[Paddy (Patrick)]

Dear all,

Below is an observation report from three nights' viewing 10,11,12/12/09.

Observation report 10,11,12-12-2009

Telescope 400mm f4.9 tri-dob reflector
Eyepieces 28mm UWAN, 17,13,9 mm Naglers, Paracorr
Guiding: Night Sky Observer’s Guide, Arp Atlas of Peculiar Galaxies, Mati Morel’s Visual Atlas of the Small Magellanic Cloud

10/12/2009

Seeing 2/5 Transparency 6/7

The plan: to observe in and around the SMC and then move to Arp galaxies in Eastern Cetus and Eridanus (chart I of the Arp Atlas)

NGC 362 GC in Tucana, 132x I estimate a radius of 10’, quite a few resolvable stars very concentrated in a tight core with a small arc of resolvable stars stretching from the core to the East and a matching arc to the West reminiscent of a pair of pincers. Behind this core is a bright haze in the centre which seems to dim in an annulus around the core, then brightening again further out, creating a doughnut appearance. A few darker patches on the Western and Northeastern side of the core 175x seeing at this magnification is not aided but heat rising from the roof of my house, but a few more stars can be resolved. The doughnut is less obvious and the dark patches around the core appear more segment or lobular

NGC 361 OC in SMC 132x appears almost as a faint elliptical galaxy with distinct central brightness. A small Y shaped asterism to the SW points to the bottom of the cluster

NGC 330 OC in SMC 175x 4’ across. Elongated in SE-NW direction, lots of faint stars in patchy nebulosity with strands coming out to South and North and a few stars scattered to the East. Strong central concentration of stars with surrounding faint haze of nebulosity

NGC 346 OC in SMC 175x Covers 7’ Bright clump in middle of cluster with many resolvable stars. To the South the haze drops into a dark bay with edge of stars in a line that continues well beyond the boundary of the haze to the East. To the North of the central cluster is a dark patch like an inlet.
NGC 371 GC in SMC 175x much less haze and more stars than in NGC346, 10’ across. The main body of the cluster shows no central core, a more diffuse haze with many scattered resolvable stars. There appears to be a right angled triangular shape to the cluster with a bright circular haze at the right angle which is at the NE corner and points towards NGC 395 & IC1624

NGC 395 OC in SMC 175x A triangular patch of haze with a line of small discernible stars to the North. 2’ across. IC 1624 is about half that size and is a small oval shaped smudge of haze.

NGC 411 and 422 from a nearby equilateral triangle with a bright foreground star

NGC 411 GC? In SMC (my Night sky Obs Guide lists this one as an open cluster as do Archinal and Hynes in “Star Clusters, Morel lists it as a GC and there is one research paper on it as a GC, so I assume that this is correct). 175x A small faint circular smudge, with a few stars at the western edge. In the same FOV NGC 422 OC in SMC 175x is an even smaller and fainter circle of haze.

Treating the triangle formed by NGCs 411,422 and the star as an arrow, it points to Lindsay 84

Lindsay 84 OC in SMC 175x A haze 5’ across with several resolvable stars in its centre

NGC 416 GC in SMC 175x Round haze, very faint with no resolvable stars 2’ dia

NGC 419 GC in SMC 175x Significantly brighter than NGC 416, looks more clearly like a GC dia 3’ again no resolvable stars. Seems very compact but no discernible core.

IC 1644 Nebula in SMC 175x At first glance, this appears almost star like, but fuzzy – a small, bright area of fuzz. Several stars either side of the nebula, with faint s-shaped extension of nebulosity running NE-SW. UHC filter does not diminish the luminosity of the object confirming it as a nebula and enhances the clarity of the s-shaped extension, looking a tad like an open spiral GX.

NGC 456, 460 &465 OCs in SMC. 175x All three in FOV. NGC 456 is the one closest to NGC 419/IC1644. It is roughly roundish, slightly triangular haze with quite a few discernible stars with a bright knot to the South. NGC 460 looks to me to be in 2 parts. To the North, a bright clump with no resolvable stars and a larger, fainter area of haze to the South with several discernible stars. NGC 465 is quite close to 460 and appears Y shaped with a Y-shaped asterism points to the cluster from the north, to the south is a darker patch in the middle of an oval shaped haze. The string of OCs spans 20’ and is about 5’ across. Each element about 5’ dia. UHC filter brightens the knot in the north of NGC 460 and doesn’t change much else in the field suggesting much of the haze is nebulosity rather than stars.

As midnight arrives, I move to Cetus for some Arp Galaxies

M77/NGC 1068/ Arp 37 GX in Cetus 175X Transparency reduced somewhat with high level haze, bright stars showing slight halo. Bright galaxy, round overall shape with distinct centre and impression of dark ring around centre, which may be dust lanes between tight spiral arms. Bright field star to south. Dia 7’. Arp lists this as a spiral with low surface brightness companion galaxies on the arms, but I can’t make these out.

NGC 1143/4 / Arp 118 GX in Cetus 175x At first appear to be one edge on spiral, but with careful observation 2 galaxies become observable. The pair are about 2’ across.

NGC1253/3a Arp279 GX in Cetus. 175x Appears as a long assembly of 2 edge on spirals, each with a bright field star in front with 2 faint galactic nuclei. Combined length is 9’. Width is about 3’. No features discernible in either galaxy, but a dark area is apparent between the two.

IC 298/298a /Arp 147 GX in Cetus. 250x Very faint, most I can say is that I think I have seen them.

By now weary of the faint galaxies of IC in Cetus, I move to M78

M78/NGC2068 Emission/reflection nebula in Orion. 135x Bright circular nebula 6’ dia with 3 distinct stars, one quite faint. Slight darkening near the centre. Associated areas of nebulosity to north NGC 2071, west NGC 2067 and south NGC 2064

11/12/2009

Seeing 1/5 transparency 7/7
Starting at 47 Tuc 135x, just for a look, I am amazed at the clarity of the sky as shown by the numerous resolvable stars in the “covered wagon” asterism next to the core of the cluster, many more than I have seen through this telescope. In fact the asterism itself is hard to make out due to the many stars where there are normally few. The heat from the roof of my house prevents good seeing at 175x.

NGC 121 GC in Tucanae 135x Very small 3’ dia GC with no resolvable stars, distinct core and averted vision shows a faint halo about twice the dia of the core. Field star to the west.

NGC 152 OC in SMC 135x Faint, diffuse round haze> no resolvable stars, slight concentration in the centre.

NGC 176 OC in SMC 135x Smaller than NGC 152 – a patch of haze, but has a stream of discernible stars stretching to one side and looks a little bit like a tadpole as a result.

Moving further into the SMC, I get confused by the plethora of small nebulae and clusters and even my Morel atlas doesn’t seem to cover all the options. I will have to find a way to navigate through this area.

12/12/2009

Seeing 2/5 transparency 6/7

NGC 1241/2 Arp 304 GX in Eridanus 175x Two galaxies in close proximity – centres about 5’ apart NGC 1241 about twice the size of 1242 and is a partly edge-on spiral with distinct nucleus and impression of spiral structure. NGC 1242 more like a slightly elongated haze close to 2 field stars.

NGC 1232 Arp 41 GX in Eridanus 175x Bright face-on spiral with 3 clear arms and nucleus 6’ across. Small companion galaxy NGC 1232A visible as faint smudge with brightening at its centre about 6’ from the centre of the main galaxy.

The rapid arrival of high cloud ends the session.