Pt 5 ...
x185 27' TF
IC 1167 Double Galaxy *
RA: 16h 03m 52.9s Dec: +14° 56' 46"
Mag: 15.5 S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 0.6'x0.5' Class: L
P.A.: 121 Inclination: --- R.V.: --- Source: PGC *
IC 1168 Multi-Galaxy Sys *
RA: 16h 03m 55.7s Dec: +14° 54' 08"
Mag: 15.6 S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 0.7'x0.7' Class: E
P.A.: --- Inclination: --- R.V.: --- Source: PGC *
IC 1174 Galaxy *
RA: 16h 05m 26.8s Dec: +15° 01' 31"
Mag: 14.4 (P) S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 1.0'x0.7' Class: SA0/a:
P.A.: 60 Inclination: 2 R.V.: +4688 Source: RC3
-67 and -68 are two very tiny and faint eg that are almost N-S of each other with -67 to the N. They are only 3.5' apart. They appear at either end of a 2.5' x 1.5' RA tri of mag 13 & 14 *s. Very, very tiny, 14" diameter growing slightly to the centre.
-74 is only one med-pwr field E and is slightly brighter and larger. Almost pointed at from the E by a short curved line of mag 12 *s. Weakly elong in PA 90 40" - 50" diameter LSB outer halo and perhaps a small, slightly brighter core-zone but no nucleus.
x185 27' TF
IC 1197 Galaxy *
RA: 16h 08m 17.3s Dec: +07° 32' 20"
Mag: 14.1 (P) S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 2.9'x0.4' Class: Scd:
P.A.: 56 Inclination: 7 R.V.: --- Source: RC3
This is just gorgeous, really beautiful in about PA 45. Very faint LSB edge on sliver of a spiral 1.75' x 5" -- just a streak of gossamer with no detectable core or nucleus. Very spunky.
An image is here:
http://stdatu.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_...e&fov=NONE&v3=
By this time it was just on 2am and though I’m not normally one to get tired under an unsullied sky, for some reason I was completely buggered and decided after a bit of socialising on the main field, that I’d call it a night. A quick visit up to the field for a chat and check how people were going with their Messier Marathon revealed that a little high-cloud was creeping in from the west. Those doing the marathon were on to their last few objects and M29 was stubbornly behind a tree making for a short wait. While the cloud didn’t look threatening, I decided to put the big waterproof coat on the ‘scope and head for bed for some badly needed shut-eye.
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When I woke the following morning (10.15am) the sky was dark with cloud and threatening showers. Though not much fell during the day, it was enough to make me think that there was no hope at all of observing that night.
Into Mudgee township for a bit of a look round, pick up some vital supplies for a cloudy evening (Tooheys Old) a gas bottle for the van and a few other odds and sods and of course a kebab — at the shop opposite wollies in the woolworths mall (they are exceptionally yummy, big and cheap). We then headed back out mid-afternoon and I was a bit surprised to find it was clearing up as evening approached.
Surprisingly I found myself uncovering everything at about 6pm under a rapidly clearing sky. I set to work at 7.30pm and while there was still the odd cumulus around and it was a bit breezy, it was basically clear. The seeing was absolutely appalling – really horrible, at best a 3-4/10 and spoke of a change in the weather to come soon.
The soundtrack for the evening was: Dreamboat Annie – Heart, Sgt Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band – The Beatles, A Saucerful of Secrets – Pink Floyd, Tubular Bells III – Mike Oldfield, Brain Salad Surgery – Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Ummagumma, Pink Floyd.
To start the evening, I spent about ¾ of an hour visiting several binocular targets with my 15x70s – particularly around the Crux/Carina area and I also spent a bit of time on the Virgo Cluster of galaxies and found more than 10 of the brighter members. It was at this time that Craig McIntyre and Marnie popped down to announce their engagement to us — great news.
