One of my goals was to try out a new power supply for my dew heater strips. I recently received a 25% off coupon from Harbor Freight and bought a small power pack that I’d been looking at for some time. Its small size allowed me to mount it to the
Anyway, I went out into the chilly late February air, under a clear country sky. The moon was beaming down upon me and I had to shield my eyes frequently from its intense light. Nonetheless, I had some success in the hunt for galaxies, and even managed to push just pass the 3,400 galaxies observed threshold. Though I would much prefer do this kind of observing when the moon is not in the sky! So here we go with a little moonlit galaxy hunting.
(Equipment used)
17.5 inch
Ethos 21mm (94x, 1.1° TFOV, 4.7mm exit pupil)
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)
Comet C/2022 E3 ZTF (Taurus, comet, mag=8.4,
My first order of business was to look up the prominent comet in the sky, which is still located in the southeastern corner of Taurus. Doing the star hop from the shield of Orion I was unable to spot it in the 8x50
Aiming the scope at bright Regulus (Alpha Leonis), I slipped south about 2° to 31 Leonis (mag 4.4). As I studied the field immediately east of this star, I only suspected the presence of this galaxy with 152x. However, move to 199x I confirmed it as a very faint and small diffuse oval. Trying at 283x, because of the brightened sky, its disk remained weak and homogeneous in appearance. (New)
I now moved to the head of the great water serpent. This is the largest constellation in the sky, containing just over 1300 square degrees as well as being the longest at over 100 degrees in length. I now swept southwest about 11° and easily swept up this bright open cluster lying just inside the Hydra-Monoceros border. At 94x it was a beautiful scattering of stars that I estimated at upwards of 100 members. The group was well framed in the 1.1° TFOV of the eyepiece, with the cluster edges being ill-defined against the background sky.
About 2.5° ENE of M48 I located this elliptical, though it was not seen at 152x. Bumping up to 199x and then 283x I was able to locate it in the field as a faint small diffuse oval glow. Without the moon present, it would have been much easier without a doubt. I did not pick up nearby
Just over 9° southeast of M48, I went on the hunt for this planetary nebula. I located it almost 3.5’ southwest of the mag 6.6 star HD 72665. Easily located with 152x, it presented a small and slightly dim round homogeneous glow. Applying the DGM NPB filter, the
Just over 3° ENE of the previous object I spotted this elliptical. Using 152x to study its field, I felt I was picking it up, but was uncertain until I went to 199x. It seemed very dim and small, slightly out of round and homogeneous to the eye. Even at 283x it remained weak visually against the brightened sky, but was clearly seen. (New)
Abell 33 (Hydra, planetary nebula, mag=13.4, size=4.5’, SBr=16.4):
I now moved over to northeastern Hydra, east of its head. Locating the mag 7.2 star HD 83535, I studied the field next to the star for a bit at 152x/199x/283x, both with and without the NPB filter. However, I could not pick up any trace of this large and extremely low surface brightness
I now slipped over the border into Sextans. I found the field for this galaxy just over a degree southeast of the previous object; I located it easily using 152x. Even in the brighter sky, it was obvious in the field as a bright slightly small oval. A 9th mag field star was just at its southwestern tip. Viewed at 199x and 283x it was very obvious within the field, and its core became broadly brighter within the galactic disk. It was a nice, bright reprieve in the bright sky. (New)
About 6° south of
Just over half a degree north of the previous object I spotted this one. At 152x it was a very small and fairly dim rounded diffuse glow. Also observed at 199x and 283x, while more obvious it remained weak visually and homogeneous. (New)
A mere 8’ north of
Dropping south into Hydra again, I located the field for a pair of galaxies about 4° south of
The southern of the pair Arp 245, was this second spiral. It was slightly dimmer than its neighbor, but not by much. Small and more of a rounded oval, it was dim at 152x, showing an evenly illuminated disk. Taking a look at 199x, it remained homogeneous, but slightly more obvious. Unfortunately I could not detect any hints visually of their interactive nature, but please see the following image. (New)
Here is a deep image of Arp 245 that clearly shows their level of interaction. The image is courtesy of Mt. Lemmon Observatory:
Just over 3° west of Arp 245 I found this lenticular. Small and dim at 152x, it presented a smoothly illuminated oval disk. A little more apparent at 199x, it remained a diffuse oval glow. (New)
I located this object 2° south of
My final pair of objects for this outing was found less than one degree ENE of the last object. The brightest of this pair was this elliptical. Its small and slightly dim diffuse out of round disk was easily spotted despite the moon brightened sky. Viewed with 199x it was more obvious but remained a smooth even glow. (New)
About 5’ west of
With the moon still illuminating me and the surrounding terrain brightly, and frost forming heavily on the exterior of the scope, I decided after a little over two hours I’d had enough. I counted it a successful outing despite the bright sky. I was quite happy to head inside for some warmth as the temp outside was right at freezing. Not a prolific outing, but fun, challenging and rewarding all rolled into one. Thanks for following along friends, and be sure to get out there whenever you can, as the night sky is a wonderful sight to behold.
