern tip. This was distracting to the view. At 152x the galaxy was small and dim and very diffuse in appearance. Its appearance changed little at 199x, with the involved stars intruding upon the galactic disk. (New)
Wrapping up with WBL-612, this spiral is about 6.5’ east of
Moving on I next swept up this lenticular with 152x. It appeared as a small and dime oval with a stellar core pinned to its center. Using 199x it remained dim, and its disk was a thick diffuse oval with an obvious stellar core in view. (New)
My next stop appeared slightly larger than the previous object but similar in brightness. It was a smooth envelope of diffuse light at 152x and remained homogeneous even at 199x. (New)
This little round disk was dim at 152x and generally diffuse in appearance. Even at 199x it remained a dim and evenly illuminated rounded dust bunny. (New)
Spotted at 152x, this lenticular was very small, round and fairly dim. Generally homogeneous to the eye, it was slightly more obvious at 199x, but remained weak and diffuse. (New)
I finally hooked one with a little more brightness to it. At 152x this elliptical presented a small but slightly bright thick oval glow. It was generally a smooth even glow that remained such at 199x, where it became even more obvious within the field. (New)
MCG +6-36-38 (Corona Borealis, lenticular galaxy, mag=14.3, size=0.7’x0.6’, SBr=13.3):
Within the same field of view as the previous object and less than 2’ to its NNW I picked up this little one. At 152x it was a very weak and petite rounded dust mote. At 199x its presence was formally confirmed as a very small and dim rounded disk with a stellar core now appearing at its center. A 14th mag field star lay between it and
My final object this evening was this lenticular. Picked up using 152x it presented a very small and dim diffuse round disk. Even at 199x it remained homogeneous and weak visually. I also looked for the mag 15.0 galaxy MCG +6-36-36 that lie 2.0’ to the northwest, but it was not seen. (New)
It was now about 0200 hours and I honestly felt exhausted. The temperature was a cool 56° F (13.3° C) as I busied myself with putting the gear away. I then headed back inside for some much needed rest. While conditions were pretty good, they were not stupendous by any means for this location. The humidity was high, but the dew control gear was doing its job and keeping the optics free of condensation. The summer stretch of the Milky Way was very evident and detailed, but not as crisp as I’ve seen it. Nonetheless it was a very successful evening, with galaxies being seen and that is what counts. Thanks for reading along and hope to catch you back out there tomorrow night. Keep looking up friends.