Meanwhile, through the ‘scope the star images looked like tennis balls. Notwithstanding the sky was, well … okay … darkness wise with an SQM reading of 6.57 = ZLM 6.42 – so off I went back into Leo.
IC 610 (IC 611) Galaxy *
RA: 10h 26m 28.3s Dec: +20° 13' 40"
Mag: 14.7 (P) S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 2.4'x0.4' Class: Sbc sp
P.A.: 32 Inclination: 7 R.V.: --- Source: RC3 *
This is a very pretty, small spindle shaped that makes a tri with two mag 10 *s to the N in a pair and another 9th mag to the NW. Elong in about PA 15, 1.75 x 10" streak as a lowish SB diffuse looking streak growing weakly to the axis near centre but there is no apparent core or nucleus.
x185 27' TF
NGC 3248 Galaxy *
RA: 10h 27m 45.5s Dec: +22° 50' 50"
Mag: 13.4 (P) S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 2.5'x1.1' Class: S0
P.A.: 134 Inclination: --- R.V.: --- Source: RC3 *
MCG +4-25-21 PGC 30818 Galaxy *
RA: 10h 28m 20.8s Dec: +22° 34' 19"
Mag: 14.5 (P) S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 1.8'x0.5' Class: S?
P.A.: 158 Inclination: 6 R.V.: +531 Source: RC3 *
This eg forms a RA tri with stars to its W and SW = br at mag 8 & 9, 8 & 9 arc mins away. Bit over an arc minute diameter, maybe 1.5' diameter round or just off-round in PA 135. Diffuse edges brows broadly and slightly to the centre where there is a small slightly brighter zone and a weak spot-type nucleus.
MCG +4-25-21 is 20' S and is E of a mag 10 * by 4'. that star has a 12th mag companion. A small, 50" x 15" in PA 150 lens shaped object with quite LSB brightening slightly to centre.
x185 27' TF
NGC 3253 Galaxy *
RA: 10h 28m 27.4s Dec: +12° 42' 15"
Mag: 14.3 (B) S.B.: 13.6 B-V: +0.72 Size: 1.2'x1.1' Class: SAB(rs)bc
P.A.: 45 Inclination: 1 R.V.: +9711 Source: RC3 *
This eg forms a longish RA tri with a couple of 10th mag * to the NE and another to the WNW a few arc-mins away. Small diffuse blob of pretty much consistent SB, not quite an arc-minute diameter growing broadly and slightly tot he centre without zones core or nucleus. Fairly well populated field for Leo.
NGC 3251 (IC 2579) Galaxy *
RA: 10h 29m 16.9s Dec: +26° 05' 58"
Mag: 14.3 (P) S.B.: --- B-V: --- Size: 2.7'x0.8' Class: SB?
P.A.: 56 Inclination: 6 R.V.: +5131 Source: RC3 *
This is a small but very elong eg that points at a small flat tri of mag 2x 9th and 1x 12th mag *s 5' away to the NE. In PA 45, probably 1.5' x 10", seems to be a tipped halo of lowish SB growing broadly and slightly to the axis nr centre but no apparent zones, core or nucleus.
x185 27' TF
NGC 3270 Galaxy *
RA: 10h 31m 30.0s Dec: +24° 52' 06"
Mag: 13.9 (B) S.B.: --- B-V: +0.85 Size: 3.1'x0.8' Class: SAB(r)b:
P.A.: 10 Inclination: 6 R.V.: +6284 Source: RC3 *
This is a small quite elong apparently edge-on spiral eg found to the NW by 14' from an 8th mag *. 2' x 10" in PA 15, Hard to tell whether it has hard "tips", the outer halo has quite LSB and grows broadly and slightly to centre where there is a small slightly elong stellaring dead centre.
x185 27' TF
NGC 3274 Galaxy *
RA: 10h 32m 17.0s Dec: +27° 40' 08"
Mag: 13.2 (B) S.B.: --- B-V: +0.39 Size: 2.3'x1.4' Class: SABd?
P.A.: 94 Inclination: --- R.V.: +519 Source: RC3 *
This is a pretty small slightly oval eg that looks pretty diffuse but has reasonable SB. Slightly elong in PA 90, 50" x 40" in PA 90, grows broadly to centre to a slightly elong weakly brighter core zone but no real nucleus.
But the mostly clear sky didn’t last long and before ¾ of an hr, it was clouded in and threatening showers. Worse it was quite breezy. During the next few hrs we listened to the music, watched a movie, enjoyed a drink or two and listened to the showers come and go. There was some lightning away to the south and southeast. Not so good – observing wise anyway.
Nobody expected it to break – but it did about 12mn and revealed a lovely dark sky with strangely good seeing – and that was the really puzzling part. We enjoyed some pleasing viewing of Saturn on the way down to the western horizon, some Virgo Favourites and then decided about 2.30am decided to check out some old friends in Scutum – a great place for Dark Nebulae:
x185 58 TF
B 103 LDN 497 Dark Nebula
RA: 18h 39m 21.3s Dec: -06° 37' 48"
Mag: --- Size: 8.0'x3.0' Class: Ir Source: Sky Cat *
A lovely dark nebula about 15' wide by 5' oriented E-W in a thickly carpeted field. Looks quite opaque and dark -- particularly along the southern flanks. The southern flank has a few southward-pointing lobes that add a little to the width of the nebula.
x85 58 TF
B 104 LDN 532 Dark Nebula
RA: 18h 47m 18.6s Dec: -04° 33' 53"
Mag: --- Size: --- Class: Source: Sky Cat *
This dark cloud is fairly easy to see in this aperture but shows better in smaller apertures with a wider field. Appears in the shape of a Harpoon aligned N-S with the shaft about 12' long in PA 0 starting about 10' N of Beta Scuti. Thin ribbon, almost straight only 1.5' wide and not seeming so much like a dark nebulae but as an absence of stars. The barb of the harpoon is at the N end and extends in PA 225 about 3' long. The clearest part is where the shaft joins the barb.
An image is here:
http://stdatu.stsci.edu/cgi-bin/dss_...e&fov=NONE&v3=
x85 58 TF
B 106 Dark Nebula
RA: 18h 48m 52.5s Dec: -05° 04' 36"
Mag: --- Size: --- Class: Source: Sky Cat *
B 107 Dark Nebula
RA: 18h 49m 27.3s Dec: -04° 58' 33"
Mag: ---Size: --- Class: Source: Sky Cat
B 110 LDN 530 Dark Nebula
RA: 18h 50m 03.4s Dec: -04° 48' 40"
Mag: --- Size: 11.0' Class: Ir G Source: Sky Cat *
B 113 LDN 548 Dark Nebula
RA: 18h 51m 23.6s Dec: -04° 17' 15"
Mag: --- Size: 11.0' Class: Ir G Source: Sky Cat *
This is a series of interconnected dark nebulae that run SW to NE for a little over a degree. They progress from small to large heading SW - NE too. B 106 is The smallest and the most SW and is only about 3' across and not well defined and not completely dark. B 107 is the next largest and next NE up the chain. Irregular boundaries about 6' diameter but very ragged edges . Seems roughly triangular in shape with the darkest portion nr centre B 110 is the next up the chain and is bigger again, maybe 9', and probably the darkest in the centre of the 4. Slightly oval in PA 0, 9' x 7'. At the NE end is B 113 which is detached from the other 3 and the largest -- seems like 12-15' diameter, ragged edges and seems darkest nr centre.
After than I took a look at a whole swag of PNe in Scorpius and Sagittarius. Some of the best were the old favourites like NGC 6153, NGC 6337, 6302, NGC 6445 and 6072 – there were quite a few more. As the night went on there was the odd cloudy period that never lasted more than about 10 mins and we observed until about 3.30am when the cloud began to get a bit more serious and I was content to pack it up and head for bed.
Pt 6 to follow ...